Riley believes O-line will get better
NORMAN — Lincoln Riley isn't all riled up about the play of Oklahoma's offense so far.
Could it be better? Of course. The Sooners are entering their conference opener against West Virginia this weekend with an imperfectly perfect record of 3-0. Shaky offensive performances have kept OU from looking like the national championship contender that many people believe it to be, but Riley believes his team isn't far off from reaching that level of excellence.
"I think we've got the makings of a really good group," Riley said. "I think there's a pretty general consensus around our program that we feel like we're pretty close and probably a little bit closer than a lot of people think to playing some good ball."
One concern is OU's offensive line, which still doesn't have a set starting five.
The biggest ongoing competition is at center, where sophomore Andrew Raym hasn't dethroned redshirt senior Robert Congel for starting duties. The Sooners' offensive line has been experienced ups and downs this season, but Riley believes he saw improvement out of the group in the 23-16 win over Nebraska this past weekend.
"I thought we did a lot of good things up front," Riley said. "Honestly, that group was probably the strongest group offensively on the field. I thought we played well. We were pretty solid in the run game, pretty solid in pass pro... We're getting there. We're taking some strides there."
Spencer Rattler also hasn't been the Heisman Trophy front-runner that he was projected to be at the start of the season.
The redshirt sophomore's stats aren't bad by any means. Rattler has thrown for 761 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions, but he still has some maturing to do.
"The thing with Spencer is to continue to stay patient, continue to play within the system and trust his teammates," Riley said. "Trust what we're doing and if we can all do that as a group, we'll continue and we'll bust through and play pretty well coming up soon."
The Sooners haven't been able to produce many big plays downfield either. Marvin Mims is Rattlers' top target for deep bombs, but the sophomore wide receiver only has eight catches for 168 yards through the first three contests.
"We've had a couple of things dialed up that we just haven't quite been able to get to," Riley said. "I don't look back at it and say any of the times we haven't played well offensively early in the season, (plays downfield) is the sole thing."
Ready to Coe
Isaiah Coe stays ready. Despite beginning the season at the bottom of the nose guard depth chart, the Iowa Western Community College transfer got a chance to contribute following the early injury of Jordan Kelley.
And Coe is making the most of it. The junior defensive lineman has played in 59 snaps for the Sooners this season and is establishing himself as a solid option behind Perrion Winfrey.
"We just embrace competition here," Coe said. "Every day we just try to go out and compete with one another and just try to get each other better as much as we can."
Coe recorded two total tackles against Nebraska, but his biggest contribution came on special teams.
The Cornhuskers had just scored a touchdown to trim the deficit to 14-9 with eight seconds left in the third quarter, but Coe halted their momentum by blocking the ensuing PAT. Pat Fields then gathered the live ball and took it to the house to make it a 16-9 contest.
"Coach (Alex) Grinch, he's like real big on responding," Coe said. "He always tells us to play the next play, you know, there's always a down that has to be played... So after (Nebraska) scored, everybody doesn't want to be scored on but you've just got to have that mindset of 'Okay, next play.'"
Coe's block against Nebraska is all over the highlight reels, but his impact throughout the rest of his time on the field hasn't gone unnoticed by Riley and the rest of OU's staff.
"Isaiah Coe is taking advantage of a couple of guys being out," Riley said. "He's one of the guys who has really stepped up, got an opportunity and has made the most of it. I know everybody saw the block the other day, but he's done a lot of other promising things that have us excited about him."
Missing the Mountaineers
When OU takes on West Virginia on Saturday, it'll be a showdown that's one year overdue.
The two teams were scheduled to face each other last season on Nov. 28, 2020, but the game got postponed due to COVID-19 issues within West Virginia's program. The contest then got postponed to Dec. 12, but this time it was OU's camp that had to call it off due to COVID-19 issues its own.
"It's a team that we didn't play a year ago but prepared at length for," Grinch said. "(It's) just unique when you turn back on the film because there's no opponent that you've never played or you haven't played in two years that you've seen so much film on."
OU will surely dust off that film prior to Saturday's game.
The Mountaineers are still led on offense by Leddie Brown, who made the All-Big 12 first team last season. The senior running back racked up 161 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries to help his team earn a 27-21 win over Virginia Tech in Week 3.
West Virginia's defense is also as stout as ever. The group is led by returning seniors such as linebacker Josh Chandler-Semedo and the safety duo of Alonzo Addae and Sean Mahone.
"It'll be good to get a chance to compete against these guys," Riley said. "This is a complete football team coming in here, experienced quarterback, strong run game and one of the top defenses in the country... It'll be a big challenge for us."
Injury updates
Billy Bowman is expected to play against West Virginia on Saturday. The freshman defensive back sustained an undisclosed injury against Western Carolina in Week 2 and didn't suit up against Nebraska this past weekend.
Woodi Washington will not play against the Mountaineers, however. Riley said the redshirt sophomore cornerback is expected to miss “significant time” but believes he'll return at some point this season.
Riley also provided an update on redshirt sophomore defensive back Jeremiah Criddell, who only played in six snaps against Nebraska.
"(Criddell) has had a couple of health things he's battling through, but he's done a good job," Riley said. "I would say he's one of those guys that's right in that pile of players that's pushing to play more. He's done well, he's practiced well. It's been good to kind of have him back full time."