By Jay Berry
Injuries on the offensive line and wide receiver could be an issue as the Oklahoma Sooners schedule becomes more difficult.
The Sooners are just two games into their first season in the SEC, and things are already looking shaky. The first two opponents were against Temple, whom they dispensed easily. Then Houston, who they struggled with to win 16-12.
Willie Fritz and Houston were coming off an embarrassing loss to UNLV in week one. They were definitely going to be prepared for this game. That being said, the Sooners offense looked well behind schedule.
While Oklahoma’s defense looks promising, how good can they actually be with their current offense?
Yeah, they beat Temple 51–3. In that game, you could see some things that are going to be a problem when they play their SEC schedule, and it was mainly their offensive line.
On top of it, they have no depth at wide receiver with injuries to Nic Anderson, Jalil Farooq, Jayden Gibson, and Andrel Anthony.
Fast-forward to week two against Houston, and once again, their offensive line, which is banged up with injuries, looked like a concern. The entire offense didn’t execute.
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Oklahoma have a challenging SEC conference schedule that starts in two weeks against Tennessee. As of right now, it looks like they’ll have difficulties blocking that defense, led by a potential first-overall pick in James Pearce Jr.
SEC FACT OF THE DAY (14 Days to OU’s 1st SEC Game vs Tennessee)…
Sooners & Vols will both feature young QB’s. Early career stats:
Jackson Arnold: 61/94, 65%, 704 YDS, 8 TD, 3 INT, 1 RUSH TD
Nico Iamaleava: 50/73, 68%, 628 YDS, 5 TD, 0 INT, 3 RUSH TD pic.twitter.com/dR6utS9V0h
— Toby Rowland (@TRowOU) September 7, 2024
In week three, they will play a Tulane team that gave Kansas State everything they could handle.
The Sooners need to get healthy, and they need to get healthy fast. In addition to Tennessee, they also play Auburn, Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama, and LSU.
Based on how they look on the offensive line, their lack of depth at receiver, and some questionable play-calling by Seth Littrell, they are going to have their hands full.
That isn’t to say that Oklahoma can’t improve or make the necessary adjustments. However, with the injuries they have at the trouble spots, will make this extra challenging. To get Jackson Arnold rolling, the Sooners needs to come out firing against Tulane.
Oklahoma benefits from playing their first four games of the season at home. Next Saturday, they’re back home against Tulane in the afternoon. Then, the following week, they’re home against Tennessee at a time to be determined.
Don’t panic, Sooners fans, but keep a close eye, especially on the offense.
They’re going to need that offense to score some points and sustain drives to give their defense a rest in conference play.
Look for the Sooners to show up against Tulane, improved from how they performed against Houston. If not, it could be a hazard sign for the following week against Tennessee. Even at full strength, that will be a challenging tilt.
