Tag: Sooners Defense

Do the Oklahoma Sooners have a defense that can carry them in the SEC?

Do the Oklahoma Sooners have the makings of an elite defense?

It’s been a long time since the Oklahoma Sooners’ strength was on the defensive side of the ball. It’s a welcomed sight, but nobody anticipated the Sooners offense struggling with Houston like they did on Saturday night.

But here we are. Oklahoma has a defense that can not only keep them in games while the offense is struggling but can win them football games like they did in week two.

Oklahoma’s offense was shutout for more than two and a half quarters, and the defense responded by allowing just six points in the second half. That score came on a communication breakdown that led to a coverage bust. Oklahoma stopped the ensuing two-point conversion attempt. After that, the defense rose to the occasion, forcing stop after stop to preserve the win.

After the Cougars touchdown to open the second half, Oklahoma’s defense responded by forcing Houston to go punt, interception, punt, safety, and then the end of the game stopped their final drive. That’s five drives where Houston couldn’t put points on the board.

On the four drives before the final one, where Oklahoma was in prevent mode, the Sooners held the Cougars to 35 yards on 21 plays.

That’s how you bounce back after a letdown. That’s what elite defenses do. If they can build on that this week against a game Tulane program, it’ll provide a lot of confidence heading into their week four matchup with the Tennessee Volunteers.

Tulane’s is arguably the best Group of Five program in the nation and will give the Sooners a test this Saturday afternoon. They’re averaging 286 passing yards and 195 rushing yards per game through the first two game of the season. Last week against Kansas State, the Green Wave 491 yards, but they also lost the turnover battle 2-0 to the Wildcats.

Can the Sooners put together another strong defensive performance to help OU stay undefeated heading into SEC play? If they do, it’ll give Oklahoma a chance to keep the game close so that the offense can find its running game and Jackson Arnold can find their rhythm. And if the offense can get things going, Oklahoma will be just fine because of its elite defense.

OU is tied for first in the nation in turnovers forced. They’re No. 15 in the nation in points per game. But bigger challenges are coming for the Sooners.

Of the top 20 scoring offenses in the nation after week two, six of those teams are on the Oklahoma Sooners schedule. Ole Miss and Tennessee are No. 1 and 2. Now, it’s just two weeks into the season, but there are significant challenges ahead for Oklahoma’s defense.

But through two games, Brent Venables’ squad looks like a team capable of playing with some of the best around the nation. The question will be, can they hang for 60 minutes, and can they get offenses to support their efforts? We’ll begin to find out in a week and a half, but first, the Sooners have to take care of business against Tulane.

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Brent Venables liked what he saw from the Oklahoma Defense vs. Temple

The Oklahoma Sooners defense was dominating in OU’s week one win against the Temple Owls.

The Oklahoma Sooners took their first step to creating an identity in their 51-3 win over the Temple Owls in week one. It looked like a Sooners team of old, with a defense that forced a ton of turnovers and created a ton of pressure on Temple quarterback Forrest Brock.

The Sooners held Temple to less than 200 total yards and held their rushing attack to less than two yards per carry. Oklahoma’s head coach was pleased with his defense’s performance.

“Thought the defense, from start to finish, really played outstanding. Again, six sacks, nine tackles for loss, forced six turnovers, and scored a touchdown. For the first time, I think we’ve had six turnovers in a game since 2003. We only had six forced fumbles last year, and we had four tonight. Really I loved how aggressive and confident our guys were moving around, flying to the ball and being aggressive and knocking the ball loose. Fantastic job by the defense.”

It would be easy to credit the Sooners’ efforts to the level of competition they were playing. And certainly, nobody is going to confuse Temple for the 2008 Oklahoma Sooners. However, Venables was pleased more with the fundamentals with which the Sooners’ defense played as much as anything.

Venables spoke about what he saw from a technical standpoint. “Vertical, active, stayed on our feet and did a really nice job in block recognition, squeezing and condensing gaps,” Venables said. “Some of our movements that we did up front, I thought they played with great pad level.”

You know, it really doesn’t have anything to do with them, that we’re the things that I’m talking about. It’s, it’s us. But I just thought we were sure of what we were doing completely, really good. Pad level, excellent with our hands. We got a lot of knockback, and we made it hard for them to run the ball downhill. They tried to run downhill.”

The OU defense played fast and physically. From the front four, which was disruptive in both the run and pass game, to the back seven, Venables and defensive coordinator Zac Alley’s defense looked the part of a title contending defense.

It’s just one week, but the Sooners played sound, fundamental, physical, and tenacious defense. They’ll have tougher challenges throughout the 2024 season, including next week’s game against the Houston Cougars. But it’s a great start to the season for the Oklahoma Sooners.

