Offensive Preview: Oklahoma

It has been a long time since a Texas-Oklahoma game has had this much hype. The Longhorns enter the Red River Showdown with a 4-1 record and are winners of four straight, while the Sooners have rolled to a 5-0 record without much issue aside from an overtime scare from Army. As has been the case since he arrived in Norman, Lincoln Riley has the Oklahoma offense performing at a high level. Let’s a look at what to expect from the Sooners offense:

Quarterback

Fans around the country who were hoping for a drop-off in production with the departure of Baker Mayfield have been disappointed. Kyler Murray has taken over the reigns of Lincoln Riley’s offense, and the Sooners have not missed a beat. Murray has tossed 17 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions through 5 games, completing 70.6% of his passes for 1460 yards. He has also added 285 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground.

Murray has many of the same traits that helped make Mayfield successful in the air raid system. He has a very strong arm, is accurate and brings an extra dimension with his speed. The Longhorns will have to find a way to keep Murray in the pocket and generate pressure to make him uncomfortable. It is easier said than done with the way Oklahoma’s offense has rolled through the first month of the season.

Running Back

Oklahoma suffered a huge loss in week 2 of the season when Rodney Anderson went down with a season-ending knee injury. In Anderson’s absence, sophomore Trey Sermon has taken over the bulk of the carries. Sermon has 294 yards on 55 carries with a pair of touchdowns. He is a shifty and tough runner between the tackles who is built well for the type of running Oklahoma likes to do. Kennedy Brooks presents more of a home run threat, and the Mansfield native is averaging over 13 yards per carry.

Wide Receiver

Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and CeeDee Lamb have already combined for 10 touchdowns this season. and serve as the top two options for Murray. Brown reminds me a little bit of Dede Westbrook. His speed makes him a vertical threat, but he also works underneath and his quickness makes him a matchup nightmare. Lamb stands a little bit taller at 6’2 and is a superb route runner. Murray’s old high school teammate Lee Morris will also factor into the receiver rotation and has already notched 3 touchdowns on the season.

Sophomore Grant Calcaterra is an X-factor at the TE position. Lincoln Riley would love to get Calcaterra matched up on PJ Locke or a linebacker, where he can use his 6’4 size and ball skills. Calcaterra has only 9 catches on the season, but will take on a larger role as the season progresses.

Offensive Line

The Sooners offensive line has a few question marks entering the Red River Showdown. Starting left guard Ben Powers missed last Saturday’s game against Baylor with an injury and is questionable against Texas. Oklahoma is only allowing 1.20 sacks per game, but the unit had some struggles against the Bears. Redshirt freshman Creed Humphrey is the only new starter on the unit. Left tackle Bobby Evans is another Allen High School graduate who played with Kyler Murray.