Oklahoma football: Line play looms as largest factor in Sooners’ success
By Chip Rouse
In the scheme of an entire Oklahoma football game, little fan attention is paid to what goes on in the trenches at the point of offensive and defensive attack. Let’s face it, that’s not what gets the adrenalin flowing and brings out the passion fans have for the game.
That may be true, but what goes on in the nose-to-nose battle between the down lineman on the line of scrimmage is often what determines the ultimate outcome of the game.
The Sooners have led the nation in total offense in back-to-back years in 2017 and ’18. Yes, having Heisman Trophy winners at quarterback in both seasons, a plethora of talented ground and aerial weapons to power a balanced offensive attack and arguably the best offensive mind in college football in Lincoln Riley calling the plays on the sidelines has been a giant factor in Oklahoma’s offensive dominance.
A complement of talented players at the skill positions is clearly a prime factor toward achieving offensive success, but without a strong contribution from the five guys on the offensive line, the full potential of the offense cannot be realized, regardless of the talent level.
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The last two seasons, Oklahoma has been blessed with one of the best O-lines in college football, and last season the Sooners were awarded the Joe Moore Award as the best offensive front line in college football. As a testament to how good the Oklahoma offensive line was a year ago, four Sooner lineman were selected in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft.
No Sooner position group lost more experience since last season than the offensive line. Only one starter, sophomore center Creed Humphrey, returns in 2019. Recognizing that this was coming, offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh has been building adding talent and building depth at the position, and that includes some talented newcomers from the 2019 recruiting class.
Oklahoma should be all right at the position. The talent is there, but it will take some time for the new group to come together as a unit, which is where the strength lies in every O-line. The longer the same group plays together, the more comfortable, competent and consistent they become. The four departed OU offensive linemen logged a combined 144 career starts.
The offensive line is responsible for protecting the quarterback on passing plays and keeping him upright long enough to find open receivers and blocking and opening holes for the running backs when the play call is for a run. When a breakdown occurs — because of a missed blocking assignment or a bull rush by more defensive players than there are blockers — the offensive flow is disrupted and often sputters, which shifts the advantage to the defense.
With Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts taking over at quarterback — the third different starting quarterback the Sooners have had in as many seasons — and most of the offensive weapons and playmakers back from the nation’s best offensive unit a year ago, the majority of experts project the Oklahoma offensive to produce at an elite level and put up big numbers again in 2019.
That largely depends, of course, on how well the newly constructed offensive line performs. Other than the quarterback, the offensive line is the one element of the OU offense that is much different from what it has been the past two seasons.
While the Sooner offense has been outstanding in the four seasons that Riley has been at Oklahoma, the same cannot be said for the defense. It is a good thing that the Sooners put plenty of points on the scoreboard because they also give up plenty, with a defense that hasn’t been able to stop anybody the past couple of seasons.
The Sooners return three defensive line starters from a year ago. Seniors Neville Gallimore and Kenneth Mann and Ronnie Perkins have 44 career starts between them.
The secondary has been object of much of the criticism, but to be perfectly candid, had the defensive line done a better job of putting pressure on and disrupting opposing quarterbacks, it would have created less stress and pressure on the back end of the defense and probably fewer big pass plays.
"“One great defensive lineman can change the game like no other,” Riley said early in training camp this month. “In the Alabama game last year (for example), Quinnen Williams, although he only ended up having two tackles and no stat line at all, he completely changed the game. He made things a lot more difficult and things that we had to do around him.”"
Like with the offense, much of the defensive execution starts with how the defensive front wins it battle in the trenches at the initial point of contact. If the offensive line combatants are able to outmuscle or out maneuver their counterparts on the defensive line, it’s advantage offense. And if the opposite is true, the advantage shifts to the defense.
This head-to-head battle upfront takes place as many as 70-80 different times in the course of a game. It’s rarely the most closely monitored or talked about aspect of a game, but more often than not the team that wins the battle between the offensive and defensive lines is the one that wins the game.