The S-factor – otherwise known as the Super Sooners’ law firm-like combination of Shepard-Striker-Sanchez and, if you’d like, we can throw in one more in Samaje (as in Perine) for extra measure – will have a huge impact on what kind of season the OU football Sooners have in 2015.
All three players were All-Big 12 First Team selections last season: Sterling Shepard at wide receiver, Eric Striker at linebacker and Zack Sanchez as a defensive cornerback.
Oct 11, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Malcolm Brown (28) runs with the ball against Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Eric Striker (19) during the Red River showdown at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
While you can argue that quarterback is the most important position on any elite football team, if Oklahoma is to defy the lower-than-usual expectations that the college football experts have placed upon them for this season, it will be largely attributable to the overall play of the three aforementioned players.
Head coach Bob Stoops is counting on a standout season from all three. Shepard and Striker are playing their final seasons in a Sooner uniform. Sanchez is only a junior, but he too could be gone after this season if he elects to forego his final year and try his luck in the 2016 NFL draft.
Samaje Perine is already being talked about as a potential Heisman candidate on the heels of his record-setting freshman season as the Big 12’s leading rusher a year ago. The bruising, 240-pound running back is certain to play an integral part in whatever success the Sooners achieve in the coming season, but that role will be secondary, even supplementary, in my view, to the critical contributions that will rest on the shoulders of the Shepard-Striker-Sanchez three-way strike force.
Who do you see as having – or needs to have – the better year among Shepard, Striker and Sanchez for the Sooners to seriously contend for the Big 12 crown and again reach double digits in the win column in the forthcoming campaign?
Oct 4, 2014; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners receiver Sterling Shepard (3) makes a catch against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Shepard, as the lone offensive player of the trio, owns the lead role on the receiving end of new offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley’s “Air Raid,” spread-the field, quick-strike pass attack that Stoops & Co. are installing back in the playbook this season. If the senior receiver can stay healthy, the Sooners will boast one of the best receiving weapons in the Big 12 if not the entire country. He is a sure-handed receiver with excellent speed and a genuine big-play threat, but he can’t be asked to do it alone.
Once Shepard went down with a groin injury in OU’s eighth game last season. the Sooner passing game virtually went into hibernation, leaving the offense very one dimensional. OU has changed its offensive scheme to partially help compensate against something similar happening in 2015, but the Sooners also believe the complement of receivers that they will surround Shepard with represent a marked improvement over what they had on the field last season.
No question that the better the quarterback play is and the better the receivers are around the All-American candidate Shepard, the bigger the offensive threat and the better Shepard will be in the coming season.
The Big 12 features several of the most balanced, high-powered offensive teams in the country. In fact, when TCU hosts Baylor this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if the combined total score exceeded 140 points. You’re not going to beat those two top-10-rated teams by trying to outscore them. The only way to beat those offensive juggernauts is to be able to get stops, force them to drive the length of the field to score and limit the scoring opportunities they have.
This is why I believe Oklahoma’s best chance for success this season lies on the defensive side of the ball. Sanchez tied for second in the Big 12 with six interceptions last season, but the Sooners were burned on the back end more times than not by the many big-play aerial attacks that exist throughout the Big 12. OU went from best in the Big 12 in defending against the pass in 2013 all the way down to next to worst in 2014, giving up 276 passing yards a game, over 60 more per game than the year before and the most in program history.
Sep 13, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Zack Sanchez (15) deflects a pass intended for Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Marquez North (8)during the game at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Sanchez, one of the best in the conference at his position, is the anchor at the back end of the Sooner defense, and he typically draws the opponent’s No. 1 receiver in pass coverage. But that is a problem when you go up against most of the teams in the Big 12 that have multiple talented receiving targets. The Sooner pass defense is only as good as its weakest link, and after Sanchez, the quality of the OU secondary play drops off markedly, or at least that was the tale of the tape last season.
With a year of game experience to take to the bank, the young Sooner secondary is expected to be much better in 2015. While it may be true that a rising tide lifts all boats, the fact remains that Sanchez, as talented as he is, cannot do it alone. If the Sooners’ best secondary player is able to have an even better performance year than his first two seasons in an OU uniform, it will most likely be a result of all-around improved play in the defensive secondary.
With all of the high-octane pass blitzkriegs that make Big 12 football scores look more like basketball season, the best weapon against such offensive machines is to disrupt the rhythm and comfort of the quarterback. That is accomplished through a strong pass rush that puts defenders in the face of the quarterback.
Striker had a career high in quarterback sacks (9) and tackles for loss (17) last season. He should get even more opportunities to cause havoc on opposing QBs this season with the Sooners reportedly moving from a 3-4 front-seven alignment to a 4-3 defense. Striker will be joined at the linebacker position by junior Dominique Alexander and senior Frank Shannon to form one of the Big 12’s best linebacker units.
The linebackers represent the strength of the Oklahoma defense and Striker is the best of the Sooner linebacking corps.
Pressure on the quarterback is the best and surest way to disrupt and counteract a strong passing game, and that is Striker’s specialty. He is one of the best in the college game at getting to the quarterback. The more attention Striker draws from opponents, the better the chance that someone else on the Sooner defense will come through with a big defensive stop.
That is why Striker’s ability to have another career year to cap his four seasons at Oklahoma is arguably the most significant individual success factor if the Sooners are to succeed in 2015 in proving their critics wrong.
The S-factor. It’s all synonymous with Sooner Success in 2015.