Missouri State at #5 Oklahoma
In his time in Norman head coach Lincoln Riley has delivered a 36-6 record and three-straight trips to the College Football Playoff. Two of his quarterbacks secured Heisman Trophy wins (and first-overall selections) in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, while last season Jalen Hurts finished second, and was drafted in the second round.
However, in each year the Oklahoma Sooners lost in the semifinals, and the school still has not won a National Title since 2000.
Could that change in 2020? It starts with a new face at quarterback, as either Pencer Rattler or Tanner Mordecai will be the triggerman for Riley’s offense. Ratter is a former five-star recruit and the top quarterback prospect in the country, while Mordecai redshirted in 2018 and was the primary backup last year. When LSU blew out the Sooners in the playoffs last year, it was Rattler who came in after Hurts gave way.
Beyond the quarterback position, Oklahoma is loaded with returning starters on both sides of the ball. All five offensive lineman from last season return, including center Creed Humphrey who might be the top interior offensive lineman in next year’s draft. There might be a question at left tackle, where senior Erick Swenson, last year’s starter, is looking to hold off redshirt fresham Stacey Wilkins. Wilkins played well in five games last year as a freshman but retained his redshirt status. Running back Trey Sermon is gone, having transferred to Ohio State, but Kennedy Brooks ran for over 1,000 yards a season ago. CeeDee Lamb is also gone, but Charleston Rambo can be a factor as a receiver.
Defensively, it starts in the secondary. The Sooners return four starters from a year ago, including safeties Pat Fields and Delarrin Turner-Yell, cornerback Tre Brown and slot corner Brendan Radley-Hiles. Tre Norwood, a junior, is expected to be the other corner opposite Brown. While Oklahoma lost talented linebacker Kenneth Murray to the Los Angeles Chargers in the first round of this past draft, they do return outside ‘backer Nik Bonitto and middle linebacker DaShaun White, who was the team’s fourth-leading tackler a year ago.
While the Missouri Valley Football Conference announced a switch to the spring, Missouri State decided to keep two games on their fall calendar: A late September game against Central Arkansas, and this meeting with the Sooners. The fact that the cancellation of this game would mean a loss of a $600,000 guaranteed payment from Oklahoma to Missouri State probably factored into the decision…
The biggest name for the Bears? New head coach Bobby Petrino. The longtime coach’s career has been marked by scandals and misconduct and included stops in both the NFL and a few different college teams, but he returns to college football to coach a team that finished 1-10 last year and averaged just 15.5 points per game, ranking 120th out of 124 FCS teams. The Bears have big improvements to make on both sides of the football, although defensive end Kevin Ellis is a solid player up front. Wide receiver Damoriea Vick is also talented, and he was second on the team in receptions last year with 39.
Matchup to watch: Two different matchups standout. Ellis versus the winner of the left tackle battle (either Swenson or Wilkins) as well as Vick versus Tre Brown.
Draft prospects to watch: It starts with Humphrey, who might be the best interior offensive line prospect in the upcoming draft. Brooks will get some buzz at the running back spot, and the entire Sooners’ secondary is worth taking some notes on.
Scheme notes: Given that Riley’s offense has produced two of the past three first-overall selections, you might want to take some time to study his offensive schemes. The Sooners’ offense finds so many different ways to stress a defense. Take this quarterback run from Hurts against TCU last season. Riley pairs a potential fly sweep with an inside zone look, and those are just eye candy for the quarterback speed option that incorporates the motion receiver as the option player:
Making this play all the more fascinating is the action from the running back. On many option designs, coaches implement an “arc block” with a player, often a tight end, working to get in front of the quarterback to protect him should he keep the football. Here, when the running back does not get the handoff, he angles to the edge to lead the way for Hurts, who has the option to either keep it again or get it to the receiver on the swing. The running back blocks the force player, and the potential threat of the motion receiver occupies the safety who is running the alley. Brilliant design.