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Oklahoma has a big issue, but its playoff hopes aren’t dead
The Oklahoma Sooners were beaten down by the Houston Cougars on Saturday — the kind of whoopin’ that makes you wonder if the team’s preseason playoff hopes are over.
They’re not — the Sooners still have a game against Ohio State, and a full conference season to right the ship. The playoff hopes took a dent, no doubt, but they still exist, as long as the Sooners win their final 11 games.
The Sooners were the prohibitive favorites to win the Big 12 this season because of quarterback Baker Mayfield — a Heisman candidate last season — the best 1-2 running back combination in the nation, and a defense that had a chance to be one of the best in the nation.
The defense, despite the final score, was fine against Houston, which everyone knew going into Saturday’s game was a strong offensive team. The Cougars scored only two offensive touchdowns in the game, which is about as good as you could ask from any defense.
The Oklahoma running back duo also looked good Saturday — when they touched the ball. Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon combined to run the ball only 12 times against Houston — Mayfield ran the ball 13 times.
Oklahoma’s abandonment of the run was the worst-case scenario for the Sooners because it highlighted the biggest problem the team had going into the season: wide receiver depth.
Sterling Shepard doesn’t get the credit he deserves for his role in the Oklahoma offense last year — he was equal parts big-play threat and safety net. And with a walk-on quarterback, his influence was huge. Beyond that, he and Mayfield had a tremendous chemistry from the start.
Losing a player like that is tough for any team, and it’s even tougher for the quarterback.
Dede Westbrook is now Oklahoma’s No. 1 receiver — and he is viable in that role — but no one else from the receiver corps stepped up Saturday. If not for tight end Mark Andrews catching two touchdowns, the problem would have been more accentuated.
All preseason, the hype out of Norman was that receivers A.D. Miller and Nick Basquine were going to step up this season after living in anonymity. They remain anonymous — neither had a catch against Houston.
Separation was a problem for Oklahoma receivers all game, and this was against a team that had major secondary concerns going into Saturday’s season opener. TCU, Baylor, Texas and even Kansas State do not have those problems. Ohio State might not have the experience, but the Buckeyes will have two games under their belt by the time the teams meet in Norman.
If Oklahoma is to make anything of this season, it needs to find a second wide receiver. Houston dared Oklahoma to throw all game Saturday — overloading the box against the run and leaving their cornerbacks on an island for much of the game.
It was a gamble that could have backfired — Mayfield and his receivers could have burned the Cougars often Saturday, and then devastated them with the power run game. But the Houston defensive game plan obviously worked, and every team on Oklahoma’s schedule will emulate it until it’s proven that it won’t work.
Oklahoma plays Louisiana-Monroe next week — a perfect opportunity to build some confidence on the wide receiver depth chart. But if they don’t find something in that cupcake game, the Sooners' fleeting, but still existent, playoffs hopes can, in fact, die in Week 3.
