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Big 12 Preview: Oklahoma Sooners
By James Lawrence | July 1, 2008
The Sooners plowed through most of their 2007 regular season schedule, putting up fantastic numbers and leaving a trail of destroyed opponents in their wake. Of course we remember the WTF loss to Colorado. Then there was the loss to Texas Tech (without Bradford) that ended their title hopes. However, Oklahoma beat Missouri twice (the second time in convincing fashion) as well as Texas and Texas Tech, all with a frosh QB.
Of course, that all fell apart come BCS time. This has become an unfortunate trend with Oklahoma. However, the Sooners did face a West Virginia squad easily capable of beating any team in America when the trio of White, Slaton, and Devine all brought their A games. Which is what they did in the Fiesta Bowl. In short, I’m not convinced that Sam Bradford (right, Icon SMI) will be another Jason White in regards to bowl performance.
Bob Stoops is entering his 10th year at Oklahoma. He’s really built this program back into a premiere powerhouse, averaging just shy of 11 wins per season. Oklahoma employs co-offensive (Jay Norvell from Nebraska joins Kevin Wilson) and co-defensive (Brent Venables, Bobby Wright) coordinators. Since Mike Stoops took off for Arizona, this defense has had its share of problems in big games (BCS bowls in particular). The tandem of defensive coordinators may be feeling the pressure to step up their unit’s performances.
Speaking of Sam Bradford, let’s talk about the Sooners‘ passing game. Last season, Bradford completed a ridiculous 70% of his passes for 3,121 yards and a 36-8 ratio. He also held a 176.53 quarterback rating that was tops in the nation. The 36 TD passes was 5th nationally and you could argue that he was the top non-system QB last season. Obviously Tebow and Harrell are going to be putting up the league-leading numbers in 2008. Bradford’s as good as anyone else behind those two and surrounded by a lot of talent. I’d put him in the pool with the likes of Chase Daniel, Pat White, and Dan LeFevour with the idea to start him every week possible.
Last season, Demarco Murray, Allen Patrick, and Chris Brown split carries in a three-pronged rushing attack that was among the nation’s best. Allen and Murray had similar stats, with Murray having a slightly higher ypc average and 13 TDs to Patrick’s 8. Brown was clearly outperformed, and with Patrick now gone, that makes Murray the featured back with Brown providing relief. Oklahoma likes a well-balanced attack, and despite all the aerial talent, the Sooners still run the ball about 55% of the time. 1,300+ yards and 20 TDs is not unrealistic for Murray in this system.
Oklahoma loses their best wide receiver, Malcolm Kelly, for 2008. However, the 08 receiving corps is both talented and experienced. Juaquin Iglesias earned playing time on the 04 national runners-up squad (read: the team that got killed by USC) and hauled in 68 passes last season to lead the team. Tight End Jermaine Gresham was Bradford’s favorite target in the red zone, pulling in 11 TD receptions as well as being third on the team in receptions. Senior Manuel Johnson will be the “other” receiver and should improve on his 31 reception season because of the coverage that Iglesias and Gresham will draw. Unfortunately, all of the backups are very inexperienced (Oklahoma usually has the talent to put a crazy 4 WR package on the field, though they rarely go to that). This may be bad for the Sooners but good for fantasy owners of the above personnel.
No, there won’t be pancake points in fantasy leagues this season, but for Oklahoma this is worth mentioning. This offensive line figures to be among the best nationally, arguably the #1 unit in the nation. How good? Try five returning starters, all seniors. Last season this group gave up just 14 sacks and forced a 4.7 yards per carry rushing average. If you’ve got two players close on your draft board, consider picking a Sooner whose stats are less likely to be deflated by sacks and plays getting busted in the backfield. Did I mention that Big 12 defenses kind of suck this year? They do. Texas is returning just four defensive starters, and Oklahoma doesn’t face Missouri in the regular season. A&M thinks they play defense, but… well, back in Texas we kind of let the Aggies live in their own world. It’s better for everybody.
Oklahoma’s defense loses five starters, including their four leading tacklers. That’s three members of their secondary and their best player, linebacker Curtis Lofton. The defensive line is solid and ought to be able to neutralize most teams’ rushing attacks. However, in the Big 12, do you really want to give the opposition more incentive to throw? Opposing quarterbacks in 2008 include Jake Locker, Colt McCoy, Todd Reesing, and Graham Harrell. The QBs at Nebraska and OK State aren’t bad either. On the plus side, Juaquin Iglesias and Demarco Murray put up some nice return numbers last season - including two TDs by Murray. That said, Coach Stoops may elect against having his starting RB taking kickoffs. Pick this unit at your own risk.
Kicker Jimmy Stevens is a freshman but was one of the top prospects out of high school. He hit 50 FGs in HS play, which is some kind of record, and has a long of 52. On the one hand, I don’t trust freshmen kickers. On the other hand, OU’s offense is going to be one of the top-producing units in the nation which means he’s going to be kicking the ball a lot. I wouldn’t have this guy high on my draft board, but if your preferred kickers are taken, he’s a good backup plan.
Summary
Oklahoma should wind up fielding one of the top five offenses in 2008. All of their skill position starters on that side of the ball will be worth having, and Bradford and Gresham will be near the top at their positions. The non-conference schedule does include two BCS opponents. The hardest one will be the Cincinnati game which is at home where:
1) Oklahoma is 54-2 under Stoops
2) Cincinnati will be replacing ten starters including Ben Mauk at QB.
Defensively there’s a lot of uncertainty particularly considering that the Big 12 may be the best offensive conference in the nation.
Topics: Big 12, College Football, James Lawrence, Preview |
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