Oklahoma Sooners stats, records, schedule, and standings

Sooners

Oklahoma Sooners

NCAAF – BIG 12

TEAM LEADERS

Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma returns six starters on each side of the ball from a team that finished 2020 on a high note, winning their last eight games and capturing their 14th Big Twelve title. With decent depth in the Big 12 and a non-conference matchup against former rival Nebraska, now in the Big Ten, the schedule is tough enough to give the Sooners an excellent opportunity to advance to the College Football Playoff with another conference crown.

Oklahoma Sooners Standings

The Oklahoma Sooners have been a force to be reckoned with this season, sitting comfortably at the top of the Big 12 standings with a record of 6-1. Led by quarterback Spencer Rattler and a strong defense, the Sooners have dominated their competition.

Key stats for the Sooners include an average of 44 points per game and a total of 3,006 passing yards. The Sooners are the team to beat in the Big 12 and are on track for a conference championship.

Oklahoma Sooners Betting Trends

2020 Oklahoma Sooners Championship and Season Summary

After suffering a pair of early-season upsets to Kansas State and Iowa State that put the Sooners in a 0-2 Big 12 hole, they reeled off seven consecutive wins to gain a rematch with Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game.

They almost lost their first three conference games. Still, They were able to pull out a win in overtime against Texas that propelled them to five more wins by an average of almost 25 points a game, with only Baylor getting closer than 19 points at 27-14 to close out the regular season.

Oklahoma avenged their earlier defeat to Iowa State by beating the Cyclones 27-20 in the title game, then went on to drill Florida from the SEC in the Cotton Bowl Classic by the score of 55-20 to run their season-ending winning streak to eight games heading into 2021.

Key Players

Sophomore quarterback Spencer Rattler, who has one of the great names in college football, is expected to show enough improvement over a very good freshman campaign when he was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year to allow the Sooners to once again challenge for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Running back, Kendall Brooks returns for his junior year after opting out of the 2020 season and then testing the NFL waters. The Sooners have potential depth at the position, but it will be comforting to have an experienced back to take the pressure off Rattler to make all of the plays on offense.

Junior linebacker Nik Bonitto also flirted with the NFL, but the second team, All American from a season ago, will be back to wreak havoc on opposing offenses. He recorded eight sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss in 2020, and he will anchor a defensive front seven that returns four standouts, including three seniors.

New Additions

Many publications are touting freshman Billy Bowman as a key contributor to the Sooners. The incoming recruit is a possible standout on either side of the ball as a defensive back, a wide receiver. His help is needed on a passing defense that was 83rd in the nation in yards allowed through the air in 2020.

If Kendall Brooks runs into problems, he will be backed up by Tennessee transfer Eric Gray, who, even if he doesn’t supplant Brooks as a starter, can still contribute as another option on the ground. The Sooners were 48th in the nation in rushing yards in 2020 and could use some help to take pressure off the passing game.

A pair of incoming wide receivers, freshman Cody Jackson and Mike Woods, a senior transfer from Arkansas, aren’t listed as starters on the depth chart but could add depth to a receiving corps that will provide Rattler with a lot of options for an offense that was sixth in the nation in passing last season.

Key Subtractions

Center Creed Humphrey departed for the NFL and will leave a big hole in the middle of the offensive line. Humphrey was a starter in 37 games in three years, and his replacement, either Chris Murray or Ian McIver, both seniors, will have big shoes to fill.

Although Brooks and Gray have talent at running back, they’ll be trying to replace Rhamondre Stevenson’s 111 yards a game and 6.6 yards a carry on the ground in his six games. Oklahoma’s rushing attack was the weak part of the 2020 offense, so losing a proven contributor could be an issue for the Sooners.

Although defensive end Ronnie Perkins missed the first five games a year ago, his return marked a clear difference in the Oklahoma defense as they reeled off eight straight wins to finish the season. Oklahoma’s passing defense will need a strong pass rush to improve their effectiveness, and Perkins is going to be missed.

Big 12 Conference Outlook

Oklahoma, with eight wins to end the 2020 season, including victories over Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game and Florida in the Cotton Bowl Classic, are clear favorites to repeat as conference champions. Upstart Iowa State under sixth-year head coach Matt Campbell seems to have established some momentum as a program and will once again challenge the Sooners for the title.

Despite a 7-3 record and a 55-23 beat down of Colorado in the Valero Alamo Bowl, Texas parted ways with four-year head coach Tom Herman in favor of Steve Sarkisian, with the possible misperception that he can change the Longhorns’ Big 12 and national fortunes. They should still face problems on defense, which isn’t the side of the ball that Sarkisian is known for.

With eight starters back on a respectable defense from 2020, Oklahoma State appears poised to make a move up the standings, possibly challenging Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game. They’ll need to find more consistency and firepower on offense, relying primarily on the continued maturation and increased effectiveness of junior quarterback Spencer Sanders.

Oklahoma Team Offense

Although the Sooners put up a lot of points at a rate that placed them sixth in the nation in 2020, their offense in yardage production was just outside the top ten in a conference that isn’t exactly known for its collective defensive prowess. The top returning receivers, Marvin Mims and Theo Wease, both supply Rattler with downfield playmaking ability with average yards per reception of 16.5 and 14.7 yards, respectively.

Oklahoma lost their two leading running backs from 2020, who had almost 200 carries with in excess of 1100 yards and 12 touchdowns, so they’ll need Brooks to step up and fill the void. Overall, head coach Lincoln Riley should be able to see improvement in the offense, with more experience from his starting quarterback and more continuity at running back, as long as the center position can be adequately filled.

Oklahoma Team Defense

The defense returns a lot of ability and strength up the middle for coordinator Alex Grinch. Still, the cornerback position could be a problem for a unit that was vulnerable against the pass in 2020. They seem to do fine against less talented offenses, but stronger passing teams could still pose problems for a secondary that lacks starting experience on the two-deep chart.

Nik Bonitto at outside linebacker and Isaiah Thomas combined for 16.5 sacks last season, and more of the same in 2021 would take some pressure off the back end of the defense. In total, the Sooners should be able to put a defense on the field that is good enough to lend support to a powerful offense and put them in national championship contention.

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