Postgame Thoughts: Oklahoma 16, Houston 12
The saying goes that college football teams usually improve the most from week one to week two. If true, the Oklahoma Sooners’ 16-12 win over the Houston Cougars indicates OU has a long season ahead of it.
About the only thing close to a moral victory here is that OU didn’t lose. Anyone who watched UNLV stomp the Cougars in their first contest knows UH is shockingly bad. The Cougs have a superb new coach in Willie Fritz, but he didn’t suddenly transform the team in the span of a week.
I haven’t rewatched anything aside from ESPN’s cut of the highlights. (Frankly, I doubt I have the stomach for it.) With that in mind, some knee-jerk reactions, all of which will deal with the offense…
*The reality that fortuitous officiating decisions helped generate nine of OU’s 16 points underscored the team’s offensive woes. Nothing worked for the OU offense. Literally nothing.
You could point the finger in a number of different directions as the source of the discombobulation on O. Systemic problems often start with the offensive line, though, and that appears to be the case here.
*I’m not an expert in the intricacies of OL play, but you don’t need to be one to recognize it is dysfunctional. Excluding sacks, the Sooners gained 86 yards on 26 rushing attempts for an average of just 3.3 yards per carry. Too often, blockers are getting knocked backwards into the backfield, jamming up spacing in the running game. When they avoid going backwards, they’re not moving defenders to open up holes for ball carriers.
Pass blocking appears slightly stronger. Quarterback Jackson Arnold is still getting hit too often. (Although much of that exposure comes from him working himself into trouble in the pocket.) Unfortunately, it only takes one player struggling with assignments or picking up blitzes to tank the entire group’s effectiveness.
I have no doubt that the overall health of the OL has hamstrung the group’s ability to develop chemistry. However, I do doubt that fully explains why the unit is performing poorly to this point. Not to mention, players usually don’t get healthier as the season goes on.
Bottom line: OL coach Bill Bedenbaugh has a long road ahead to mold this into a functional unit.
*It would help (to a degree) for center Branson Hickman to find his way back into the lineup.
The performance by backup Josh Bates versus UH probably illustrated why OU pursued the SMU transfer after spring practices concluded. Bates didn’t appear capable of holding up at the point of attack versus the Cougars on the interior, and that assignment won’t get any easier in the next 10 games. Moreover, the lack of coordination among the group as a whole against UH suggested the center position was struggling to identify pre-snap calls and assignments. Bates’ antics at the end of the game also pointed to a lack of maturity and/or smarts – especially damning at a position that serves as the nerve center of the OL.
Of course, rushing Hickman back too soon could yield even bigger problems the rest of the season. Conundrum.
*Spencer Brown’s horrendous performance at right tackle in game one reduced his participation in game two to zero offensive snaps. In a sign of how the dominoes tend to fall with Bedenbaugh’s fondness for playing his best five, Brown’s loss turned into Logan Howland’s gain.
Howland slid in at left tackle to replace Michael Tarquin in the first half after an injury to Jake Taylor meant Tarquin was needed at right tackle. Assuming Taylor can’t play against Tulane, Howland may get a chance to seize the gig at LT permanently. At the least, he will get a chance to make a case for an expanded role in the future.
*Arnold could obviously improve in many ways. Most importantly, he seems to have a case of shell shock, which showed up versus UH in how he moved around in – or bailed out of – the pocket (see image below of his escape path from a clean pocket). He never looked comfortable.
In one sense, Arnold’s skittishness is an indictment of the OL. That doesn’t absolve him of the responsibility to avoid getting chased by ghosts.
On a related note, offensive coordinator Seth Littrell now has to come up with a plan of attack for the short run that will allow his QB to settle down.
*Brent Venables has built a strong defense in Norman. OU’s punting game behind Luke Elzinga also seems salty: Notably, the Sooners pinned UH inside the Cougs’ own 20 yard line five times on Saturday.
Circumstances may force OU to lean into those two facets of this squad this season. Get used to the idea.