By this point in the preseason, it's been well-documented who the main players are Oklahoma is counting on to lead a major turnaround offensively and overall from the Sooners' much criticized and lamented 2024 season. But who and what are the "X factors" that could prove to have a big impact on the Sooners' ability to achieve the team's lofty goals and performance improvement for coming season?
This should be a much different look Oklahoma football team, but the Sooners are also faced with the same brutal schedule as the year before, and this season, nationally ranked Michigan has been added to the nonconference slate.
It is entirely conceivable that Oklahoma could be markedly better than a year ago, but the final record might not reflect that improvement. Head coach Brent Venables and the Sooner coaching staff believe they have plugged most of the cracks and holes that plagued the OU offensive performance in 2024, but until the games begin for real, we won't know that for sure.
Finishing off close games not just an X-factor, it's a critical success factor
The general consensus among those in the know in college football is that Oklahoma will be much better on offense in the 2025 season. And with a defense, led by the head coach himself, that should be one of the best in the SEC, if not the country, it is reasonable to conclude that the Sooners will be in a lot of close games.
As a direct result, the biggest X-factor from a team-wide perspective in the coming season is being able to finish out close games, preferably on a winning note.
On offense, the prime playmakers are expected to be John Mateer, rated the No. 1 quarterback in the Transfer Portal this offseason, and California transfer Jaydn Ott at running back. If the Sooners are able to establish an effective run game behind what is projected to be an experienced and much healthier offensive line, the implications are tremendous for a run-pass-option, dual-threat quarterback with plenty of receiving weapons.
The potential key to that effective running game is the ability of Jovantae Barnes, as an X-factor on offense, to effectively spell Ott as a one-two duo at the running back position. Barnes recorded 577 rushing yards and averaged nearly five yards per attempt last season before an injury ended his season early.
If the Sooners have a concern on defense, it would be at cornerback. OU lost some depth and experience at the cornerback position with the departure of Woodi Washington, Kani Walker and Dez Malone after last season. Eli Bowen, who showed a lot of promise as a freshman starter late last season, is expected to start at one corner spot. Redshirt junior Gentry Williams is back and healthy, and expected to be the starter on the other side of the defensive backfield in 2025.
Williams is extremely talented and possesses the physical toughness to be an outstanding cornerback for the Sooners, if only he can remain healthy. William's health and ability to stay on the field is a definite X-factor in pass defense for OU this season at the back end of the defense.
The former four-star recruit was rated by 247Sports as the No. 4 player at his position in the 2022 class. In 2023, the Tulsa native was credited with 30 total tackles, four tackles for loss and three interceptions, but he played just two games last season before suffering a season-ending injury.
Critical additions and adjustments have been made to an ailing Sooner offense that wasn't able to overcome mounting adversity during the disappointing 2024 season. The big change, of course, is a new offensive coordinator with Ben Arbuckle and new starting quarterback with Mateer, both of whom were in lockstep at Washington State before coming to Oklahoma.
But there are a lot of moving parts to an effective and efficient offense, and while it all centers around quarterback play, if the other complementary parts aren't pulling their weight, the entire machine breaks down, and that's what occurred last season.
In short order, fans will be able to see for themselves how successful Oklahoma was in addressing the myriad issues that fueled the Sooners sharp decline and ineffectiveness on offense a year ago. The one thing we know with reasonable certainty is there are always going to be surprises -- both good and bad -- along the way.
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