Truemors
Big-time college football coaches across the country ranked the Oklahoma Sooners fourth in the USA TODAY Coaches’ Poll released Friday. I, for one, however, believe the Crimson and Cream’s ranking is too low.
OFFENSE
My optimism about the Sooners rests largely upon the fact that coach Bob Stoops will have 6' 5″ sophomore Sam Bradford behind center again. The nation’s most-efficient passer (176.52) last season, Bradford also set an NCAA freshman record for touchdown passes (36). Moreover, he topped Tim Tebow, last season’s Heisman Trophy winner, in completions, completion percentage and touchdowns.
Bradford is not the only weapon on the team. The Sooners offense netted 6.4 yards per play in 2007 and, according to several reports, hope to maximize their yardage totals by sporting a no-huddle offense this fall. With ten offensive players returning with experience in at least six games, the bunch from Norman ought to be even better than they were last year.
Among the returning starters on offense are Outland Trophy candidates Duke Robinson and Phil Loadholt. They’re two of five senior offensive line starters who weigh in at a combined 1,600 pounds, making the possibilities frightening — for opponents, that is.
Last but not least, the seven-time national champion program returns the usual stable of fast, powerful and basically interchangeable running backs who should have a lot of wholes to run through this season.
DEFENSE
NewsOk.com is accurate in stating that Oklahoma linebacker “Curtis Lofton and his 157 tackles will be missed” and that “there’s talent, yet much has to come together.” Helping the team come together will be all-conference candidates Gerald McCoy and DeMarcus Granger. They anchor a Sooners defense that looked very good this spring.
Despite losing five starters — including Lofton — from last year, the squad shouldn’t miss a beat, except perhaps the Fiesta Bowl beat(ing) by West Virginia, in 2008. I suspect the squad will be motivated more than ever before to generate nightmares in the minds of opposing offensive coordinators.
SUMMARY
Admittedly, Oklahoma begins the season on a cupcake schedule, leading most to believe the squad will be 5-0 as they enter the Red River Shootout in Dallas Oct. 11. After defeating the Texas Longhorns, ranked #10 in the coaches’ poll, the only genuine challenge left on the schedule is my alma mater, Oklahoma State. If the Sooners walk into Stillwater undefeated, I will place my Cowboys on the altar of their cross-state rival’s hopes and sacrifice a Mike Gundy win for the Sooners’ eighth national title.
An unrelated closing thought: Oklahoma State needs to offer Coach Gundy an early retirement package if he doesn’t produce a Big XII Conference title — or better — this year.
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