For much of the last decade-plus, questions about the Oklahoma Sooners focused on the defensive side of the ball. There was, no doubt, talent in the era following [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ departure to Clemson. However, it seldom matched the defensive units from the 2000-2010 seasons.
But that isn’t this Oklahoma Sooners team, which will head into 2024 led by its defense. There’s talent on the offensive side of the ball. A great deal of talent. At the same time, from a production and experience standpoint, the defense is the tip of the spear for the Sooners.
Ranked No. 16 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, the Sooners are a squad that will have more believers if they can answer the questions about the offense, namely [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] and the offensive line. The college football writers over at USA TODAY Sports provided an outlook for each of the top 25 teams in the US LBM Coaches Poll released Monday. Here’s what they had to say about Oklahoma.
In an unanticipated twist, there are more questions about the Sooners on offense as they transition to the SEC. QB [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] brings tremendous potential after serving as [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]’s understudy. He will be working behind an offensive line with uncertainty. On the plus side, Oklahoma has a deep receiving group with Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq and Purdue transfer Deion Burks among the standouts. Brent Venables has rebuilt the team’s defense ahead of his third year and is blessed with the return of LB [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] and DB [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] after both considered the NFL draft. It’s a deep and aggressive group at all three levels that forces turnovers. – USA TODAY Sports
The Sooners may have upgraded at quarterback, but there’s no replacement for experience. That stuff matters, especially with the slate of teams Oklahoma will play in 2024. But Brent Venables and his coaching staff have been building this team so success isn’t solely dependent on the guy who throws the football.
They have a defense that is capable of carrying the load for this team for stretches if Arnold or the offensive line falters.
The Sooners have blue-chip players capable of making splash plays in both the run and pass game at every level. That will take some of the pressure off the offense to score 40 a game for Oklahoma to win. But, if the offense takes off like it’s capable of, the Sooners could very well have an offense that puts up big numbers while the defense stifles opposing offenses.
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