As we head towards Saturday’s Big 12 opener for the Texas Tech football team, let’s look at some of the key Oklahoma defensive players that the Red Raiders will have to contend with.
No team in the nation has been more criticized and mocked for its lack of defense in the last two decades than the Texas Tech football program. While that’s been warranted, it seems like the Oklahoma Sooners have largely been in the same place on that side of the ball in recent years but have had the nation’s most elite offense to make up the difference thus avoiding the same level of ridicule.
Last season, OU ranked No. 114 in the nation and last in the Big 12 in total defense by allowing 453.8 yards per game. That was five more yards per game than the Red Raiders allowed.
In 2017, the Sooners were better but still ranked in the bottom half of teams in the nation at No. 67. Giving up just shy of 400 yards per game was certainly a far cry from the heyday of the Bob Stoops era when OU was synonymous with defense.
So to address his program’s fatal flaw, Lincoln Riley sent former Texas Tech DC Ruffin McNeil (who took over as interim OU defensive coordinator in the middle of last season) packing and brought in Alex Grinch from Ohio State.
Prior to 2018, Grinch was the defensive coordinator at Washington State from 2015-17 where he learned how to build a defense to complement an extreme passing offense. The 38-year-old is a three-time nominee for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation’s best assistant coach so expectations for him are high in Norman.
But to field the type of defense that can help the Sooners get back to the top of the college football mountain, Grinch will have to work wonders. It’s not that he shouldn’t be able to attract top talent to OU, it’s that he’s trying to build a championship-level defense in the nation’s best offensive conference, something no team has managed to do in quite some time.
Many expect the defensive rebuild in Norman to take at least two seasons. But the early returns have been good, even if the competition has not.
Through three games, the Sooner defense ranks No. 53 in the nation in total defense. They are giving up 352.7 yards per game, over 100 fewer than in 2018.
Perhaps more importantly, Riley’s team sits at No. 36 overall in scoring defense by giving up just 19.7 points per game. Thus far, no opponent has topped the 31 points Houston scored on the Sooners in week one. Since then, both South Dakota and UCLA have scored 14 points on the revamped OU defense.
Interestingly, the Sooners and the Red Raiders have had similar schedules in the sense that both have played one elite offense, one putrid offense, and one FCS team. Taking a look at how each fared against their two FBS opponents is interesting.
Against, what has been a high-powered Houston offense and UCLA, which has a rather suspect offense (at least before last week’s incredible second-half against Washington State), OU gave up an average of 304.5 yards and 22.5 points.
Meanwhile, Tech surrendered an average of 315 yards and 15.5 points against the explosive Arizona Wildcats and the offensively impotent UTEP Miners. In other words, both defenses have been similarly solid against competition that is for the most part equal.
Of course, the task facing Grinch’s defense this week is much less daunting than the challenge awaiting Tech’s defense. The Sooners have the luxury of playing Tech in its first game this season without Alan Bowman meaning the two QBs OU must stop on Saturday have attempted a combined three passes thus far. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders will have to find a way to slow down Sooner QB Jalen Hurts, a leading Heisman Trophy contender.
Still, Sooner fans are likely looking forward to finding out just how their new-look defense will measure up in Big 12 play. Let’s take a look at three of the stars that will be leading the way on the side of the ball that has been OU’s Achilles’ Heel in recent seasons.