The Oklahoma Sooners’ struggles continued in their week eight win over the Kansas Jayhawks. They got the win, but it was a dogfight against one of the worst teams in college football. It wasn’t just that it was a 12 point win against the Jayhawks that was disappointing; it was that they didn’t show up for the first half of the game.
Not till they were down 10 at halftime did the Sooners wake up and begin taking control of the game. Even as the Oklahoma Sooners mounted their comeback and scored touchdowns on all five drives in the second half, the Oklahoma defense kept the Kansas Jayhawks in the game.
As Pro Football Focus writer Anthony Treash took a look back at the week eight action, he wrote quite a bit about the Sooners biggest weapon, Caleb Williams. However, Williams’ impact might be limited due to one of the worst pass defenses in college football in the Sooners secondary.
Ultimately, the biggest concern with this offense isn’t Williams’ inconsistency as a passer — it’s the lackluster coverage unit. The Sooners allowed a Power Five-worst 32% explosive pass play rate to Kansas, who entered the week sixth-to-last among those 65 teams in successful pass rate on offense. – Treash
Oklahoma’s pass defense currently ranks 113th out of 130 teams in Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Only 17 teams have been worse against the pass than the Oklahoma Sooners.
That’s terrible.
Yes, they’ve been missing Woodi Washington. Yes, D.J. Graham and Delarrin Turner-Yell have missed significant time. However, their losses alone shouldn’t make the Sooners a bottom-15 pass defense in the NFL. The Sooners still have Pat Fields, and one of the best pass rushes in college football. And yet, they’ve been unable to impact the opposing passing game with much frequency.
Jason Bean went from completing 55% of his passes in 2021 to completing 74% of his passes against the Oklahoma Sooners defense.
The Sooners have championship aspirations. Though they have a Texas Tech offense that’s been inconsistent, Baylor and Iowa State could pose some problems through the air for the Sooners to handle. If Oklahoma hopes to be playing for the Big 12 championship and in the College Football Playoff, they’ll need to shore up their coverages as the competition gets tougher down the stretch.
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Positional Report Card: How did the Sooners grade out in their win vs. the Jayhawks?
