Sooners in danger of missing bowl season after loss to West Virginia
The 2022 season has been a roller coaster ride for the Oklahoma Sooners. Three wins to start the season, three losses to start Big 12 play after that, a two-game winning streak followed by a two-game losing streak, and here we sit with the Oklahoma Sooners at 5-5 with two games to go.
Hosting Bedlam in primetime followed by a road trip to Lubbock for another night game, the Oklahoma Sooners will have their work cut out for them to get to bowl eligibility. Though they’re favorites this week against Oklahoma State and will likely open as favorites against Texas Tech, nothing is certain with the Sooners at this point.
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They’re as likely to lose both games as they are to win. Coming off another disappointing loss at the hands of West Virginia, Oklahoma headlines week 11’s winners and losers from USA TODAY Sports Paul Myerburg.
Brent Venables’ tough start continued with a 23-20 loss to West Virginia, dropping Oklahoma to 5-5 and in legitimate danger of missing the postseason with games against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to close the regular season. The Sooners’ laundry list of issues against the Mountaineers included yet another atrocious showing from the run defense, which gave up at least 200 yards for the fifth time this season, and critical penalties that allowed West Virginia to extend drives and rally from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter. – Myerburg, USA TODAY Sports
The run defense is a problem, in particular the quarterback run game. Oklahoma has struggled to stop athletic quarterbacks throughout their 5-5 campaign. Adrian Martinez and Max Duggan had huge days earlier in the season, and Garrett Greene continued that trend in Morgantown. Against Baylor, it was the more traditional rushing attack that hurt Oklahoma. Still, on either side of the Baylor loss, the Sooners’ defense did a good job bottling up Iowa State and West Virginia’s running backs.
The traditional run game for Oklahoma State isn’t as good as Baylor, TCU, or Kansas State, but the quarterback run game could certainly hurt the Sooners.
With a banged-up Spencer Sanders expected to play on Saturday night, the Sooners’ defense will need to rebound in the run game to get a win. Sanders may not be 100% heading into the game, but he doesn’t have to be 100% to hurt the Oklahoma defense. With his athleticism and toughness, Sanders will give Oklahoma fits in the quarterback run game. If they don’t correct any of the issues that plagued them from their loss to West Virginia, they’ll have another long day on the defensive side of the ball.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys aren’t a perfect team. They’re not as good as the group that beat Oklahoma a year ago. However, they don’t have to be as good with the issues Oklahoma’s had on defense in 2022.
For Oklahoma to build momentum toward 2023 and close out the season with a bowl appearance, they’ll have to have a strong defensive performance under the lights on Saturday night. Otherwise, playing in the postseason might not be in the cards for the Oklahoma Sooners.
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