Riley talks of being underdog to LSU
NORMAN — It's no secret for Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley that the Sooners are 13.5 point underdogs to LSU in the College Football Playoff semifinal Peach Bowl.
Riley talked about being an underdog against the Tigers in an interview with ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski. He was asked if he uses the underdog status as motivation for his team.
"Well we are going togo ahead and show up," Riley said with a smirk. "We'll go ahead and kick it off and see.
"Everybody is going to have their opinions on the outside. A lot of people said that we weren't going to play great defense here. A lot of people said you can't replace all of these offensive players that went to the NFL. A lot of people said you're not going to win the Big 12 this year. A lot of people said you're not going to make the playoff after you lose at Kansas State. So it's not the first time we've been told something like that, and I like how our team has responded."
Riley said quarterback Joe Burrow and LSU's offense are very good, pointing out their strength at several positions besides quarterback. Riley also said he thinks Burrow has a lot of similarities to former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The Sooners might be more prepared for their playoff matchup this year than they have been in previous years because of the quality of defenses they have played in the Big 12, Riley said.
"I do believe this is the strongest from top to bottom defensive ly that the Big 12 has been in the last several years," Riley said. "And so we're getting ready to play a really good defense with a lot of really good players, but we just went through a gauntlet of a schedule where we played a lot of really good defenses with really good players."
Hurts talks about time at Alabama, transferring and more with ESPN
Jalen Hurts isn't dwelling on his past College Football Playoff experiences as he and the Sooners get ready to take on LSU in the Peach Bowl.
The Oklahoma quarterback discussed what it is like to play in coach Lincoln Riley's offense and what he said in the tarmac meeting he called after the Sooners lost to Kansas State in an interview with ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski. And when asked about how his time at Alabama and experience in playoff games could help him in the Peach Bowl, his answer was straightforward.
"In all reality, I said this when I first came to Oklahoma," Hurts said. "Not a game that I won at Alabama, not a passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown, not anything I did at the University of Alabama is going to help us win games — help me win games — at Oklahoma."
Hurts added that he believes experience is important, but it's not something he wants to focus on.
Hurts was also asked
about his decision to transfer to Oklahoma, and — while reluctant to talk about it —he did call his situation unprecedented.
"All of it has been unprecedented," Hurts said. "The different aspects of what I did, what I went through and how I handled it will probably never happen again in college football... That's nothing you script."