The Bad: The offensive line play
Though a lot of attention has been paid to the quarterback position, rightfully so, the Sooners offense under Lincoln Riley has been built on the foundation of good to great offensive line play. Unfortunately for the 2021 Oklahoma Sooners, that doesn’t seem to be the case this season.
Granted, the defensive front the Sooners played on Saturday was good, and the offensive line inconsistencies have led to a struggling offense.
They could only muster two yards per carry against the Mountaineers, and Spencer Rattler was sacked four times. It’s becoming a regular occurrence to see Rattler under pressure, and as the stats bear out, Rattler under pressure is an average quarterback.
On Saturday, he was under pressure on 26.8% of his dropbacks and completed just 3 of 6 for 14 yards.
The Sooners offensive line has to be better moving forward. It won’t be until the playoffs if they’re able to make it, that they’ll see a defensive interior as good as the Mountaineers provided. Iowa State, Baylor, TCU, and Texas each have players along the defensive front that will cause problems for the Sooners offensive line.
It’s time to find a group that they can live with, so they can begin building continuity and cohesion along the offensive line.