For the Sooners it was the same song, different verse. The Oklahoma defense was abysmal for the second time in as many games. On the other hand, Iowa State was resilient and showed a lot of heart in mounting a comeback. The Sooners defense could take a lesson in heart and effort from the Cyclones. With this in mind, we present Oklahoma vs Iowa State in review.
Oklahoma vs Iowa State Review
Defensive Responsibility
It appears the Oklahoma defense isn’t much better than it was the two or three previous years. It’s time to lay the responsibility for the horrendous defense where it belongs. The players need to take responsibility for poor performance.
For seven weeks it appeared the defense had turned the corner and was catching up to the offense. That no longer appears to be the case. The defense has reverted to poor tackling, or simply not making much of an effort at all. The defense looks confused most of the time. The secondary can not make plays on the ball and definitely can not force turn overs. Oklahoma’s defense is dead last in the FBS in forcing turn overs. The Alex Grinch defense which is based on speed and creating turn overs hasn’t forced a turn over in five consecutive games.
Iowa State had big lumbering tight ends wide open all over the field Saturday night.
Midway through the season, Oklahoma fans were concerned defensive coordinator Grinch would soon be leaving for a head coaching job. There’s definitely not much conversation about that now.
Oklahoma Offense
The Oklahoma offense wasn’t a lot better than the defense most of the night. Arguably, Jalen Hurts had his poorest performance of the season Saturday evening. Although Hurts only had one interception, albeit at the most crucial point of the game he was not sharp. Iowa State dropped two pick six opportunities in the first half that would have changed the tone of the game in the first half dramatically. Oklahoma can thank CeeDee Lamb for carrying the offense in this game.
Oklahoma built a 42-21 lead early in the fourth quarter and just put everything on cruise control. That conservative attitude almost cost Oklahoma back to back losses for the first time since 1999, Bob Stoops first year as the Sooners head coach.
The Future
The playoff chances look rather bleak at best for Oklahoma this year. Maybe that is not entirely a bad thing. The way the defense is performing it would be another embarrassing performance in another playoff loss, despite one of the best offenses in the country again. At this point Oklahoma can not compete with playoff contenders such as LSU, Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, or even Florida.
There just wasn’t much positive that came out of this game for the Sooners. With that being said, Oklahoma still controls its own destiny as far as winning a fifth straight Big XII championship. Small consolation after sky high hopes following a dominant performance in a win over Texas just a few weeks ago.
The Final Word
Oklahoma should still win a very mediocre Big XII conference championship. The Sooners should have an opportunity to participate in a quality bowl game. Will they care about that bowl, remains to be seen?
The bottom line is this, Oklahoma needs to recruit better players and develop that talent on the defensive side. Oklahoma will continue to waste NFL offensive talent until they develop a defense. With the current level of talent on defense Oklahoma can not compete with Big 10, and SEC powers for a national championship.
