Oklahoma went 11-2 in 2013 and put an exclamation point on their season with a solid Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama. Head Coach Bob Stoops became the winningest coach in school history last season, but the most interesting story to surface from 2013 is the recent verbal skirmish between Stoops and Nick Saban.
Riding momentum from their bowl win, OU was picked 1st in the Big 12’s preseason poll and far outpaced the next closest team (Baylor – 9) with 41 first place votes. In other words, the Big 12 media is projecting “business as usual†for the conference and the Sooners.
Stoops has eight conference titles in his 15 years as head coach in Norman. More impressive than that consistency, Stoops’ eight titles have come from six different quarterbacks. With things looking settled at quarterback (compared to 2013), Stoops and OU are looking to win 11 games in consecutive seasons for first time since 2008.
Last season, Texas snapped OU’s 10-game conference win streak with a 36-20 win. After being soundly beaten in back-to-back years, the Longhorns racked up two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and scored a touchdown on an 85-yard punt return. That loss proved to be a back breaker in the Big 12 race after the Sooners lost to Baylor later in the season.
Coaches and fans love to say that football games are won and lost by play along the line of scrimmage. If that’s true, then 2014 will be a very good year at OU where OL and DL are the team’s strengths and the question marks fall to the skill players.
Offense
Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell took over the OU offense as Co-coordinators in 2011 and have continued to field one of the more underappreciated units in the league (traditionally OU’s defense receives the publicity). At the end of last season, the Sooners scored 41.8 ppg and averaged 42% on 3rd down conversions, helping themselves to a 4-game win streak.
