College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Oklahoma Sooners season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Oklahoma Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 12-2 overall, 8-1 in Big 12
Head Coach: Lincoln Riley, 4th year, 36-6
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 15
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 8
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 5
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma Sooners Offense 3 Things To Know
– Can this really keep going at this ridiculous level? Last year’s offense wasn’t quite as productive as the 2018 version, which wasn’t quite as productive as the 2017 version, but it still finished third in the nation in total offense and sixth in scoring O, averaging 548 yards and 42 points per game.
Head coach Lincoln Riley and co-offensive coordinators Bill Bedenbaugh and Cale Gundy have the formula down – smart, quick-decision making quarterbacks who can hit the dangerous receivers in open spaces in stride so they can run very, very far.
But unlike the last three seasons, Oklahoma will likely start the season with a home-recruited talent for the first time since Trevor Knight got the call in 2014.
Be stunned if Spencer Rattler isn’t the next really, really big college football quarterback.
The superstar recruit last year got in a little bit of work – completing 7-of-11 passes with a touchdown – but he preserved a year of eligibility while Jalen Hurts got a break from being fantastic. 6-0 and 198 pounds, Rattler isn’t all that big, but he’s a high-powered passer who can run. If all goes according to plan, this is his offense to run for the next three years, maybe four.
Sophomore Tanner Mordecai was a great recruit in 2018, and while he’ll get plenty of chances to take the job, this is almost certainly going to be Rattler’s gig. If Mordecai transfers, things get really, really sketchy with true freshman Chandler Morris or JUCO transfer Colt Atkinson the likely No. 3.
CFN in 60 Video: Oklahoma Sooners Preview
– The Sooner offense is so much fun when the passing game is winging it around the yard that it’s easy to push aside how great the ground attack is. Jalen Hurts ran for close to 1,300 yards and 20 scores, and Kennedy Brooks took off for 1,011 yards and six touchdowns. Brooks should be a lock for 1,000 yards for the third year in a row, and it’ll be a revolving door behind him.
With Trey Sermon transferring to Ohio State, 6-0, 229-pound senior Rhamondre Stevenson will eventually get the No. 2 job after finishing third on the team with 515 yards and six touchdowns – he’s currently suspended for the first five games of the season after being suspended by the NCAA for a positive drug test – but freshman Seth McGowan is a talented option who’ll get an early look.
No matter who’s running the ball, it’ll all work behind a phenomenal line that should be among the nation’s best. It’s loaded with all-star talent with all five starters expected back, starting with junior Creed Humphrey at center and junior Adrian Ealy at one of the tackle spots.
– CeeDee Lamb is gone to the Dallas Cowboys, but great recruiting classes are about to payoff at receiver. Charleston Rambo was second on the team with 43 catches and five scores – averaging over 17 yards per catch – and 2019 star recruit Jadon Haselwood will play a huge role if and when he’s all back full after suffering an offseason leg injury.
Trejan Bridges is a special talent, but he’s expected to miss the first five games of the season after being suspended by the NCAA. UCLA transfer Theo Howard will eventually be a factor after suffering a torn Achilles tendon. There are more than enough talents – Theo Wease was every bit the recruit last year that Haselwood was – to keep the passing game explosive.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma Sooners Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma Sooners Defense 3 Things To Know
– Alex Grinch came in and fixed up the defense in a hurry. The second-year defensive coordinator took a group that finished 114th in total defense in 2018 and was dead last in pass defense by a relative mile, and improved it to No. 2 overall in the Big 12 with a pass defense that was over 1,000-yards better.
Best of all, it’s loaded with enough veterans and talent to be even better.
Heart-and-soul leading tackling LB Kenneth Murray took his talents to the LA Chargers, but 12 of the top 15 tacklers are expected back after undergoing a youth movement. Linebacker coach Brian Odom has plenty of options to work with, starting with the versatile DaShaun White – who finished fourth on the team with 51 stops – and with Caleb Kelly back after missing almost all of last season.
