Sizing up 2016 Oklahoma Football: From A to Z
By Chip Rouse
Seven games into the 2016 season, the status of Oklahoma football is alive and well.
Four consecutive conference wins can do that for you, especially after losing two of your first three games to begin the new season, and in fairly decisive fashion.
The Sooners can still make good in this season, at least in the hearts and minds of the passionate and perfectionist Oklahoma fan base, but the margin for error is paper thin.
This is an unusual season for Oklahoma football. The offense is as balanced and prolific as it has ever been in the Big 12 era. The defense, on the other hand, is having all kinds of problems, something you would not expect from a defensive-minded coach like Bob Stoops.
Throughout most of Stoops’ 18 seasons as the Sooners head coach, Oklahoma’s best years have been underscored by a aggressive and opportunistic defensive play.
So far this season, the Sooners have an offense that can move the ball on the best of defenses and can score practically at will, yet their inability to stop anybody has them 117th nationally in total defense and looking up at every other FBS team in the country in that category.
Needless to say, you cannot expect the offense to win games on its own. You are not going to score every time you get the ball. You have to be able to prevent your opponent from scoring or even putting you in poor field position. This is something that has been a major sinkhole for this team this season.
The Sooners are a very respectable 5-2 through seven games, but the season has been an emotional roller coaster, even in Oklahoma’s victories. You get excited and feel good after every Sooner touchdown, but only for a brief time. Because when the opponent gets the ball on the change of possession, you hold your breath hoping something good might happen on defense but with declining faith that it will.
Up and down it goes…not a particularly comfortable feeling for a team that aspires to exert its will and win a 10th Big 12 title.
In some ways it has been the best of times and, in others, the worst of times for Oklahoma football in 2016. We’ve broken it down alphabetically for you:
A – Tight end Mark Andrews has been bruised, battered, knocked down and helped to the sidelines in several games this season, but the 6-5 sophomore still has 18 catches for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns.
B – The showdown with Baylor on Nov. 12 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium could be the defining game in the Sooners’ 2016 season.
C – Baker Mayfield’s career pass completion percentage in 20 games at Oklahoma is 69.2. That ranks No. 1 all-time among Sooner quarterbacks.
D – The Sooners defenseless defense has gone from first to worst in the Big 12 in one season. Were it not for OU’s high-scoring, dual-threat offense, the Sooners might be looking at five or six losses right now with five games remaining.
E – Oklahoma has reached the end zone 41 times this season (26 passing, 14 passing and one punt return). Forty-one of the Sooners’ 48 scoring opportunities have been touchdowns.
F – Fullback Dimitri Flowers has six pass receptions this season, two of which have been for touchdowns.
G – Six-foot, five-inch Dahu Green caught his first pass of the season – a 51-yard reception – in the win over Texas. He made his second reception in 2016 Saturday night, a 34-yard grab, against Texas Tech. The Sooners are hoping for bigger things from this tall, long-armed receiving target going forward.
H – One game past the halfway mark of the season, Oklahoma leads the Big 12 with a 4-0 record in conference play.
I – Oklahoma was second in the Big 12 last season with 20 pass interceptions. The Sooners are far off that mark this season, tied for last in the conference with just three picks after seven games.
J – Junior cornerback Jordan Thomas leads the Sooners and the Big 12 in pass defense. He is credited with 11 pass break-ups, nearly twice as his closest challenger in that category.
K – The Sooners finally broke the winning streak by the road team in the Kansas State series. The last five years before this one, the road team won every game in this series. Oklahoma was the host this season, and the Sooners prevailed 38-17.
L – A year ago, Oklahoma had the No. 1 pass defense in the Big 12. This week the Sooners are ranked dead last in the conference and 128th in the nation, giving up and average of 342 passing yards every game.
M – The M and M boys – Baker Mayfield and Joe Mixon – have been a major part of the Oklahoma offense this season. Mayfield is first in the Big 12 in passing efficiency and second in passing yards and passing touchdowns, and Mixon is second in the conference with 739 rushing yards and a Big 12-best nearly seven yards per carry.
N – So far this season, Oklahoma has gone from No. 3 in the national rankings to begin the season, to No. 14, to No. 25, out of the top 25, to No. 20, to No. 19 and up to No. 16, all in the course of eight weeks.
O – Linebacker Ogbonnia “Obo” Okoronkwo has been a beast on defense and a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks. He is third on the team with 42 tackles and owns a team-high seven sacks in addition to five quarterback hurries.
P – Samaje Perine has been nursing some injury issues this season, but he did manage to reel off 214 rushing yards in the win over Texas. That was the fifth time in three seasons that he has gone over the 200-yard mark on the ground.
Q – The Sooners’ biggest scoring quarter this season has been the second quarter. OU has outscored its opponents 100-74 in the second quarter. The fourth quarter has been the Sooners least productive quarter, with opponents outscoring Oklahoma 66-55 over the final 15 minutes.
R – The Sooner offense has been successful in 89 percent of its Red Zone opportunities in 2016. That ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 40th in the nation.
S – Austin Seibert missed an extra point after OU’s first touchdown Saturday night against Texas Tech. That was the first one he had missed in 30 previous attempts in 2016. He connected on his final eight point-after kicks after missing the first one last Saturday.
T -Inside linebacker Jordan Evans has a team-high 54 tackles, and six for a loss, through seven games. His 54 tackles are fourth best in the Big 12.
U – The Sooners are undefeated in Big 12 play, a perfect 4-0 for the first time since the 2004 season.
V – Oklahoma has been victorious in 116 regular-season Big 12 games in the 21 seasons the conference has been in existence. That is 14 more victories in conference play than the next best team (Texas with 102 wins). The Sooners also have more victories (621) since the end of World War II than any other team in college football, as well as the best winning percentage (.762) during that period of time.
W – In his last four games alone, Dede Westbrook has 35 pass receptions for 866 yards and 10 touchdowns. Moreover, he has average 22 yards per catch in the Sooners four Big 12 wins. The senior wide receiver had no touchdown catches in the first three games this season.
X – The X-factor in Oklahoma’s prolific offensive display this season (572 yards per game, third best in the nation) has been the stellar play of the offensive line. Despite having to make adjustments due to injuries, the patchwork O-line has risen to the challenge. The group has been playing so well together that Jonathan Alvarez was not able to get his starter’s job back when he returned from injury.
Y – Dede Westbrook is averaging 17.9 yards per reception (54) this season. His 930 receiving yards ranks 4th among all FBS players this season.
Z – The last time Oklahoma had zero conference losses after four games was in 2004.