Sooner questions halfway through season

NORMAN—Midway through the season, Oklahoma's offense is once again the most explosive in the country, it has found a defense that can be a big asset and for the first time since 2011 came out of its October show down with Texas undefeated.

At the halfway mark of the regular season, here's a look at five of the most pressing questions surrounding t he Sooners:

Will Jalen Hurts make it three straight?

Hurts has been fantastic through the season' s first half, with 1,758 yards and 17 touchdowns with just three interceptions as well as 630 rushing yards.

He's inserted himself into the Heisman Trophy race.

Although t here could be some voter fatigue for the Sooners after Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray won t he award, Hurts' back story at Alabama before transferring has endeared him to many not only in the SEC and Big 12 foot prints but nationally.

LSU' s Joe Bur row, Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa and Ohio State' s Justin Fields look like his primary competition.

Hurts has a chance, but he'll have to continue to put up big passing and rushing numbers — as well as keep leading the Sooners to wins — to have a shot.

Will the inside receivers make an impact?

One of the most surprising elements of the offense under Hurts so far is the absence of much contributions from tight ends/inside receivers Grant Calcaterra and Lee Morris.

The duo, which combined for 47 catches and 14 touchdowns a year ago, have just eight catches this season without a score.

Part of that has been Hurts' rushing ability, but it' s likely that those two will get chances to contribute more late in the year, especially once Calcaterra returns from an injury that will keep him out at least one more week.

Who is the best defender on this team?

Kenneth Murray was the conference' sp re season Defensive Player of the Year and has looked like it to this point, with a team-high 42 tackles and active play that covers for struggles elsewhere at times.

Up front, Neville Gallimore is on Pro Football Focus' midseason All-American team in part due to how disruptive he's been despite regularly facing double teams. On the back end, Parnell Motley and Jaden Davis have at times been near the top of analytic metrics for cornerbacks.

In recent years it has been hard to pick out more than one solid player on defense. So far, they've been all over the place for the Sooners.

Can more depth come to the secondary?

Alex Gr inch has three cornerbacks he feels very confident in and that rotation with Davis joining Motley and Tre Brown has kept all three fresh.

But safety and nickel have been a couple of the few spots where the Sooners haven't been able to rotate much. Delarrin Turner- Yell and Pat Fields are playing the vast majority of the snaps at safety with Brendan RadleyHiles at nickel.

Gr inch tried all three corner son the field at once against Texas and that look could come more often to help make up for that. But Grinch could use some more depth there.

There are few options, though. With Robert Barnes a potential redshirt candidate, Justin Broiles and Chanse Sylvie are the most likely to break through and find some more playing time.

Will the Sooners make the playoff?

Here's the big one. The Sooners could slip up once during the final six games of the season, win the Big 12 Championship Game and still find their way into the playoff, but the chances aren't great.

In the past, Oklahoma's non- conference schedule was a help in recovering from a loss.

But with UCLA and Houston struggling this season, the margin for error has shrunk.

It's likely to take an undefeated season—barring complete chaos in college football — for the Sooners to make the playoffs.