In the hunt
The Sooners are in the hunt for a College Football Playoff berth, though it’s hard to figure out how, Berry Tramel writes.
The Sooners remain upright in their quest for a Big 12 championship and a College Football Playoff berth, though it’s hard to figure out how.
A defense more wrecked than the Mary Deare has cast a pall over Oklahoma football. Dread fills Sooner spirits these days. The world’s greatest offense might not be enough to even get to the conference title game.
OU has handled half its Big 12 schedule with relative ease, but the other half has tingled spines and bitten nails. Just in games against Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, the Sooners
have scored 19 touchdowns and allowed 19 touchdowns. Fortune has graced Lincoln Riley’s team; OU is 2-1 in those games.
That doesn’t seem sustainable. You can’t get life insurance on this team.
So in a Big 12 semifinal at West Virginia on Friday night, a tactical change is in order. Not defensively. There’s nothing to do there. They’ve blitzed, they’ve zoned. They’ve stacked, they’ve backed. They’ve fired, they’ve hired. Nothing works. There is no soap for what ails this team.
The tonic for this team is more offense. Kyler Murray and Co. have carried the Sooners to a 10-1 record and the No. 6 national ranking. Increase the burden.
It’s hard to improve on an offense averaging 6.4 touchdowns per 10 possessions in Big 12 play. But even more production is what the Sooners
need. They can’t find a way to pinch fewer points from opponents, so they must squeeze out more points themselves.
Here’s how. Twopoint conversions.
Go for two after every touchdown.
Put the pressure on opposing defenses. The only Big 12 team that knows how the OU defense feels weekly is the team unlucky enough to play against the OU offense on a given Saturday.
Murray is sensational with the ball. So snap it to him every chance you get. Why settle for an Austin Seibert extra point when odds are great that Murray can get the three yards that would provide two points?
The Sooners run it great and throw it better. Murray on the goal line is a quality decision-maker and a devastating ballhandler. Riley is a sorcerer with formations. This is a nobrainer.
“We’ve considered being more aggressive in some of those situations,” Riley admitted.
He said he’s been hesitant because Seibert is so efficient and wonders if it’s worth the risk.
But it’s simple mathematics. Score seven touchdowns, will you convert three or less 2-point conversions, or will you convert four or more? My money’s on more.
“We’ve got a good enough offense down there, it’s something we’ve planned for,” Riley said. “If we get in a game and we’ve got to go for it multiple times, I think we’re ready to. But haven’t had a situation come up yet or matchup where we felt like it was appropriate.”
That’s one of the hidden nuances of gameplanning. Having a two-point play(s) ready if needed. That would be Riley’s charge — have six or seven ready. But I’m confident he’s up to the task.
OU could pick up as many as three or four additional points per game by going for two after every touchdown. Think three or four bonus points will be valuable Friday night in Morgantown?