Despite turning to a slew of freshman to lead the charge Oklahoma is still putting up offensive numbers at an elite level. If history holds true the Sooners are going to need every single one of those numbers to come home from Lubbock, Texas on a three-game winning streak.
Spencer Rattler and company are averaging just over 500 yards of offense and nearly 40 points per game this season. When it comes to playing Texas Tech the Sooners have scored at least 38 points in each of their last 10
games against the Red Raiders. That is good for the second-longest streak against an opponent in school history and the longest against an opponent in the modern era (OU scored at least 38 points in 11 straight games against Kingfisher College from 1908 through 1919).
Thirty is the number to key on though. The Sooners are 8-0 in Lubbock when scoring 30 points or more and they are 0-4 when they score less that 30 points. It can’t get more simple than that!
Protect the ball
Oklahoma has yet to score less than 30 points in a game this season and they’re facing a defense that allows opponents to score 32 points on average. Everything seems to be trending in Oklahoma’s favor here and the only thing that could stand in the way would be turnovers. Since the second half of the Texas game the Sooners have played turnover-free football (6 consecutive quarters without one) and that’s a trend that you would very much want to see continue. This is legitimately a situation where and interception of fumble is equivalent to taking points off the board.
Run the ball
In the last two games the Sooners have run the ball 100 times. They attacked Texas on the ground 55 times and then went at TCU 45 times. The result has been T.J. Pledger recording back-to-back one hundred yard games and Spencer Rattler seeming more poised and in comfortable in the pocket. These two things go hand-in-hand as a successful rushing attack opens the complete playbook for Lincoln Riley.
Take advantage of opportunities to stretch the field
This week we detailed how Oklahoma’s success on the ground against TCU provided opportunities for Rattler to go vertical in the passing attack. It’s a simple concept as the safeties creep forward to support the run that you take shots over the top when receivers draw one-on-one coverage.
I would expect the Sooners to keep the same plan of attack this week against a defense that surrenders 337 yards per game through the air and 149 on the ground. I would also expect to see a new wrinkle with it though, like running Marvin Mims deep and then someone underneath him on a deep drag or skinny post.
Those are my thoughts for Oklahoma’s offense. Feel free to share yours in the comments section below.
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