– So why the big turnaround under Grinch? Getting more of a pass rush and generating more pressure had a whole lot to do with it, and he’s got the line returning to be a killer. Ronnie Perkins is expected to miss the first five games of the season after being suspended by the NCAA for a fail drug test – which stings with Tennessee, Baylor and Texas on the slate early on – but it’s under appeal – and Neville Gallimore is gone from the nose.
Fortunately, Jalen Redmond is a burgeoning star pass rusher on once side, LaRon Stoke is another big body who’ll start at end, and Marcus Stripling is a speed rusher who can step in for Perkins early on. The interior is a little bit tougher, needing JUCO transfer Perrion Winfrey to be a factor right away in a rotation with 293-pound sophomore Jordan Kelley.
– There might not be any superstars in the secondary with Parnell Motley gone at corner, but it’s a solid group as long as the pass rush continues to be strong. Delarrin Turner-Yell turned into a nice part of the puzzle at safety, and junior Pat Fields finished second on the team with 64 stops. These two will make a whole lot of plays, but the defensive backs have to start coming up with more interceptions.
Brendan Radley-Hiles should be among the teams top five tacklers again, and the combination of Tre Brown and Tre Norwood – who missed all of last year hurt – should be fine parts to work around at corner.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Oklahoma Sooners Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Oklahoma Sooners Players
Best Oklahoma Sooners Offensive Player
C Creed Humphrey, Jr.
Throw this into the “for now” category. The hope is for Spencer Rattler to rise up into the next great Oklahoma quarterback early on, a few of the wide receivers are good enough to be in the Best Player category, and several receivers are fantastic. And RB Kennedy Brooks, not only might be the top offensive player early on, but he could be the most valuable considering the lack of proven running back depth.
Humphrey, though, is the rock of what should be one of the nation’s best offensive lines. The 6-5, 307-pound junior will be in the mix for every possible all-star center honor and should be an early draft pick whenever he’s ready to get out. A great recruit, he’s been able to play up to the hype and more with his consistency and brilliant pass protection skills.
2. OG Marquis Hayes, Jr.
3. QB Spencer Rattler, RFr.
4. RB Kennedy Brooks, Jr.
5. WR Charleston Rambo, Soph.
Best Oklahoma Sooners Defensive Player
S Delarrin Turner-Yell, Jr.
Ronnie Perkins would be here, but at the moment he’s expected to miss the first five games. Like the offensive side, several players could be in this spot – watch out for DE Jalen Redmond, and one of the linebackers will step up in place of Kenneth Murray, but Turner-Yell should be an All-Big 12 statistical superstar.
The 5-10, 193-pound junior came up with 75 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss as a steady all-around producer before getting knocked out late in the year with a broken collarbone.
2. DE Ronnie Perkins, Sr.
3. DE Jalen Redmond, Soph.
4. LB DaShaun White, Jr.
5. S Pat Fields, Jr.
– For more Oklahoma sports, check out SoonersWire.com
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma Sooners Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma Sooners Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Oklahoma Sooners Offense
The offensive backfield HAS to stay healthy. It’s not a 100% rock-solid lock that Spencer Rattler will get the starting quarterback gig, but … it’s close. The hope is for Tanner Mordecai to at least provide enough of a push to make it a good fight, and then for the loser in the battle for the starting job to not transfer.
Kennedy Brooks is a steady and slightly underappreciated star, and with Rhamondre Stevenson likely suspended for almost half of the season, he’s about it for the proven depth.
It’s Oklahoma, so of course there’s talent at running back. But if the goal is to get back to the College Football Playoff and do some damage, the year has to be about developing the offensive backfield into a dominant and consistent force. Rattler and Brooks – and let’s just throw in WR Charleston Rambo, too – have to stay in one piece.
Biggest Key To The Oklahoma Sooners Defense
Start intercepting some passes already. To be extremely fair to the OU defense, it fixed the glitch in the secondary.
It was hardly a rock, but after getting roasted for well over 4,000 yards in 2018 – a lot of missed tackles had a lot to do with that, along with dealing with better Big 12 quarterbacks – the pass defense was over 1,000 yards better and only allowed 20 touchdown passes before Joe Burrow went Joe Burrow in the CFP.
