Three Sooner Football Players That Should Standout vs. ULM
By Chip Rouse
Sooner football is facing a redemption game on Saturday. For visitor Louisiana-Monroe, that might be something akin to heading into the lion’s den – or the Snake Pit, which was the popular moniker used to refer to Owen Field back in the day.
Some on the sports radio talk-show circuit have said this week that if Oklahoma doesn’t roll up at least 70 points on Saturday vs. ULM, something must be seriously wrong.
I would go as far as to say the 70-point level is a valid measurement stick for what is right or wrong with OU after just one game. Clearly, though, the Sooners need to win Saturday’s game in dominant fashion and demonstrate they are still a team to be reckoned with.
After an intense week of practice, the likes of which the Sooners haven’t endured since the meltdown against Texas in last season’s annual rivalry game, it would be surprising not to see quite a bit of individual and collective improvement on both sides of the ball.
Overall, the Oklahoma performance should be considerably better. Matched up against a team that should be the least competitive of any school the Sooners will face the remainder of this season – with the possible exception of Kansas – Oklahoma can be expected to get back on schedule and do much more of what it does best: run the football, run some more and then cut up the ULM defense with a blitzkrieg of downfield air strikes.
There should be lots of game balls for Bob Stoops to hand out after this one, but I have a strong suspicion that a few Sooners will standout more than the rest.
Joe Mixon got off to a great start last weekend against Houston, scoring on a 32-yard touchdown run on Oklahoma’s first possession. And on the very next Sooner possession, the redshirt sophomore running back made a spectacular one-handed grab of a deep throw by Baker Mayfield for a 60-yard gain, setting Oklahoma up for its second score, a 25-yard field goal by Austin Seibert.
Mixon totaled 181 all-purpose yards in the game, also being utilized on kickoff returns, but he only carried the ball six times, gaining a total of 40 yards rushing on the day, as the Sooners abandoned their run game early against the Cougars. He actually caught one less pass than the total number of rushing attempts he had in the game.
Look for Mixon to tote the ball more times against ULM, and he also will likely show up with a couple of big plays in the passing game. His versatility should produce some big numbers against Louisiana-Monroe.
Jarvis Baxter caught just two passes in the Houston game. One of the receptions was an 18-yarder that would have set Oklahoma up with a first-and-ten in Houston Territory, but the senior coughed up the ball fighting for extra yards.
Baxter is one of the receivers that OU is counting on to help fill in the void left by the departure of Sterling Shepard. Look for senior junior-college transfer to redeem himself from the Houston game and be a bigger contributor on the receiving end in Saturday’s game.
Dakota Austin was repeatedly burned last weekend on deep passes by Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. Austin drew the starting assignment opposite cornerback Ahmad Thomas, but experienced all kinds of trouble covering the Houston receivers, and Ward took him to school.
Austin was pulled from the game in favor of freshman Parrish Cobb, who had similar troubles against the taller Houston receiving targets.
Austin had some outstanding efforts last season filling in the injured Zack Sanchez, but last Saturday he appeared to be greatly overmatched. Austin may not start against ULM, but he is sure to see action in the secondary rotation, and when he does get in the game, I believe the energy of the stadium will help him quickly forget last Saturday and make some big plays against ULM. Mark it down.