There is no defense in the Big 12 Conference. We have all heard it but that isn’t quite the case anymore. The Big 12 still has high-flying offenses that can drop 50 points at a moment’s notice, but teams are playing better defense.
Texas Christian and Iowa State have been known for their defenses with West Virginia and Oklahoma joining them as the top defenses in the conferences. According to ESPN (subscription required), Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley is seeing the defenses catch up to the offensive teams.
“I’m seeing things that are more cutting edge,” said OU coach Lincoln Riley. “We were always ahead of the curve offensively in the league, and in my opinion in the last two years I’ve seen a lot of things defensively that you simply don’t really see in other leagues. I think there’s a lot of evidence behind it.”
Riley brought in Alex Grinch from Washington State after letting Mike Stoops go following an abysmal 2018 season from a defensive standpoint. Under Grinch, the defense has risen to one of the top defenses in the country.
Since that dreadful defense in 2018, Oklahoma has steadily decreased its points per game allowed, from 33.3 (2018) to 27.3 (2019) to 21.7 (2020). It has also allowed fewer yards per play and per game during that span.
According to Pro Football Focus, Oklahoma finished with a defensive grade of 84.1 overall. That is third in the Big 12 Conference behind West Virginia and Iowa State. That number also put them 10th in power five overall. Not bad for a team playing in the ‘offensive heavy’ Big 12.
“I absolutely feel like we have an opportunity to be [at] a championship level — and we’ve won championships, so that kind of sounds weird — but I do definitely think we have the opportunity to have an offense and a defense — an entire team — that’s capable of being as good as any team out there or any side of the ball,” [Riley] said.
Defense has kept the Oklahoma Sooners from advancing in the College Football Playoffs in four appearances. Grinch has his work cut out for him but it is trending in the right direction. 2021 will be a massive test for the Sooners.