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Oklahoma Sooners 2020 Preview: previewing, predicting, and looking ahead with what you need to know
Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma Sooners 2020 Preview: previewing, predicting, and looking ahead with what you need to know
Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas Cowboys just selected Lamb with the No. 17 pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
[jwplayer MY4dAg6e-er0jUifI]
The Dallas Cowboys just selected Lamb with the No. 17 pick in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Richland, Texas native came to Oklahoma in 2017 as a four-star prospect. Lamb made an immediate impact his freshman season with 807 yards breaking the school’s freshman receiving yards record while hauling in seven touchdowns. Opposite Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown for the 2017 and 2018 seasons the duo were one of the best dual-threats in the nation while catching passes from Heisman Trophy winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
In 2019, Lamb led the Sooners in receiving with 62 receptions, 1,327 yards, and 14 touchdowns, good for a Big 12 best in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Lamb finished his career at Oklahoma with plenty of accolades including being named a Consensus All-American in 2019, First Team All-Big 12 in 2019, Second Team All-Big 12 in 2018, and an ESPN Freshman All-American in 2017.
Lamb is the highest-drafted Sooner wideout since former corps mate Marquise Brown in 2019 who was taken No. 25 overall by the Baltimore Ravens.
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BetMGM has released odds for both the LSU and Oklahoma games this season and Texas comes in as underdogs. You can see the lines here:
Texas’ two biggest games of the season will once again be against LSU and Oklahoma. Losing to both the Tigers and Sooners in 2019, the Longhorns will be looking to bounce back in 2020. It will be a tougher test this year, as Texas will be traveling to Baton Rouge to face the defending national champions, while the annual Red River Shootout will remain in the famous Cotton Bowl.
BetMGM has released odds for both those games this season and Tom Herman will find his squad as underdogs. Here are the lines:
Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at 3:45 p.m. ET.
Since Herman took over in 2017, Texas have been underdogs 17 times. The Longhorns have an 11-5-1 record against the spread in those games and are 6-11 straight up in those games, including losing five in a row before defeating Utah in the Alamo Bowl.
Part of the five-game losing streak as underdogs were to LSU and Oklahoma last season.
As for the rest of Texas’ schedule in the Big 12, BetMGM pegs the Longhorns as heavy favorites against five other opponents. Coming in as double-digit favorites against Baylor, Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia, Texas is expected to run through the conference with ease.
Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at 3:45 p.m. ET.
Losing to Baylor, Iowa State, and TCU last season, Texas will be looking for revenge. Vegas thinks they will not only avenge their losses from last season but do it in a relatively comfortable fashion.
Coming in as three-touchdown favorites to West Virginia is the most eye-popping line out of the five. Despite the 11 point win in Morgantown last season, the Longhorn offense struggled. With the Mountaineers winning in dramatic fashion in Austin in 2018, Texas will need to play a solid game to cover the spread.
A notable game without a line yet is the season finale against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are a preseason favorite to make the Big 12 Championship game and the matchup against Texas will be crucial in deciding a spot. With the game in Stillwater, the Longhorns may come in as slight underdogs due to the road environment.
“Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.”
Bill Bedenbaugh gave an in-depth look into Oklahoma’s offensive line philosophies and preparations week in and out on…
Bill Bedenbaugh gave an in-depth look into Oklahoma’s offensive line philosophies and preparations week in and out on the Run the Power Podcast in a nearly hour-long interview.
Sprinkled in with stories from his days with Hal Mumme and Mike Leach, one of the more intriguing tidbits Bedenbaugh gave was about freshman offensive lineman Andrew Raym. A four-star lineman out of Broken Arrow, Okla., Raym is a guy that Bedenbaugh could see moving around on the Sooners’ offensive front.
“He’s a guy that is playing guard for us right now and center,” Bedenabugh said. “I do think, eventually, just depending on what happens, he’ll take over center. But he’s a really smart guy. He’s got the body for it—physical guy, athletic guy. He can mentally handle what we’re putting on him.”
Predominantly playing tackle at Broken Arrow, Raym was recruited by Bedenbaugh as an offensive guard. However, the way Bedenbaugh philosophies the center position, Raym could become the one snapping the ball for Spencer Rattler in the future.
“I think, especially for us, center is the most important (position) just because he calls out audibles for everything,” Bedenbaugh told Run the Power. “He’s responsible for setting the pass protection, he’s responsible for setting the run blocking scheme, he’s responsible for everything.”