Teams throw and throw some more to try keeping up with the Sooner attack, but there aren’t enough big plays coming from the secondary. After only generating six picks in 2018 – and with two coming against run-first-run-only Army – there are a mere seven last season and four game in the first three games.
The Sooners managed to survive and win a Big 12 Championship – but it would’ve been nice to get more than three interceptions in the final 11 games.
Key Oklahoma Sooners Player To A Successful Season
LB DaShaun White, Jr.
Of course the season comes down to whether or not Spencer Rattler is great – or any quarterback who might beat him out – but the defense can’t regress. After being walked all over in 2018, the D improved enough to actually be a positive in 2019, but now it’s missing its main guy with Kenneth Murray off being a Los Angeles Charger.
The 6-0, 223-pound White can work anywhere in the linebacking corps. No matter where he ends up, he’s going to be one of the team’s top tacklers. If he takes over Murray’s spot in the middle, he’s going to be a 100+ tackle statistical star. He’s not as big as Murray is, and he’s not going to be the same sort of intimidating force, but he can move.
Key Game To The Oklahoma Sooners Season
Tennessee, Sept. 12
We know how this works. Oklahoma loses one Big 12 game, gets threatened in a few others, and ends up going to the conference championship game. When the bar is set at College Football Playoff or Bust, though, there can’t be any big mistakes.
Even with a 12-1 record and a Big 12 Championship, it still would’ve been iffy to get into the CFP last year had Utah won the Pac-12 Championship. Two losses? Forget about it.
This year, Tennessee is going to be just dangerous enough to come into Norman and potentially pull off the upset. There are still several parts to the Sooners that will need a little tuning up, but they had better all be ready. Lose so early in the season, and there won’t be any margin for error the rest of the way.
– Oklahoma Sooners Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Oklahoma Fun Stats
– 3rd Down Conversions: Oklahoma 77-of-155 (49.7%) – Opponents 56-of-177 (31.6%)
– Fumbles: Oklahoma 19 (lost 10) – Opponents 16 (lost 4)
– Total Yards: Oklahoma 4,164 – Opponents 3.113
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma Sooners Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Oklahoma Sooners Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
CFN in 60 Video: Oklahoma Sooners Preview
Nothing stops.
Oklahoma’s one big flaw is that it hasn’t quite been able to be as good as Clemson and Alabama in the College Football Playoff era.
It was on the wrong side of an epic CFP Rose Bowl against Georgia three seasons ago, it didn’t have enough defense in the CFP Orange Bowl at the end of the 2018 season, and it had the unfortunate luck of being on the business end of the epic 2019 LSU team that took college football greatness to a whole other level.
But under Lincoln Riley the program has won three straight Big 12 titles and made it to three straight College Football Playoffs, and this year’s team should keep knocking on that door.
The defense improved enough last year under coordinator Alex Grinch to be a positive, and the offense continues to be among the most explosive in the history of the sport, but there were knocks on last year’s team.
It became a bit too reliant on Jalen Hurts, it took too much work to put away Baylor twice, and the team got away with too many nail-biters against teams like Iowa State and TCU.
And then it won another Big 12 Championship on the way to another College Football Playoff.
It’s the NCAA basketball tournament theory – all you can reasonably ask for out of a program and a coach is to keep cranking out great team after great team, and eventually the break will come.
Between going 0-4 in College Football Playoff games, and closing out the 2008, 2004, and 2003 seasons with national championship losses, it’s been a long, long time since the program won one of the really big ones – a slew of the current players weren’t even alive when OU won the 2000 national title.
Set The Oklahoma Sooners Regular Season Win Total At … 10.5
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 10
As long as there aren’t a slew of big injuries to key skill parts, this should still be the best team in the Big 12 and should once again be right there in the mix for a 12-1 regular season and a fourth straight CFP appearance.
Texas is more dangerous, but that’s – as always – in Dallas. Oklahoma State and Tennessee are scary, but those two come to Norman. Road games at Iowa State, West Virginia, TCU and Texas Tech are landmines, but they’re nothing this program shouldn’t be able to handle.
The coaching is peerless, the team is loaded with veterans, and the talent is all there to push that rock up the mountain again.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
