Oklahoma football: What Oklahoma has to do to bounce back at TCU

Oklahoma football just suffered its first loss of the season, but as we have seen over the years, a loss can be an opportunity to reset and re-evaluate yourself. Figure out what went wrong, and make your weaknesses strengths. The Sooners showed a few weak spots in their loss to Kansas State, and here are the three things they must do to bounce back stronger than ever.

Start fast

The Sooners have started slowly in each of their last three games. Nebraska, Kent State, and Kansas State all had first blood in those match-ups. Kansas State took a 14-point lead to start things out, and the Sooners lost the game by just seven. The start is impactful, and not just for obvious reasons like a scoring differential at the end. Starting quickly helps with the momentum of the game and on the road to help control the crowd. Sure, against Nebraska, Oklahoma went on to score a bunch. Still, two of the first three drives OU punted, and Gabriel scoring on a 3rd and long is awesome but also shows the type of situations Oklahoma has put themselves in early on. If Oklahoma can start quickly, they can take charge of the pace the game is played at. Also, with the type of offense the Sooners employ, three-and-outs can stack up, so it’s important to get a lead to play with.

Tackle better and take better angles

I am glad I wasn’t in the film room this week, that was a tough watch from my computer. Oklahoma missed a ton of tackles they were in position to make last week. Some were bad angles, others were gap integrity issues, and some were just bad technique. You also have to credit the Wildcats because they were playing quality football and have shifty players who are difficult to tackle. But at the end of the day, the story is more about what the Sooners could have done and did not accomplish in that game. The Sooners need to re-establish the identity they had through the first few weeks, gang tackling and being in the right spot. This isn’t something that’s opponent reliant, you can do your job, swarm, and tackle. That is a personality trait more than a physical one, and let’s hope last week was the anomaly. If not, the TCU QBs can really wiggle in space, whether it’s Chandler Morris or Max Duggan.

Clean up unforced miscues like missed throws and penalties

Coaches always preach to control the controllable. The Sooners did not do that last week. Pre-snap penalties, missing wide open guys, among other failed assignments. The Sooners cashed in just three points in back-to-back drives where Eric Gray rushed for over 90 yards. How does that happen? Missing a wide-open WR on 4th and 3, false starting on 4th & 1 in plus territory. If you want to win in football, you have to get out of your own way. Don’t get me started on the first-half miss of a wide-open Drake Stoops for a would-be-touchdown. The Sooners never had the lead in the game and had the connected there; they likely would have. That could’ve changed the complexion of the contest.