With Creed Humphrey holding down the anchor spot this upcoming season, Raym has an opportunity to learn from who Bedenbaugh says is the best center to come through Oklahoma in a while.
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Wisconsin looks at Oklahoma before the College Football Playoff
As the four teams who qualified for the College Football Playoff begin to settle in for the actual playoff semifinals on Saturday, BadgersWire thought it would be interesting to examine what the Wisconsin Badgers could learn from each of the teams in the playoff, starting with the Oklahoma Sooners.
This isn’t to say that Wisconsin isn’t capable of doing things on its own, but it’s always worth looking at the most successful teams in the nation and wondering what you can do as a team to emulate that success. There’s no denying that Oklahoma has been thriving under head coach Lincoln Riley, who took the team from frequent Big 12 contender to frequent national contender.
One of the biggest things Wisconsin could do to learn from Oklahoma is to examine the way the Sooners complement their rush attack with a creative and open passing game. There’s no denying that Wisconsin knows how to run the football. Anyone suggesting the Badgers need work in this area is probably not paying attention. Since 1999, Wisconsin has won the Doak Walker Award a total of five times — Ron Dayne (1999), Montee Ball (2012), Melvin Gordon (‘14), and Jonathan Taylor (‘18 & ‘19) — no other school has won it more than twice.
But try to find a single year when a Wisconsin quarterback has been as proficient and remarkable as one of the running backs. Oklahoma also used to pound the rock relentlessly to beat opposing teams, but once Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley began opening things up for their quarterbacks as well, it was only then that the team began to find the success that had once eluded it. The Badgers have only one Maxwell Award winner in school history. With Paul Chryst being a former quarterback, it’s incumbent upon him to begin to open things up for their quarterbacks.
In the modern era of football, a quarterback passing for only 17 touchdowns in an entire 14-game season is an example of an offense that could use an upgrade. That’s where Jack Coan and Wisconsin sit in 2019. Despite all the success the Badgers have had this year, imagine how much more successful they could have been if their quarterback was lighting up the field as much as their running backs.
Fox Sports’ college football analyst Joel Klatt released his top ten on Twitter ahead of Championship weekend. The College Football Playoff will still rank the top four the same in this week in all likelihood: 1. Ohio State 2. LSU 3. Clemson 4. …
Fox Sports’ college football analyst Joel Klatt released his top ten on Twitter ahead of Championship weekend. The College Football Playoff will still rank the top four the same in this week in all likelihood:
1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Clemson
4. Georgia
It’ll be interesting to see if the committee prefers Utah to Oklahoma. The Utes and Sooners will be fighting for the fourth and final spot if UGA falls to LSU in the SEC Championship Game.
Here’s Klatt’s top ten:
My CFB Top 10 Champ Gm Wk
1) @OhioStateFB
2) @ClemsonFB
3) @LSUfootball4) @Utah_Football
5) @GeorgiaFootball
6) @OU_Football
7) @BUFootball
8) @AlabamaFTBL
9) @BadgerFootball
10) @PennStateFball— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) December 1, 2019
Klatt sees a gulf between the undefeated and one-loss teams and surprisingly ranks Utah over Georgia. Utah probably wouldn’t be 11-1 with Georgia’s schedule. Polls don’t matter much for the Dawgs. It’s win the SEC Championship and you’re in for Georgia.
Aside for Georgia and Utah, there aren’t many other flaws in his top ten. I’d expect the Alabama Crimson Tide to be the top ranked two loss team.
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Oklahoma now has a legit path to the College Football Playoff. It’s offense has no more time to waste if it wants to make it.
NORMAN, Okla. — During halftime of No. 7 Oklahoma’s (10-1, 7-1) 28-24 win over TCU, the idea of the Sooners heading back to the College Football Playoff became more real.
Oklahoma was taking it to TCU, almost doubling them up in yards and only a fumble on a promising drive being the lone blemish in what was a dominant half of football.
Out in the valley of the desert, Arizona State had taken a two possession lead over College Football Playoff hopeful Oregon.
The door was swinging open for Oklahoma to reach its preseason expectations and goals, but then the Sooners needed a game-sealing interception by Brendan ‘Bookie’ Radley-Hiles to allow Oklahoma to walk right back into the Playoff conversation.
With that opportunity now officially looming, the Sooners have no more time to waste—they must put it all together.
“Turnovers – and we say it all the time on defense – equal victories,” said Jalen Hurts at Monday’s weekly press conference. “You have to win the turnover margin. We have to do a better job of it. I have to do a better job of it. I’m going to focus on it, focus on the things that I have to focus on, and prepare this week and get ready to play better.”