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5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners’ 34-30 win over the Texas Longhorns

The Oklahoma Sooners knocked off the Texas Longhorns 34-30 and here are five takeaways from the win!

The Cotton Bowl often provides an incredible game to go with the incredible atmosphere in the Red River Rivalry. The Oklahoma Sooners pulled out an incredible win on the backs of a phenomenal drive in the final minute by Dillon Gabriel and the offense.

With the win, the Oklahoma Sooners moved to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in Big 12 play. A far cry from what this team was a year ago.

There’s so much to break down from this game, but in the aftermath of the incredible effort, here are five takeaways.

‘I’m here to win games, not win awards’: Danny Stutsman not satisfied with recent weekly honors

Oklahoma’s Danny Stutsman is off to a fantastic start in 2023, picking up multiple individual awards, but says he’s all about winning games.

The Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff saw flashes from [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] last year. Stutsman led the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] in tackles but still had room to improve as a player.

The talk this offseason has been about how he’s grown as a leader of the defense. With Oklahoma 2-0, the Sooners allowing just 5.5 points per game, and with Stutsman at the center of the defense’s performance, now the talk is about how he has been performing on the field.

He was all over the field and wasn’t fooled by any of the trick plays the SMU Mustangs threw at him. In fact, his 17 tackles were more than the next two Sooners combined.

Stutsman told reporters on Monday, he didn’t realize how many tackles he had.

“I just play the game,” Stutsman said. “I see ball, get ball. It is what it is. I fly around. It’s just what I do.”

After his performance, Stutsman was named Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. But he said he doesn’t care about the awards.

“At the end of the day, I’m here to win games, not win awards,” Stutsman said. “As long as we go 1-0 that week, I’ll be happy.”

It’s clear Stutsman has taken a step this year. You can tell just the way he talks in interviews there’s a different level of confidence coming from him. That confidence has spread to his defensive teammates.

If the Oklahoma Sooners to get back into title contention in 2023, Danny Stutsman will be at the tip of the spear.

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‘It feels like Christmas morning’: Todd Bates can’t wait to show off Sooners defensive line

The Sooners DL struggled last season, but Todd Bates thinks with the work they put in the offseason things will improve the defense.

Last season the defensive line struggled to stop the run or rush the passer with any consistency. It lacked what the staff calls competitive depth, especially right up the middle.

The interior defensive line is coached by [autotag]Todd Bates[/autotag]. He came to the [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners[/autotag] with [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] from the Clemson Tigers.

While at Clemson, he developed some great defensive linemen, helping them become productive NFL linemen.

The interior defensive line should be the perfect example of how poor the last staff was at developing. It also should be an example of how they didn’t recruit well enough.

To win against the “big boys,” you need some 300-pound guys in the middle. That was something that just wasn’t there a year ago.

“Last year, just coming in, we only had one guy who weighed over 300 pounds when I got here,” Bates said. “When we pulled up to the door. Schmitty doing the work that he does with guys improved that number to three last season. Well, we’re going to camp this year with five.”

Those five guys are [autotag]Da’Jon Terry[/autotag], [autotag]Isaiah Coe[/autotag], [autotag]Phil Paea[/autotag], [autotag]Jordan Kelley[/autotag] and [autotag]Kevin Gilliam Jr.[/autotag] Two of which are brand new to the team. Gilliam is back healthy this season.

Even the guys who aren’t at 300 pounds have made a lot of progress as well. “[autotag]Gracen Halton[/autotag], he started at 267 when he arrived here, he’s up to 285 now,” Bates said. “[autotag]Jonah Laulu[/autotag] last year when he was at defensive end, he weighed 272. He’s already up to 290.”

Why is that so important?

“One of the main things that keep guys from getting movement in the middle on this earth is girth,” Bates said. “We finally got some girth.”

It’s not just that. The Sooners added competitive depth with some transfers coming in to make an immediate impact to add to the natural progression from the players who were already here. Bates can’t wait to show them off.

“We’ve gotten so many players that have gotten better and improved,” Bates said. “So many new guys as well, it feels like Christmas morning to my twins almost. You are going to unwrap some presents, and you can’t wait to show everybody what you’ve got.”

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‘UNITY’: Best photos from a phenomenal first half from the Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners had a great first half debuting their new “UNITY” alternates, jumping out to 35-21 lead. Here are the best photos.

UNITY is making a tremendous debut for the Oklahoma Sooners as OU jumped out to a 35-21 lead at halftime, playing their best game in a month against the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Sooners, who unveiled their alternate uniform in honor of Dr. Prentice Gautt, have made it look good, racking up nearly 500 yards of offense. The defense has held up its end of the bargain as well, despite the 21 points allowed. They’ve forced turnovers and were really good on third down, getting off the field, and containing the speedy Jason Bean.

