Crank the pressure up
Much was made about the Sooners’ lack of pressure and low sack totals in their win over Arkansas State. A deeper look at the game film revealed Arkansas State came into the game knowing they’d have no shot if they allowed Oklahoma to rush against five and six-man protections. S
o, the Red Wolves upped their protections to seven and eight-man fronts to neutralize Oklahoma’s pass rush while getting the ball out in under 3 seconds.
This week, it’s hard to imagine SMU will adopt a similar approach because of the confidence they have in the offensive side of the ball.
Preston Stone can move within the pocket, so bringing him down won’t be easy. He’s mobile enough to get away from pressure and make plays outside the pocket. However, Oklahoma cannot let Stone have time to get comfortable in the pocket.
There were a lot of basic looks from Oklahoma in Week 1. There were no exotic blitzes from the Sooners, so it feels like Oklahoma may go into its bag this week to generate some pressure to keep Stone from getting comfortable.