It was two second-half turnovers against Iowa State that allowed the Cyclones to climb back into a 21-point game and almost win in Norman, Oklahoma.
It was two first-half turnovers against Baylor that put the Sooners in a 28-3 hole, then a third in the red zone that could have ended their season.
It was two red zone turnovers in the second-half against TCU that allowed the Horned Frogs to potentially win last Saturday’s game in the fourth-quarter.
Then, one can add in the overthrows and bad reads by Jalen Hurts—one to Charleston Rambo in the first-half of TCU comes to mind—that have put a ceiling on where this offense could be.
Rambo said after the TCU game that it was frustrating because Hurts makes those kind of throws in practice.
Hurts said after the game that he could remember the missed throws as if he was still out there playing. That he can’t turn the ball over.
“I think Coach Riley said it, we did dominate the game,” Hurts then said on Monday. “We played really well. We just can’t turn the ball over. I think that’s what it was. We had an opportunity to score a lot of points. I ended up turning it over at times. That’s something we have to eliminate and we will. We have to go to work.”
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An Oklahoma quarterback has found himself back where an Oklahoma quarterback typically is during the month of December.
An Oklahoma quarterback has found himself back where an Oklahoma quarterback typically is during the month of December.
Sooners’ signal-caller Jalen Hurts is having a historic year in his lone season in Norman, Oklahoma, and that has resulted in him being up for at least two national awards that have been won by Oklahoma quarterbacks the last two years. The Alabama graduate transfer is a finalist for the Davey O’Brien Award for the most outstanding quarterback in college football and the Maxwell Award for the best player in college football, it was announced Monday.
Finalists for college football awards. pic.twitter.com/vluREVijY4
— Patrick Schmidt (@PatrickASchmidt) November 25, 2019
Hurts has thrown for 3,184 yards with a 71.4 completion percentage, rushed for 1,156 yards and has a total of 47 touchdowns thus far in the 2019 season.
He is up against LSU’s Joe Burrow and Ohio State’s Justin Fields for the Davey O’Brien Award and up against Burrow and Ohio State’s Chase Young for the Maxwell Award.
The winner of those two awards will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 6 p.m. CT at the The Home Depot College Football Awards, which will be televised on ESPN.
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Oklahoma is eyeing its second Biletnikoff Award winner in the last four years. CeeDee Lamb was named a finalist for the award.
Oklahoma is eyeing its second Biletnikoff Award winner in the last four years.
Junior wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has been one of the best receivers in all of college football this season, and he has received the recognition for it as Lamb as been named a Biletnikoff Award finalist for the most outstanding college football receiver regardless of position.
Congrats to CeeDee Lamb @_CeeDeeThree on being named a Biletnikoff Award Finalist! @OU_Athletics @OU_Football #OutstandingReceiver #NCFAA pic.twitter.com/xpikPwroMR
— Biletnikoff Award (@biletnikoffawrd) November 25, 2019
The Richmond, Texas, native has 999 receiving yards on the season so far with 15 total touchdowns. His ability to take short catches and turn them into long touchdowns has separated himself from the competition in college football.
The other two finalists for the Biletnikoff Award are LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase and USC’s Michael Pittman Jr.. Chase has 1,260 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns on the season thus far, as Pittman Jr. has 1,222 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
The winner of the Biletnikoff Award will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 6 p.m. CT at the The Home Depot College Football Awards, which will be televised on ESPN.
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Oklahoma quarterback, Jalen Hurts is one of five finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
Oklahoma quarterback, Jalen Hurts is one of five finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
Hurts is accompanied by fellow Heisman Trophy candidate, Joe Burrow from LSU, Oregon’s Justin Herbert, Utah’s Tyler Huntley and Brady White of Memphis.
The award is strictly for quarterbacks and is named after NFL legend, Johnny Unitas. Unitas played at the University of Louisville before being drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1958. His 18 year career is one of the more decorated careers in NFL history.
Hurts looks to join past winners Mason Rudolph from Oklahoma State (2017), Andrew Luck of Stanford (2011), Tennessee’s Peyton Manning (1997) and fellow Sooner, Jason White (2004) as Unitas Award winners.
The award winner will be announced as part of the ESPN College Football Awards Show on December 12.
Hurts has thrown for 2,742 yards, 24 touchdowns and four interceptions while rushing for 869 yards and 15 touchdowns so far this season.
Hurts and the Sooners take on the Baylor Bears this Saturday at 7:30pm CT on ABC.
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