No. 6 Oklahoma State (4-0, 3-0 in the Big 12) is the seventh best defensive team in the nation.

The Cowboys, known for a high scoring offense in a pass-happy Big 12, are giving up only 303 yards of offense to opponents (176 passing yards and 127 rushing yards).

Oklahoma State will host Texas on Halloween with kickoff set for 3 p.m. on FOX.

OSU defeated No. 23 Iowa State Saturday 24-21 to stay atop the Big 12 standings with Kansas State (4-1, 4-0). OSU leads the Big 12 in yardage surrendered and in point (a total of 48 points in four games). 

A key to that narrow win was the defensive pressure the Cowboys put on ISU quarterback Brock Purdy.

“It was a big part of the game,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy. “Brock Purdy’s really good. If you make a mistake, he’ll dip out and under like he did on the touchdown at the end of the game. It’s difficult to blitz him and pressure him because of his ability to make people miss and get out in the open. They’re good up front this year in our opinion, and a majority of the formations they’re using are tight-end heavy. That makes it hard to get pressure on Purdy. Our guys were relentless and were able to get enough on him at times to keep us in the game and to keep him from getting his feet set.”

Iowa State coach Matt Campbell praised the OSU defense.

“I mean, that’s about as aggressive as you’re going to get,” Campbell said of the Cowboys defenders. “I think when you evaluate pass protection, you’ve got to evaluate on first and second down not on third and 12. So that’s a good defense that can pressure you on third and long and they did that. I thought on first and second down though, I thought they were pretty good for the most part. So again, that’ll be a really good evaluation from my end of it. I didn’t think it was terrible but like I said, I think when you put yourself in long-distance against a very veteran defense, man, it’s hard to protect and hold up forever against those kind of guys.”

Gundy is concerned that his defense might overestimate themselves.

“Our defense needs to stay humble,” Gundy said. “They keep practicing hard, and our whole team is practicing hard. I’m trying to get them to ignore the outside sources that are telling them how good they are. We haven’t made plays like the ones we made today. We haven’t laid out like that and, at full extension, knocked a ball down on third-and-12. If we don’t make that play, they’re going to catch it and run up the field for another 20 yards. Then you’ve got Kolby Harvell-Peel going up and making a play and intercepting the ball, not just knocking it away. They’re gaining some confidence. Confidence is a powerful thing in life, particularly in sports. Every day, they’re getting a little more confident.”

A big plus against Iowa State was the return of OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders from injury.

“He was good,” Gundy said. “He made a mistake on the second interception, but his ability to run and make plays kept us in the game at times to convert first downs. We got some things out of him that he shows you in practice. He might mistake something and get you in a bad play, but then he’ll turn around and make two or three really good ones and that is what we had today from him.”

Sanders his 20 of 29 pass attempts for 235 yards and a score. He also ran for 71 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown.

OSU All American running back Chuba Hubbard had 139 rushing yards – the most by any player against ISU this season.

The Cowboys have three crucial Big 8 games in a row against Texas, Kansas State and Oklahoma. OSU will host Texas at 3 p.m. on Halloween.

Texas managed a tough 27-16 win over Baylor Saturday. Texas  (3-2, 2-2 in the Big 12) needed a win to stay alive in the Big 12 race. On Saturday, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger hit 15 of 23 pass attempts for 270 yards and one interception.

Texas coach Todd Herman is 1-2 against Gundy. The total margin of victory in those three games is 12 points.

Last season, OSU fell to Texas 30-36 in Austin. In that game, Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger passed for four touchdowns. Prior to that game, OSU had defeated Texas five times in a row. OSU running back Chuba Hubbard had 37 carries for 121 yards and two touchdowns but the Cowboys fell short. OSU also tried a fake field goal that failed in the fourth quarter.

Herman, like most coaches, said he is focused on the next game rather than his team’s chances of making the Big 12 title game.

“We don’t talk about the race,” Herman said after the Baylor win. “I do think that the leaders on this team understand who we have left to play and that there’s a long road ahead and a very positive one if we take care of what we need to take care of, but those things are very difficult to do, too. We don’t talk about it. We talk about taking it one game at a time, but I do think that the guys that understand football in that locker room know exactly what we still have left to play for.

“As far as the craziness of the Oklahoma State series, I don’t have an answer for why it’s been crazy, but I know Coach Gundy’s got usually got one of the better teams in our conference. They put up a great fight each and every week, especially in Stillwater, and we’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game, I know that.”