The Sooners are putting on a clinic in the running game. The offensive line is opening holes, and Eric Gray and Jovantae Barnes are taking care of the rest. In the first half, they averaged 8.31 yards per carry.

Dillon Gabriel’s been sharp in this game, throwing for over 300 yards in the first half and looking sharp in the passing game.

The uniforms have looked great on the Owen Field backdrop and the Sooners have looked even better in the first half of this game.

Here are some of the best photos from the incredible first half.

‘We’re bad, but we’re not that bad’: Brent Venables offers honest assessment of Sooners defense

TCU had their way with an Oklahoma Sooners’ defense that has struggled the last two weeks.

The last two weeks have been a massive setback to the start of the Brent Venables era. But again, it’s just the start. Five games does not make a coaching tenure.

Losses to Kansas State and TCU in back-to-back weeks revealed how far this team has to go to improve to the level of a national title contender. But that shouldn’t change the long-term outlook for Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners.

It’s been bad. You can’t get around that. The defense has allowed over 1,100 yards of total offense and nearly 100 points in two weeks despite looking really good the first three weeks of the season. However, this staff is just getting started in Norman. Should things be better than they are? Absolutely. Will they be better? The coaching histories of Venables and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby suggest yes. They will be better than how they performed the last two weeks.

Poor discipline in coverage was the scourge of the Oklahoma Sooners in Saturday’s loss to TCU. They gave up huge plays to TCU pretty much every time TCU took a shot.

“The explosive runs are the ones that really are the ones that are back breakers,” Brent Venables had to say when speaking with the media following yesterday’s loss. “They’re gonna get some, some plays here or there, but you can’t give up the explosives. And today, you know, we did that. Like I said, I think they had the 67, 36, 69, 35 those are the rushes, and pass plays, 73 yards and 72 yards are both busted plays.”

TCU gashed Oklahoma with big plays all day. On the ground, through the air. It didn’t seem to matter the down and distance or the situation. Oklahoma’s defense was porous. Venables explained what happened on those busted plays.

“One’s a four over three concept, and we don’t zone it out, and should be in an overlap coverage on number two, and he runs down the seam,” Venables explained. “And then another was a 3-deep concept where one guy stops another run, guy runs a go route, and we’re in 3-deep, and our third player is not there. And next thing, you’re giving up big plays, touchdowns, you’re not being efficient on offense, and it got away from us.”

It’s hard to find anything positive in Oklahoma’s performance against TCU. It was bad. It took time to turn the Clemson Tigers into a defensive juggernaut. It’ll likely take time to do the same in Norman.

“We were bad, but we’re not that bad,” Venables said. “But it happened. And you can’t give away touchdowns to people and expect to win games. And so it avalanched on us today. And we did a poor job of getting out of it.”

The avalanche started a week ago at home vs. Kansas State, and it snowballed south to Fort Worth. As Oklahoma prepares for the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown, the Sooners hope the storm doesn’t travel east on I-30 from Fort Worth to the Cotton Bowl.

TCU played great, but Oklahoma must prepare for a Texas team that features two of the best players in the conference, Bijan Robinson and Xavier Worthy. Regardless of who the quarterback is, the Sooners will have a difficult task ahead of them. Hopefully, they’re up to the challenge.

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Oklahoma Sooners Big 12 opponent expected to breakout in 2021

After an up and down 2020 season, Athlon Sports is projecting Max Duggan as a breakout candidate for 2021.

The defense has been slowly changing the narrative for the Oklahoma Sooners over the last couple of seasons. In 2020, as they finished the season allowing just 17 points per game over the last seven games, they found a level of success they hadn’t seen in a long, long time.

Their streak of success started with their matchup with the TCU Horned Frogs. In the three weeks leading up to their matchup in Fort Worth, the Sooners defense allowed 40 points per game to Kansas State, Iowa State, and Texas. They’d gone 1-2 in conference play to that point and hadn’t shown the promise of defensive improvement that many were expecting under Alex Grinch.

After the Red River Shootout, the Sooners traveled back to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to take on the Horned Frogs and put themselves back into the Big 12 title conversation.

Led by Max Duggan, the Horned Frogs played a solid game, but weren’t able to string enough drives together to put points on the board. The Sooners controlled it throughout, but Duggan established himself as a quarterback to watch completing 71% of his passes and throwing for 276 yards and a touchdown. The Sooners limited him to 18 yards on nine attempts, completely taking away a huge part of his offensive attack.

