The number 17 hasn’t been a good number for the Oklahoma Sooners recently. OU hasn’t beaten a team when only scoring 17 points since the 2007 season when they downed Iowa State 17-7 in Ames.
Of the many things that Oklahoma’s two losses had in common in 2015 were the fact that in both games the Sooners only scored 17 points. OU dropped their annual rivalry game against Texas by a score of 24-17 and Clemson pounded the Sooners 37-17 in the Orange Bowl.
While many of Oklahoma’s 2015 shortcomings were exposed in those two losses the primary defect that was highlighted was the fact the the Sooners have to get bigger and stronger up front. Getting beat at the point of attack was at the forefront of both of the 2015 losses as OU was pounded in the trenches both offensively and defensively.
The return of Charles Walker (6-2/304) will be a big boost in the middle of the defense (literally) and a restructured offensive line, along with a more developed offense in general, are supposedly to be the keys on that side of the ball.
The Sooners had very few flaws in 2015 but the ones they did have were extremely significant. The two losses had a lot more in common than just the number 17 but hopefully those losses will serve as a spotlight on improvement in 2016.