Oklahoma football: Sooner defense looking good, but how real is it?
By Chip Rouse
Among the positive changes we’ve seen from this Oklahoma football team two games into the 2023 season is a defense that is playing with more confidence, more speed and physicality and more aggressive to the ball than a year ago.
The Sooners head out on the road to Tulsa this weekend for the first time in the 2023 season, having allowed just 11 points in the first two contests sixth best in the country), 4.5 yards per play, (32nd among FBS teams) and an average of 287.5 yards per game (35th best nationally).
Those are all highly impressive and encouraging numbers compared to Oklahoma’s defensive numbers at the end of last season. The Sooners finished the 2022 campaign 99th in the country in scoring defense and a deplorable 122nd out of 131 FBS teams in total defense, allowing 461 yards per game.
There’s no question the 2023 Sooner defense has looked much better than a year ago, but two games does not a season make nor can you solve all the defensive issues that have plagued Oklahoma football for nearly a decade in one offseason.
Defensive coordinator Ted Roof knows that as well, and he doesn’t want Sooner fans to jump to conclusions just yet.
"“It’s still too early to tell how good of a defense this team will be in 2023,” Roof said during his weekly press briefing on Monday.“Those numbers are sure to change as the season goes on and the competition gets tougher,” he said."
The one thing he does know is different about this season’s defensive unit, he said, is the competitive depth.
"“You look at depth, competitive depth,” Roof said. “We’re just starting out, and by no means are we a finished product, and we have arrived. “We’re just a work in progress that’s going to grind every day. It’s all about incremental improvement.“We’ve got to get better because we left some plays out on the field the other night (vs. SMU). Some situations where we had opportunities to get off the field, and we didn’t.”"
The tougher games are just ahead when OU begins its farewell journey through the Big 12 Conference, starting with a road trip to Cincinnati the week after this one. Only then will we have a true read on how much better this year’s defense is over past seasons.
The real test will come when OU and Texas meet in the annual Red River Rivalry game on Oct. 7. rolled up 34 points and 454 yards of total offense in beating No. 3 Alabama in Tuscaloosa last weekend. Seventy-eight percent of that yardage, or 354 yards, came through the air. The Longhorns also forced two Alabama turnovers.
So pump the brakes a little on any excitement over improved Oklahoma defensive play. After all, the Sooners’ have a relatively easy nonconference schedule in comparison to past seasons. It’s also pertinent to point out that OU’s defensive numbers after the first two games last season weren’t that different compared to this season. OU was averaging 8.0 points and 305 yards of total offense after wins over UTEP and Kent State to start the season a year ago.
Oklahoma plays at Tulsa this weekend to wrap up the nonconference portion of the schedule. The Golden Hurricane are 1-1 on the season with a 42-7 win over Arkansas Pine Bluff and a 43-10 loss to No. 8 Washington last weekend. They average 26.0 points a game after two games and 417 yards of offense.