As the 2021 season approaches, Duggan remains a name to watch in the Big 12. Steve Lassan of Athlon Sports ranked his top 20 quarterbacks ready for a breakout season in 2021 and Max Duggan came in at number 13 on the list.

Duggan finished 2020 with just 10 touchdown passes and 1,795 yards, but considering he missed time leading up to the opener due to heart surgery, along with the other limitations of practice time last year, the gains from September to December provide promise for ’21. The Iowa native threw for 265 yards and ran for 104 in a Dec. 5 win against Oklahoma State and connected on 10 of 13 passes for 160 yards and a score in an easy win against Louisiana Tech the following Saturday. Duggan led the team in rushing with 526 yards and reached the end zone 10 times on the ground. An improving supporting cast should only help Duggan’s development this fall. – Lassan

In 2020, Duggan showed a ton of resiliency, helping lead the Horned Frogs to a come back win over Texas. He was up and down in his first season as a starter, but heading into 2021, is a player capable of taking over a football game.

The Sooners’ defense will be challenged by Max Duggan and the Horned Frogs. TCU is even a sleeper to challenge for the Big 12 title according to Josh Pate of 247Sports. In order to repeat as Big 12 champions, the Sooners defense will need to be on point when they face Duggan and the Horned Frogs.

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Sooner Trifecta: Oklahoma lands third commitment of the day with Derrick Moore of Maryland

Oklahoma Sooners land third commitment of the day with Derrick Moore of Baltimore, Maryland.

The Oklahoma Sooners are having quite the 4th of July on the recruiting front. Over a two-day period, Lincoln Riley landed three commits with Jacob Sexton, Robert Spears-Jennings, and Xavion Brice. They weren’t done as four-star defensive lineman out of Maryland, Derrick Moore also committed to play for the Sooners.

Moore was down to three schools choosing to go with Alex Grinch’s defense over the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions. All signs were pointing straight to Norman, Oklahoma, prior to his announcement to play college football for the Crimson and Cream. The strongside defensive end was the No. 1 overall player in the state according to 247Sports rankings.

I guess now we know why Lincoln Riley dropped the four eyeball emoji tweet ahead on Saturday.

After losing two recruits recently, the Sooners are now in double-digits with a total of 12 commits in their 2022 recruiting class. Not too shabby to pull two players in the trenches on a holiday weekend. Oklahoma is starting to gain momentum after dropping to No. 22 recently in 247Sports composite team rankings. OU is now inside the top 10 in the updated team rankings.

Derrick Moore’s Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247 4 48 1 10
Rivals 4 165 3 14
ESPN 4 25 1 4
247 Composite 4 71 3 12

Vitals

Hometown Baltimore, Maryland
Projected Position Defensive Line
Height 6-4
Weight 260

Film

Twitter

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Can Nik Bonitto build off stellar 2020 Season for the Oklahoma Sooners?

Nik Bonitto is one of the top returning players in all of college football, can he get off to a hot start in 2021?

The 2020 season was full of highlight performances from the Oklahoma Sooners. The defense experienced a breakout season in their second year under Alex Grinch’s leadership. At every level of the defense, we witnessed improved play all the way around. One player that saw a huge leap in production from the 2019 season and is poised for another big year is Rush Linebacker (edge rusher) Nik Bonitto.

Bonitto came into the 2020 season with just 3.5 sacks to his resume in 15 games played over the course of his true and redshirt freshmen seasons in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, however, his sack total jumped to nine in 10 games. That averages out to 0.9 sacks per game. For a shortened season, that’s fantastic production rushing the passer. Had the Sooners played their typical 13 games or so, that would project to 11.7 sacks in a season.

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It’s no wonder Bonitto was listed among 247Sports’ ranking of College Football’s 10 most feared defensive players. The guy is an absolute beast.

His ability to win with speed and power off the edge, play the run at a high level, and drop into coverage makes Nik Bonitto one of the most dangerous and versatile weapons in college football.

He performed well in the biggest games of the season for the Sooners. Bonitto totaled seven sacks in games against Kansas State, Texas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State (Big 12 Championship Game), and Florida (Cotton Bowl). The only big game he was kept off the sack ledge was in the first game against Iowa State. But he rebounded to come up with two sacks in the Red River Rivalry game the following week.

Alex Grinch and the Oklahoma Sooners defense will need Nik Bonitto to rise to the occasion as the premier pass rusher in college football. Expectations will continue to rise for Bonitto as the Sooners build off of an improved defensive performance. Now he’s the guy that offensive coordinators will be looking to slow down on the pass rush. As much as defensive football relies on all 11 guys doing their job, teams have to have guys that can take over a game. If the Sooners want to reach their goals of contending for and winning a national championship this season, Nik Bonitto will need to be a big part of it.