Tag: Oklahoma Sooners 2023 football season

No. 14 Sooners vs Cincinnati Bearcats: How to Watch, key players, weather forecast for gameday

The Sooners are going to be in for a battle this weekend, let’s take a look at how you can watch, the impact players, injury report and what’s the weather going to be like.

The Oklahoma Sooners are set to take on the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag] on Saturday. This is the first conference game for both teams.

The Sooners are coming off a 3-0 nonconference slate whereas the Bearcats are coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss to in-state foe Miami (Oh.). But don’t let that game fool you. The Bearcats had seven trips to the red zone and only scored on four of them, two of which were field goals.

That’s how you beat yourself in a game you should win. This game is going to be a lot more interesting than people think. This is the best defensive line the Sooners have faced to date and could be the best they face all season.

But that doesn’t mean the offense isn’t any good. They rank No. 12 in the nation in total yards and No. 8 in the nation in rushing. The Sooners’ 15th-ranked rushing defense is going to be tested once again and the Bearcats have a very good dual-threat quarterback at the helm.

Not to mention this is going to be Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff game, the only time Oklahoma is making the trip as conference foes, and is expected to be a blackout for Cincinnati.

But without giving too much away, let’s dive into how you can watch the Sooners on the road.

Ted Roof ends the speculation on who calls the defense

After much speculation, Ted Roof sets the record straight that he calls the plays for the defense.

We are four days away from the kickoff of the [autotag] 2023 football college football season[/autotag]. The time has come to see what progress the team has made since a year ago. Soon we’ll find out if they are headed in the right direction.

This year is one of the most important in recent memories. It’s year two under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and the final season in the [autotag]Big 12 Conference[/autotag].

Venables came in known for elite defenses, but that was far from the case a year ago. The Sooners ranked 122nd nationally in total defense.

Defensive Coordinator Ted Roof told reporters during Monday’s press conference that they’ve made progress this offseason, but they aren’t where they want to be. He hopes to see that progress this weekend.

“I want to see us play physical,” Roof said. “I want to see the execution level. I want to see us play with great strain and put on a good show.”

One question that has been around since a season ago is how big of a role Venables plays with the defense. We know he has a hand in it, but how big of a hand does he have in it? Some even believe it’s actually Venables who calls the plays.

“I do, and then if he wants to override something and call something, then he does,” Roof said. “That’s how we roll.”

That is pretty common for teams. If the head coach disagrees with a call, he’s able to change it if he wants to. Last year, Venables spent so much time with the defense during the game that there were moments of poor clock management.

That’s one of the areas the Sooners have to improve if they want to be better this season.

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