Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: There’s no defending OU’s defensive lapses

By Chip Rouse

NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 9: Tight end Charlie Kolar #88 of the Iowa State Cyclones catches a pass for a touchdown against safety Pat Fields #10 of the Oklahoma Sooners to trail by only the point after touchdown in the last minute of the game on November 9, 2019 at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. The Cyclones failed on a two point attempt giving the Sooners the 42-41 win. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 9: Tight end Charlie Kolar #88 of the Iowa State Cyclones catches a pass for a touchdown against safety Pat Fields #10 of the Oklahoma Sooners to trail by only the point after touchdown in the last minute of the game on November 9, 2019 at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. The Cyclones failed on a two point attempt giving the Sooners the 42-41 win. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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All of a sudden, the once highly ranked Oklahoma football team is looking very much like the Sooner teams of recent seasons: They can score plenty of points but give up almost as many on defense.

The way the Sooners have played in their past two games, they don’t deserve to be in the College Football Playoff conversation.

Berry Tramel, sports columnist for The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman hit the nail right on the head in an article addressing OU’s slim Playoff chances this season:

"“A team that can’t dominate the Big 12 has no business making a Playoff case. Only four slots are available. Only the elite need apply.”"

A seven-point loss at Kansas State in which the Sooner defense gave up 48 points, followed by what very easily could have been a second straight loss on Saturday when Iowa State torched the OU defense for 20 unanswered fourth-quarter points, only served to demonstrate what none of us wanted to believe: that this Oklahoma team probably isn’t as good as we all thought they were.

In nine games this season, the Sooners have beaten just two teams that currently have winning records (Texas and Iowa State). The OU defense played out of its mind in the Red River rivalry win over Texas, including a season-high nine sacks of Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger, and it looked much improved in the seven other OU wins this season.

But in the past two games, against K-State and Iowa State. two of the better teams in the Big 12, the defensive performance appears to have reverted back to old ways, with far too many missed tackles, blown assignments the result of miscommunication and another game with zero takeaways, when forcing more turnovers has been a major focus of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch all season.

Oklahoma had just 11 takeaways all last season. With three games remaining in the 2019 regular season, the Sooners have recorded just six takeaways and none in the last five games.

Talking in the postgame press briefing Saturday about the Sooners inability the last couple of games to get players on the ground, Grinch said:

"“(The) inability to tackle and falling down in coverage, (those are) things that can’t happen, shouldn’t happen…“We can have a good week of practice, (but) it doesn’t matter if you don’t tackle on Saturday. We’re not seeing the same urgency, intensity and obviously execution for four quarters, so we’ve got to do a better job as coaches.”"

After allowing just a little over 19 points and 326 yards per game through the first seven games, Oklahoma has given up 89 points, 903 total yards and 50 first downs in the last two games. Those defensive averages are more indicative of the worst teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

With the most difficult part of the OU schedule dead ahead over the next three weeks, if Grinch and his defensive coaches can’t find fixes to the Sooners’ physical and mental defensive struggles, and fast, Oklahoma could easily find itself finishing out the season much differently than the high aspirations it had coming into the 2019 season.

Sooner fans must also come to grips with the fact this is Grinch’s first season as the DC at Oklahoma. These are not his players. He inherited them from Mike Stoops time in the job. The OU defense has definitely shown improvement this season in Grinch’s system, but until he is able to get his players and the ones who fit best in the type of defense that he likes to play, it is unfair to point all the fingers at Grinch and expect more of a defensive improvement than this particular group is actually capable of.

Having the best offense in college football will get you only so far if the defense is not doing its part and performing at a competitive and complementary level. That’s why those in the know like to champion the time-tested cliche, “great offenses win games, but great defenses win championships.”

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