The Oklahoma Sooners face the Western Carolina Catamounts today with an opportunity to start the season 2-0. Coming off a win over Tulane, the Sooners have some things to correct before facing the Nebraska Cornhuskers next week.
The most important aspect has to be their mentality. As Lincoln Riley admitted in his postgame press conference, the Sooners didn’t have the right mentality coming out of halftime. OU needs to find an edge and mentality that will carry them for 60 minutes. It’s not enough to have a dominant quarter as they did in the second quarter of week one. For the Oklahoma Sooners to achieve the goals they’ve set before themselves, they need to play for a full 60 minutes and play relentless football.
Though it’s a significant step up in competition for the Catamounts, their quarterback Rogan Wells is an experienced player that could pose some problems for the Sooners’ defense. An athletic player, it’ll be important to get pressure on him early and finish with sacks. Getting pressure on Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt wasn’t the problem, containing him was.
The Sooners can’t let the Catamounts get comfortable on Owen Field. On offense, they have to finish drives. Against a team like Western Carolina, kicking five field goals might be enough, but that won’t carry them through the rest of the schedule. This team has to score touchdowns at a better rate.
As you get ready for tonight’s matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Western Carolina Catamounts, here are the top storylines to get you ready for kickoff.