USA TODAY International Edition
Maligned Oklahoma defense makes big plays
This is jolting, we know, so brace yourselves. After No. 6 Oklahoma’s 59-56 victory against No. 12 West Virginia, Kyler Murray was asked about the defense.
“They came up big tonight,” he said late Friday.
And amazingly — this is hard to type, because we saw what everyone saw — the Sooners star quarterback was right.
A Big 12 shootout lived up (or down) to every nightmarish fantasy about what the high-powered offenses would do to the defenses, especially, Oklahoma’s defense, except for two very important plays.
Yes, the Sooners allowed points and yards by the bushel. Of course, they let Mountaineers receivers run free. Absolutely, Will Grier completed passes like it was flag football against middle-schoolers. It was everything you thought it could be.
But Oklahoma forced two fumbles by Grier, and returned both for touchdowns, changing momentum and, eventually, allowing the Sooners to escape.
Somehow, their Big 12 title and College Football Playoff hopes remain alive. Oklahoma (11-1) will face Texas next Saturday for the conference championship, with a chance to essentially cancel out their only loss.
You might recall Texas 48, Oklahoma 45 in the Cotton Bowl in October. A day later, Lincoln Riley fired longtime defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and elevated Ruffin McNeill. The defense hasn’t just remained porous, it has gotten statistically worse.
Here’s a stat that at once reveals how ghastly the defense has been and how good the offense is: After giving up 40 points to Kansas last weekend, Oklahoma became the first team to give up at least 40 in three consecutive victories since the Associated Press poll started in 1936.
Now it’s four in a row. Even with all those West Virginia points, and 704 yards, the Sooners won again. And those two defensive touchdowns were as important as anything the offense did.
Late in the second quarter, linebacker Caleb Kelly overpowered an offensive tackle, just knocked him heels over head, sacked Grier and then scooped up Grier’s fumble and scored.
Suddenly, the Sooners had a 14-point lead. Its defense was contributing — but wait, never mind, then things reverted to form.
The defense began not making the plays it has not made all season.
Grier went back to throwing darts to open receivers (he would finish with a career-high 539 yards). The Sooners went back to giving up touchdowns, not scoring them. And even as Murray continued his spectacular play — 364 yards passing and three touchdowns, 114 yards rushing, including a 55-yard TD run — when he threw an interception in the end zone early in the third quarter, everyone understood what it meant.
The shootout was on again, the offenses trading the lead while the defenses watched, almost as helpless as the rest of us. But then Oklahoma did it again. Grier dropped back to pass but was spun around by defensive lineman Ronnie Perkins, then hit by end Kenneth Mann. The ball flew high into the air, then skittered around in the backfield. Curtis Bolton picked it up and rumbled 48 yards into the end zone.
With a little less than 10 minutes left, Oklahoma’s lead was 10 points, changing the complexion of a game that had seemed destined to be won by whichever offense had the ball last.
It got back to that, of course. But Oklahoma corralled an onside kick and then, with some more Murray heroics, ran out the clock, and the Sooners held on to advance to the Big 12 championship game.
Even if the Sooners beat Texas in the rematch, they need help to reach the Playoff. This year’s selection committee buzz phrase is “complete team,” and Oklahoma is definitely not that. It’s too bad, because the vision of this offense in the Playoff is tantalizing. Even at 11-1, the Sooners are on the verge of wasting a championship-caliber offense.
Whatever happens from here, Riley has no choice but to overhaul the defensive side of the coaching staff during the offseason. He’ll likely look to hire a defensive coordinator who is his mirror image: young and energetic, and attuned to recruiting. Schemes are nice, but many of the Sooners’ issues must be fixed through luring better players; it might not be a quick fix.
Somehow, though, this team is headed to the Big 12 championship game, with a chance to win its fourth consecutive conference title, and maybe much more.
“With every single goal in front of us,” Riley said afterward, “I mean, what more could you ask for?”
Maybe a few more stops? Or maybe just let Murray and that offense keep firing away. It might be enough. Especially if once or maybe twice, the defense can come up big.