Earlier this week, the Sooners held a nighttime scrimmage to simulate game situations and get new players comfortable under the lights in Norman. Speaking with the media on Wednesday, coach Lincoln Riley called the scrimmage “very competitive” with no “sustained dominance by either side.”
Our very own John Williams analyzed Riley’s comments for Sooners Wire earlier today:
“There hasn’t been a lot of sustained dominance by either side.” That speaks to balance. The Oklahoma Sooners have balance as a team. They’re no longer entirely reliant on the offense to carry the burden of winning games. The defense is going to help too.
The Sooners have had a lot of success over the course of Lincoln Riley’s tenure, first as the offensive coordinator and now as the head coach, but the defense has held them back from being more competitive and possibly winning the College Football Playoff. Now, Grinch has the defense ready to help the Sooners win games.
This is an offense that recorded 43 points and almost 500 yards per game last season. An offense conducted by consensus No. 1 quarterback Spencer Rattler. If the defense can hold its own against a Sooners’ offense not pulling any punches, then where should it rank nationally?
Or, better yet, where should its leading man Nik Bonitto land in the college football hierarchy? David Kenyon of Bleacher Report named Bonitto one of the best returning players in all of college football.
The veteran edge-rusher pinned his ears back last season, terrorizing offenses with nine sacks and a team-high 11 tackles for loss. Pro Football Focus estimates Bonitto generated pressure on 25.7 percent of his snaps last season. A percentage that lead the nation by a comfortable margin.
It would be exciting to see Bonitto take his sack count even higher in 2021. But his overall pressure rate could be the key to a national title.
Because even if the 6-3, 240-pound terror doesn’t reach the quarterback, maybe Perion Winfrey does, or even Isaiah Thomas. The attention he attracts this season should allow other crimson helmets to find mismatches in the trenches.
If the defense can create just one or two more “third down and forever” situations each week, it could lighten the load on Oklahoma’s offense and push this entire team to the top of the podium come January.