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Oklahoma football: Sooners’ 2022 numbers tell somber story of the season

By Chip Rouse

Sep 10, 2022; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Justin Harrington (37) and Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Damond Harmon (17) lead the team onto the field before the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2022; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Justin Harrington (37) and Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Damond Harmon (17) lead the team onto the field before the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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A legendary NFL head coach once said, “You are what your record says you are,” and the Oklahoma football record in the 2022 season says the Sooners have seen much better days.

The Sooners finished 2022 under new head coach Brent Venables with a highly uncharacteristic six wins, the fewest by an Oklahoma football team since the 1998 season, when an OU team coached by John Blake went 5-6. Blake was fired after that season and replaced by Bob Stoops.

Although the numbers didn’t quite go Oklahoma’s way for much of the 2022 season, one number that does send notice that brighter days are ahead is the Sooners’ top-five 2023 signing class that includes three five-star prospects, eight players in the ESPN Top 100 and 13 in the ESPN Top 300.

Since OU’s 2000 national championship season, the Sooners have finished outside of the final Associated Press Top-25 rankings just three times (2009, 2014 and now 2022).

What follows is a short summary of some of the numbers that tell the story of the 2023 Oklahoma football season:

5 — Number of times in Oklahoma’s 128 years of varsity football that the Sooners have lost as many as seven games in a season.

66.5 — Four different Oklahoma receivers (Marvin Mims, Brayden Willis, Eric Gray and Theo Wease) accounted for 66.5 percent of the receiving yards by the Sooners in the 2022 season. None of the four will return for the 2023 season.

87.0 — Dillon Gabriel’s offensive ranking for the 2022 season, according to Pro Football Focus. That ranks first among Big 12 quarterbacks and 20th nationally among FBS quarterbacks.

499 — Pass attempts by Oklahoma’s opponents in the 2022 season. Only twice in the last 37 seasons (since 1937) have there been more passes attempted against the Oklahoma defense.

582 — Running plays by Oklahoma this season, which represented almost 60 percent of the Sooners offense. The 582 rushing attempts were 10th most in the country.

2,437 — Rushing yards allowed by the OU defense in the 2022 season. In the last 81 seasons, only the 2012 Oklahoma defense has given up more yards on the ground in a full season. Oklahoma ranked 106th out of 131 FBS teams this season in rushing defense.

3,590 — Passing yards allowed by OU in 2022. 12th worst among FBS teams.

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