With a move to the SEC in the making, OU has to beef up its offensive and defensive lines.

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs didn’t exactly stage a classic last week in their rematch for the national championship in Indianapolis, but the two SEC powerhouses entertained the masses nonetheless. After receiving shellacking from the Tide in the SEC title game last month, UGA got revenge in a 33-18 win that brought home the program’s first national crown in 40 years. The victory positioned Kirby Smart’s program as the latest – and perhaps biggest – threat to the dynasty that his mentor Nick Saban has built in Tuscaloosa.

The matchup also crystallized for the Oklahoma Sooners what’s waiting for them when they move to the SEC. No one should mistake those versions of the Tide and Bulldogs for all-time great teams, but they have a fair claim to the two best rosters to ever take the field together in college football history. Neither program is slowing down, either.

It spoke to the lopsided talent distribution in college football to have two SEC teams playing for the national title again. More importantly for OU, the makeup of those two teams showed what it will take to compete for supremacy at the conference – and, by extension, national – level in the coming years.

Assessing OU’s situation through that lens, it becomes easy to exaggerate the program’s proximity one way or the other to an Alabama or a Georgia. When the 2017 season ended for the Sooners with a double-overtime loss to UGA in the College Football Playoff, the Sooners seemed to be ascending in Lincoln Riley’s first year as OU’s head coach. Five years later, an OU team supposedly primed to challenge for a national title couldn’t touch the national elites. Even though an 11-2 record is far from a disaster, OU ranked 17th overall in SP+ in 2021. It represented the team’s worst finish since 2014.

So what will it take for OU to hit the ground running under new head coach Brent Venables when the Sooners do move to the SEC?

The easy answer is to improve recruiting. As previously mentioned, OU is entering a league in which two of the 16 members managed to amass historically great rosters in the same season. Saban and Smart make it their mission to build up top-end talent at every single position on the field, and they’re succeeding. Meanwhile, future conference foe LSU joined UGA and Bama in the top five of the 2021 College Football Team Talent Composite from 247Sports. Oh, Texas A&M is also in the process of landing the best recruiting class in the country this year.

On the other hand, OU already recruits well. Riley and his staff built the sixth-strongest roster in the country in ‘21, per the 247 composite. Even after Riley departed for USC at the end of the season, OU still has the No. 10 recruiting class in the country this year.

In reality, the odds are extremely long that the Sooners ever reach a point at which they are routinely putting together Tide-like rosters. The program still has room to grow before it hits its recruiting ceiling, though. Putting that SEC patch on the Sooners’ jerseys actually eliminates one of the biggest headwinds OU has faced on the trail.

It seems reasonable to believe OU can turn its top 15 recruiting classes into top 10s and top 10 classes into top fives often enough to improve its roster from top to bottom.

Importantly, where Venables and his staff add studs through recruiting may matter more than how many how they add.

OU’s recent matchups in the College Football Playoff against the best SEC squads revealed material gaps in the trenches. The inability of the Sooners’ defensive lines to hold up at the point of attack, in particular, put its games against Bama in 2018 and LSU in 2019 out of reach before they even kicked off. The Tide and Tigers proved from the jump they could bully OU’s defensive front at will.

Frankly, the fact OU’s defensive line was overmatched in those matchups shouldn’t have surprised anyone who followed the program. SEC teams have flaunted their advantages along the defensive front for years, and that helped keep the Sooners locked out of the living rooms of elite DL recruits for more than a decade.

In its 10 classes from 2013 to 2022, OU landed a total of 46 defensive linemen. They included 20 blue-chip prospects. In that same time frame, Bama has signed 44 blue-chip DLs alone, while UGA has landed 33.

Needless to say, the Sooners have to start signing more high-caliber DLs; everyone in the coaching offices has known that for years, though. The good news is that by joining the SEC, they can overcome the biggest hurdle to doing so. Not to mention, Venables added the best DL coach in the country to his staff in former Clemson colleague Todd Bates.

Not so long ago, you could count on OU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh to have one of the best units in the country every year. But if middling play on the defensive line was to be expected, the erosion on the offensive side of the ball recently has been an unwelcome surprise. With all those monsters manning spots on SEC DLs, OU needs Bedenbaugh to find his groove again – and do it quickly.

Unfortunately, the problems with the OL don’t lend themselves to a simple solution. Bedenbaugh’s recruiting hasn’t hit warp speed; it also hasn’t fallen off lately. He missed on some big fish in recent classes, but the Sooners also signed their typical numbers of higher-end prospects.

The larger issue seems to lie in how the program is developing players, rather than the potential of the players joining the program. Some players, such as Tramonda Moore and Stacey Wilkins, left the program without ever really contributing on the field. Of greater concern: the ones who just don’t seem to be progressing.

Take Anton Harrison, for example. The native of Washington, D.C. started earning plaudits from the coaching staff for his potential almost as soon as the first practices of the 2020 season started. During games, though, you could rarely grade his performance as better than simply adequate.

