This could be the year the Oklahoma Sooners finally return to the mountaintop in college football, or at least win a game in the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma took its lumps last season with Spencer Rattler, but the 2021 Heisman Trophy favorite thrived in Lincoln Riley’s offense by the end of the year. After consecutive losses to Kansas State and Iowa State in their first two FBS games, this offense turned it on, and the defense improved dramatically from week to week. This offense will almost certainly be elite once more, so it’s up to the defense to take this program to the next level.
Oklahoma Sooners Season Win Total
Over 11 -107
Under 11 -113
Oklahoma Sooners Preview
Spencer Rattler is set to be the next quarterback to light it up in Norman. Rattler has a good chance to join Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as the third Oklahoma quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy in the last five seasons. He overcame a turnover prone performance against Kansas State in his first start against an FBS team to be one of the top quarterbacks in the country at the end of the 2020 campaign. Rattler completed 67.5% of his passes for 3,031 yards with 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season.
The three leading receivers from last year are back. Marvin Mims caught 37 passes for 610 yards and nine touchdowns to be the team’s top target, but Theo Wease wasn’t far behind him. Tight end Austin Stogner was a reliable target over the middle, and there is plenty of young talent behind these playmakers.
Oklahoma’s ground game is often overlooked. The Sooners typically have some solid running backs though, and they welcome back Kennedy Brooks after he opted to sit out the 2020 season. Brooks ran for over 1,000 yards in 2018 and 2019, and he is averaging 7.5 YPC during his time with the team.
There will be three senior starters on the offensive line, and the left tackle position got a huge boost when Wanya Morris announced that he was transferring to Oklahoma from Tennessee. Morris is a former five-star recruit that was an All-Freshman selection in the SEC, so that should really help the pass protection.
Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch continues to make this defense better. Grinch first came to attention after turning around Washington State’s defense, and the Sooners have improved in each of his first two seasons calling the shots. They were ranked 15th in Bill Connelly’s Defensive SP+ in 2020, a vast improvement from their 84th place ranking in 2018.
Two of Oklahoma’s best defenders from 2020 return and neither is a senior. Defensive end Isaiah Thomas was a Second Team All-Big 12 selection last year with eight sacks, while linebacker Nik Bonitto was a Second Team All-America pick with 8.5 sacks for the Sooners. Leading tacklers Brian Asamoah and Delarrin Turner-Yell are back too, so Oklahoma could have a top ten defense in 2021.
This defense doesn’t have a single senior projected to start. That bodes well for the future as Grinch has made this side of the ball faster and more athletic, and he has given a lot of playing time to the players he recruited.
2021 Oklahoma Sooners Schedule
September 4 @ Tulane
September 11 vs. Western Carolina
September 18 vs. Nebraska
September 25 vs. West Virginia
October 2 @ Kansas State
October 9 vs. Texas*
October 16 vs. TCU
October 23 @ Kansas
October 30 vs. Texas Tech
November 13 @ Baylor
November 20 vs. Iowa State
November 27 @ Oklahoma State
Oklahoma Sooners Win Total Prediction
There will be a lot of attention given to Oklahoma hosting Nebraska, but the Cornhuskers have little chance of beating the Sooners. Oklahoma is unlikely to be tested until late in the season, although there is a potentially tricky stretch in October that sees the Sooners facing Kansas State in Manhattan before taking on Texas and TCU the next two weeks.
Road trips to Baylor and Oklahoma State sandwiched around a home game against Iowa State will be the toughest test for the Sooners. That will test this team more than anything else, but they have the talent to post their unbeaten season since 2000. However, this team has lost multiple games in each season since 2004, so history points toward the under cashing.
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