The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sooners see experience as key to handling LSU
No. 1 Tigers’ red-hot offense poses year’s toughest challenge.
Oklahoma linebacker Kenneth Murray knows the Sooners’ defense is preparing for its toughest challenge of the season and believes experience on the national stage will be a big factor.
No. 1 LSU (13-0) enters the College Football Playoff semifinal in Saturday’s Peach Bowl leading the nation in yards per game and red-zone production. The Tigers are the first SEC team with a 4,000-yard passer — Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow — a 1,200-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers.
Murray is confident, though, that No. 4 Oklahoma (12-1) has plenty of momentum as the Big 12 champion, and the Sooners are familiar with this setting after making it to football’s final four for the third straight year and the fourth time in five seasons.
“I think it’s going to be extremely critical for us to use that experience to our advantage for this game,” Murray said. “I think we’ve been in a lot of big games as a group, and I think it’s just going to be extremely critical for us to just stay true to us and understand that if we just do our jobs, our jobs are enough to get done what we want to get done.”
LSU’s offensive line is arguably the nation’s best, but if the Tigers have an occasional weakness up front, it’s in pass protection. LSU ranks 77th in average sacks allowed, and Burrow went down 28 times after getting sacked 35 times last season.
But Oklahoma must knock off the Tigers without two of its top players. Sacks leader Ronnie Perkins is suspended for the game, and strong safety Delarrin Turner-Yell, second on the team in tackles, broke his collarbone in practice last week. Then there is starting nickel back Brendan Radley-Hiles, whose status is uncertain with a head injury.
The Sooners are no stranger to overcoming injuries this season.
Senior end Kenneth Mann was lost for the season against Iowa State early last month. Defensive back Tre Norwood has missed the entire year. Linebacker
Jon-Michael Terry started six games before he went down, and linebacker Caleb Kelly missed the first 10.
Still, replacing Perkins will be tough. His primary backup, Marcus Stripling, has one sack in 13 games, so one possible replacement could be Jalen Redmond, who shares a tackle spot with LaRon Stokes but played end last season. His 5.5 sacks this year are second on the team, and he had 1.5 in the Big 12 championship victory over Baylor.
First-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is accustomed to filling the gaps, so he expects players to step up and play well. “It’s kind of been part of our story in 2019,” Grinch said of the injuries. “But we stick to what we do defensively. We feel like what we ask these guys to do on a week-to-week basis ... puts them in the situation to be successful.”