Defensive deviation
OU has not used a 4-3 defense much in the first two games of the season.
NORMAN—With Ohio State facing first-andgoal at the 7-yard line early in the third quarter, Oklahoma came out of a replay review with three down linemen.
D.J. Ward, Marquise Overton and Du’Vonta Lampkin were up front. Linebackers Caleb Kelly and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo crept toward the line of scrimmage to control the edges as the Buckeyes threatened so close to the goal line.
On second down, same look.
Then on third down, Kelly was lined up to
cover a receiver out wide while Okoronkwo initially crept toward the line of scrimmage before dropping back in coverage.
All offseason, much of the talk about Oklahoma’s defense centered on its move to the four-man front.
But through two games the Sooners have rarely used the 4-3, instead staying primarily in a 3-4 defense that structurally is very similar to the defense Oklahoma has played in recent seasons.
“We were going to use whatever was working the best,” Okoronkwo said. “We mixed in some four. The odd was working really well. We liked it, kept going with it. It worked.”
That much is clear. The Sooners’ defense, which allowed 432 yards per game a year ago, is No. 18 in the country in total defense through the first two games. Oklahoma has allowed an average of just 258.5 yards in wins over UTEP and Ohio State and has given up just two touchdowns.
Against the Buckeyes, Kelly and Okoronkwo helped the Sooners match up with Ohio State’s physicality on the other side.
“It just allowed us to play big,” Okoronkwo said. “Caleb, me and then three other linemen opposed to the four of us and the nickel (with) bigger bodies being on the other side of the line of scrimmage.”
But even though the Sooners haven’t shown much 4-3 yet, Sooners defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said there
still will be plenty of opportunity to use a different look.
“We want to be multiple, I think is what we want to do,” Stoops said. “We felt in that game that they liked even fronts and that’s what we thought going into that game and watching a history of them. We thought the other front would give us a better chance.”
And while plenty of games might require adjustments early as opponents try to use different tactics than what they’ve shown on film, Stoops hasn’t had to make
many adjustments the first two weeks.
“The plays went about like how we thought they would go, how they would block them,” Stoops said. “Everything kind of went like we thought it would go. I wish we’d played a couple plays a lot different, but the ball went where we thought it would go.”
For OU coach Lincoln Riley, the improvement on that side of the ball is based more on how Stoops and the other defensive assistants have handled their players rather than the alignments they’re using.
“I think more the mentality
of the group now is the biggest thing that’s stood out—the mentality and the leadership,” Riley said. “Our scheme last year was good. Our scheme this year is good. Everybody has good schemes. Mike and them do a great job, but they’ve done an even better job this year with our guys’ heads, making sure that we’re in the right frame to play great team defense and to play the type of defense that this university has been known for for a long time.
“We have a group that takes it personal right now.”