Just how much better can this Sooner defense really be?
Since last season ended, some collection of the following words have been spoken ad nauseam by presumably smart people looking forward to Oklahoma’s entry into the Southeastern Conference.
• They’ll have to lean on their defense while the offense catches up.
• They’ll be led by their defense this season.
• This team’s going to hang its hat on its defense.
• This team can play great defense.
Once, the catchphrase was “complimentary football,” but we’re past that, apparently, either because an offense with questions on the line, at running back, led by a first-year starting quarterback can’t be expected to make great waves or, bright side, the Sooner offense may be just fine but the defense is bound to be fantastic.
Hard to know which.
More hard to know?
What are the presumably smart people envisioning when envisioning this Sooner defense.
Are they talking 2000, when OU allowed 14 or fewer points in nine of 13 games and shut out Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Chris Weinke and the Florida State offense in the national championship game?
Are they talking about 2003, when OU allowed a second-best-in-the-nation 3.9 yards per opponent snap, a fifth-best 15.3 points per game and a sixth-best opponent third-down-conversion percentage of 27.6?
Near as I can tell, they couldn’t possibly be talking about any of the defense the Sooners have played the last 10 seasons, though a few of those years were far better than they likely remember.
In 2014, a five-loss team nobody remembers playing much defense, OU ranked 44th in total defense (382.6), 29th in yards-per-play allowed (5.0) and 13th in third-down-conversion defense (33.7%).
In 2015 they were better, ranking 30th in total defense (364.8), 24th in scoring defense (22.0) and 13th in yards-per-play allowed (4.6).
In 2020, Alex Grinch’s second year in the coordinator’s chair, though nobody remembers it this way, they weren’t half bad, allowing an average 21.7 points, 350.6 yards, 5.2 yards per play, sporting a 27.9% third-down defense.
Last season, conventional wisdom said the Sooners turned a defensive corner.
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