Oklahoma football: Sooner ‘D’ grading well, but real test begins with Big 12 play

The minute the Oklahoma football game with Tulsa ended, head coach Brent Venables was already turning the page to next week and the Big 12 season opener for the Sooners.

The Sooners have rolled to three convincing wins to open the 2023 schedule, outscoring their three opponents by a margin of 139 points (167-28).

Offensively, OU appears to be firing on all cylinders, which is not a huge surprise. And the defense has looked solid as well.

Although the defensive numbers have been impressive through the trio of games that make up the nonconference portion of the schedule — 9.1 points allowed per game, 80 rushing yards allowed, 209 passing yards, 289 total yards allowed, 30 percent opponent 3rd-down conversion rate and 7 takeaways gained — these stats might be deceiving.

And that definitely has the attention of Venables and defensive coordinator Ted Roof as the Sooners head into Big 12 play in Week 4.

Venables acknowledges that the Sooners aren’t where they need or want to be, but he does believe there is improvement over last season. “I do think it is different,” he said after the win at Tulsa. Will that translate to a different result? “I don’t know,” he said. “That is still to be determined. The Sooners have to stay committed to the little things.”

Statistically speaking, the total yardage allowed on defense, as well and the run and pass defense numbers are fairly comparable to the first three games last season, which was also considered a fairly easy nonconference schedule. And that’s what is concerning until we see how this year’s team performs when the competition ramps up.

There are some notable areas of improvement in defensive measures, however, over the first three games last season. One area that stands out is tackling, although Venables has indicated it’s still not where he wants it. “Too often we’re not in good position,” the OU head coach said.

Nevertheless, the Sooners missed tackles through three games are half of what they were a year ago. Last year’s defense was credited with 46 missed tackles in the first three games, according to information provided by the OU athletics department. This year that number is 23, half of which came in the Tulsa game.

Oklahoma had 15 tackles for loss against Tulsa. That is the most by this team since the 2019 Big 12 Championship game against Baylor. More than half of that total came from the defensive line (8.5). “We were more disruptive,” defensive coordinator Roof said in his weekly press conference on Monday. “I thought our guys inside were more disruptive and certainly that’s a wonderful thing.”

Thirteen different guys played in the defensive line rotation in the Tulsa game. Having that depth available allows you to keep fresh legs and bodies in the game, and it is making a difference in the games this season.

The defensive secondary also appears to have improved over last season, and it attributes a great part of that to the disruption and chaos created by the Sooners defensive front.

"“It makes our jobs a lot easier,” said freshman safety Peyton Bowen after the game on Saturday. “We don’t have to cover dudes for 5-6 seconds."

Oklahoma had five interceptions against Tulsa. That’s seven through three games and twice what they had at this time last season.

One of those interceptions on Saturday was by junior linebacker Danny Stutsman, who returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.

"“I think we’re just really playing together,” Stutsman said. “We’re really playing for each other.”"

Another Sooner linebacker, Jaren Kanak, added that because a number of the returning defensive players have been in the system for over a year, the reaction time is quicker because they don’t have to think as much about where they should be and what they should be doing in certain situations.

“When you know more about what’s going on, it’s easier to fly around and make plays and understand why things are happening,” he said.

In his weekly press conference, Venables praised the Sooners’ opponent this week, Cincinnati, calling them a tough-minded, competitive team that knows how to win and noting that the Sooners would have to be at their best to win.

Their front is very, very good,” the Sooner head coach said. “They’re experienced, battle tested and have played at a very high level for a long time.

"“This is going to be a line of scrimmage football game. both sides of the ball,” he said. “It’s going to be an exciting challenge for us. They have a three-headed monster on offense, and on defense they’ve had a high standard of success over the last several years.“It’s going to be a confident group that we line up against in Cincinnati.”"