No, Oklahoma is not an air raid. It’s a power raid. And for good reason.
Lincoln Riley did something in 2019 that he hasn’t ever done outside of one extreme circumstance on the road at Iowa State in 2016. He ran it against Oklahoma State and ran it a lot—like, 26 times out of 33 plays in the second half against the Cowboys.
The run game is something that Oklahoma sees as not just important, but mandatory for the Sooners to do in Bedlam.
“I believe it’s very important and I think my o-line is ready for that,” said starting running back Rhamondre Stevenson. “So, I don’t really have much to say on that. But I think we’re ready for that. It’s going to be mandatory that we run the ball well.”
It’s jumping to a conclusion to think that Riley thought they could out-physical Oklahoma State a year ago. It’s reasonable to think that, as well it is to think he had a schematic advantage.
Among Oklahoma’s running game, it’s the patented counter from a combination of two between the guard, tackle or H-Back. A play that requires trust, patience and acceleration from a running back.
“Yeah, it takes a little time, because you have too be patient or it doesn’t work,” Stevenson said. “You have to be patient. You have to hit the hole. There’s a lot of things that play into that, but it takes time to get used to. It’s a very great play to run.”
It’s the Sooners’ bread and butter. In the second half against Oklahoma State, Riley at one time ran the play three-straight times. He ran it at least eight times of the 26 runs in that second half.
It was death by the counter.
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Some of the success came from a light box Oklahoma was going up against. The other was the Sooners being able to run this exceptionally well despite not doing the counter that great for much of 2019.
Here is how Oklahoma State lined up against a tight end or H-Back on the line of scrimmage against West Virginia:
Then Iowa State:
Iowa State ran the counter twice. The first didn’t go so well.
The second went really, really well.
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Oklahoma has not been the running ball well for much of 2020.
The Sooners were fifth in yards per rush in 2019 at 5.8 yards per rush. They are currently 62nd in 2020 with 4.3 yards per rush.
The biggest difference is the return of Stevenson. He’s clearly Oklahoma’s best running back and more than likely going to be factor for some NFL team when his time comes.
The Sooners have also started to run their counter a lot better. A lot better. That can be attributed to Stevenson and this offensive line becoming more of a cohesive unit.
And now, they’ll have to do it against stiff Oklahoma State defense. A defense that is just allowing 3.7 yards a rush in 2020.
Oklahoma and the Cowboys kick off Bedlam at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
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