Other sought-after prospects haven’t even advanced as far as Harrison. Players such as Aaryn Parks and Marcus Alexander? There doesn’t seem to be a rush to get them on the field. The lack of maturation has forced Bedenbaugh to supplement the OL with transfers like RJ Proctor from Virginia and ex-UCLA Bruin Chris Murray. Relying on too many short-term rentals for immediate help in that way sounds like begging for trouble.

Frankly, the Sooners generally owned a large enough talent advantage in the Big 12 to win big by occasionally fielding strong units on either side of the line of scrimmage. Lines that could stack up against those of other elite teams around the country essentially turned into a luxury.

Much like elite quarterback play, though, OU should start thinking about strength in the trenches as a necessary condition for success. Anything less won’t fly when the Sooners move to their new home in the SEC.

In the past week, OU has added Trey Morrison, CJ Coldon and Kani Walker from the transfer portal.

With Oklahoma’s secondary taking on a new look under new head coach Brent Venables, change was expected for the Oklahoma Sooners. On top of that, OU has multi-year staters Patrick Fields (Stanford graduate transfer) and Delarrin Turner-Yell (NFL Draft) this offseason, so the transfer portal was going to be a priority for this program. Venables, Jay Valai and Todd Bates hosted three defensive backs this past weekend, and they went three-for-three by landing promising Louisville DB Kani Walker, experienced Wyoming corner CJ Coldon and versatile North Carolina contributor Trey Morrison.

The sample size isn’t small for Venables, but there’s still a bit of mystery as to what his defense will look like in his first year back in Norman. At any rate, the depth of the defensive backfield is much less of a concern than it was a week ago.

Morrison saw extensive action in his all four of his years at UNC where he played a variety of positions on the football field that range from nickel to cornerback to safety. During his junior season he gained All-ACC Honorable Mention as a defensive back.

If I had to guess where Morrison plays it would be at nickel or safety considering the amount of love Brent Venables has for safeties in his defenses. With Venables’ defense on the field, one can generally expect two linebackers and three safeties. I would say he has a real opportunity to be a key contributor, and I’m sure it helps that Venny has seen Morrison play in person several times in the ACC.

Brent Venables has evaluated his talent in Norman, Oklahoma and has decided that his defensive backfield needs more bodies — larger defensive backs, in particular. Venables gets just that in C.J. Coldon.

The Belleville, Ill. native was the lead cornerback at Wyoming and has seen game action since he’s been a redshirt freshman. In the last couple of seasons, he has been a veteran presence in the the secondary and has gained 2nd Team Mountain West Honors. At 6’1” and 180 pounds, he appears physically ready for Power Five football. Additionally, he comes to Oklahoma with quite a bit of leadership skills and maturity with two years left to play. He’s a very vocal leader in the secondary and has been viewed that way in Laramie, Wyoming for the last couple of seasons.

Established starters Woodi Washington and DJ Graham return for OU in 2022, but rotation is necessary at the cornerback position, so it’s expected that Coldon should be a factor.

Of the three DB transfers Oklahoma was able to add this past weekend, Kani Walker is the most interesting of the bunch. This is due to the fact that he still has several years left of eligibility after transferring from Louisville. Although he didn’t see much of the field as a true freshman, many around his old program expected him to compete for the starting cornerback position coming into this season.

Walker was recruited to Louisville as a cornerback, but at 6’2 and 194 pounds, I imagine Brent Venables could use that frame in a variety of ways in tandem with S&C coach Jerry Schmidt. He has plenty of time to develop, and he could certainly be transformed into that third roaming safety that Venables loves to run, but those will be conversations that Valai, Venables, and Hall will have to have over the coming weeks, months and perhaps years.

Up next is No. 5 Baylor.

The Oklahoma Sooners showed a lot of fight against another Top 10 ranked team but couldn’t put it away down the stretch, falling to #7 Kansas 67-64 Tuesday night. The Sooners now sit at 12-6 on the season, 2-4 in Big 12 play and have lost three in a row.

The Sooners hung strong with the Jayhawks in the first half, trailing 34-32, despite turning the ball over eight times. KU came out of the break on fire, netting eight points in the first 1:38 to take a 10 point lead. Then it was Moser’s men who did the streaking, putting together a 20-2 run to retake the lead, 52-46. It was neck and neck down the stretch with neither team leading by more than four points in the final four minutes of the game. Coming out of a timeout with 29 seconds to go in the contest, KU’s Christian Braun hit a three from the wing to give the Jayhawks the three point lead, which would prove to be the difference.

Oklahoma was aggressive all night, only losing the rebounding battle by one but getting to the free throw line 18 times and hitting 12, compared to the Jayhawks six total free throws. But once again the three point shot wasn’t falling for the Sooners, OU just 4-17 (23.5%) from long range while Kansas was 8-18 (44.4%).

The Sooners did produce three double-digit scorers, Jordan Goldwire with 15 points, Umoja Gibson 11 and Jalen Hill 10, but it was another off game for leading scorer Tanner Groves who added in eight points on 4-13 shooting.

Oklahoma gave the Jayhawks everything they could handle, once again proving they’ll be a tough out for anyone they match up with, but to elevate and start winning these games the Sooners need more consistent play from their stars and to stop leaning on the three ball. If Oklahoma finds the open man, keeps it close on the glass and doesn’t force up shots from beyond the arc, we’ve seen they can play, and beat, anybody on their schedule, regardless of where, or who, they play.

What’s Next?

The Oklahoma Sooners will try to get back on track this Saturday and snap the three-game losing streak when they get another shot at #5 Baylor, this time in the Lloyd Noble Center. Tip is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Sooners came up just short, losing 59-58 to drop to 12-5 overall and 2-3 in Big 12 play.

The Oklahoma Sooners fell just short of a late comeback Saturday afternoon, losing 59-58 in overtime at the TCU Horned Frogs Saturday afternoon, dropping to 12-5 overall and 2-3 in Big 12 play.

The Sooners led by as many as seven in the 2nd half (38-31) but then went ice-cold from the field, allowing the Horned Frogs to go on a 13-2 run late and getting into a hole. After trailing by six in the closing moments, OU put up eight of the final 10 points in regulation, including a Jalen Hill layup with 0.2 seconds to go to force OT. In the extra frame, Oklahoma shot 3-7 from the field while TCU hit four of their six shots to outscore the Sooners by 1. Elijah Harkless had an attempt at a game-winner as time ran out, but it ended being a low-percentage look that surely leaves Porter Moser frustrated.

This defeat snapped an 8-game winning streak OU had against the Horned Frogs and handed Moser’s men their first losing streak of the season.

It was certainly far from the best offensive output of the Moser era, as OU shot just 40% from the field and 22.7% from 3. Additionally, TCU is one of the best rebounding teams in the country, and while OU held their own for most of the game, the Horned Frogs ended up edging the Sooners, 37-36, and pulled in some crucial boards down the stretch.

Oklahoma had its opportunities to get back on top but forced up bad three point attempts, including a notable Jordan Goldwire heave right after TCU had taken the 42-40 lead. In total, the Sooners shot 5-22 from long-range, missing their final 12 of regulation.

Goldwire still went 6-10 from the field overall, amassing 12 points and co-leading the team in scoring with Jalen Hill. Elijah Harkless added in 11 points, but with Umoja Gibson (9 points) and Tanner Groves (6 points) both shooting 3-10, the efficiency cost OU a Big 12 road win.

What’s Next?

The schedule ramps up this week as the Sooners are back in action at the Lloyd Noble Center this Tuesday when No. 9 Kansas comes to town. Tip is at 6 p.m. on ESPN.

Following an ugly performance at Texas, the Sooners look to bounce back against a good TCU team.

Following an ugly performance at Texas, the Oklahoma Sooners look to bounce back against a good TCU Horned Frogs team. With home games against Kansas and Baylor coming up next week, this serves as a pivotal game for Porter Moser’s squad.

Oklahoma (12-4, 2-2) at TCU (11-2, 1-1): Saturday, 3 p.m. CT at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena (Ft. Worth, Texas)

TV: ESPN2

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Commentary: Chuckie Kempf and King McClure

Radio: Sooner Sports Radio Network (KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Varsity Radio App) with Toby Rowland and Kevin Henry announcing

Line: Oklahoma -1 (as of 1 p.m. CT Saturday)

About TCU

• The Horned Frogs are led by sophomore guard Mike Miles, who is averaging 17.8 PPG and 4.8 APG on the season. He’s scoring in double figures in each of TCU’s 13 games and has scored at least 19 in each of TCU’s last three games.
• The Frogs are 11-2 in 2021-22, picking up wins over ORU, Utah, Texas A&M and Georgetown in non-conference play. In its most recent outing, TCU snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat, capitalizing on a Kansas State collapse in Manhattan to pick up its first Big 12 victory.
• TCU is currently 51st in the NCAA’s NET Rankings, which a tool the committee uses to seed the field in March. Additionally, the Frogs are 61st in KenPom’s team efficiency rankings (94th offensively, 42nd defensively).

One Big Thing

• Unfortunately, it looks like OU could be without the services of Ethan Chargois, who is counted on for quality minutes down low and has provided some much-needed sparks on both ends of the floor.

Prediction

OU has demonstrated a knack for winning close games in Ft. Worth in recent years. Austin Reaves won’t be running out of that tunnel, but I don’t think the trend ends today. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong in Austin this past Tuesday, and a progression to the mean seems likely in this instance.

Oklahoma 70, TCU 68