The new Sooner offense just couldn’t get much of anything going. New faces on the offensive line weren’t opening holes. New receivers were dropping on-target passes from Baker Mayfield. Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon couldn’t get a crease. Multiple penalties hamstrung drive after drive. The one trick play, a double reverse, was an unmitigated disaster, with multiple Akron defenders in the backfield blowing things up. Yes, it was clear that two or perhaps three games could have been played Saturday night without the aerially-challenged Zips threatening the Sooner end zone without help, but the Sooner offense couldn’t do much to take advantage of it for a while.
As it happened, whether it was first-game jitters, or what, it just took some time for the offense to get into the flow of the game. Once that happened, the offense ripped off five straight touchdowns, and it was all over in the third quarter. Mixon, in his first playing time, was electric, mostly as a receiver rather than a runner. His 76-yard TD catch in the third quarter on a wheel route was a thing of beauty. Yes, Akron failed entirely to cover him out of the backfield, but still. He is a bad man and will do much damage to Sooner opponents over the next few years.
The wide receiver corps, after a shaky start, was stellar. Durron Neal had a great leaping catch to set up the Sooners’ initial score of the game. Dede Westbrook, who impressed in the spring game, had a juggling catch for a first-half TD. Sterling Shepard was his usual dependable self, finally back from injury. JUCO transfer Jarvis Baxter was impressive, as well. We were a little disappointed that Mark Andrews didn’t see more action, but he was impressive when he was in there.
Overall, we saw a lot of what we didn’t see last year – guys not named Shepard getting open, holding on to the ball, and making things happen after the catch. Indeed, the wide receiver play could not have validated the firing of Jay Norvell more.
Mayfield was very solid. He broke Sam Bradford’s school record for passing yards in a season opener and hit more than 70% of his passes. Aside from one ill-advised pass that should have been picked off, he made good decisions with the ball.
The failure to open up much in the running game was a bit of a concern, but that may have been attributable to the new starters on the line getting their feet under them, coupled with Akron’s selling out to stop the run. The Air Raid passing game should open things up for Perine and Mixon in the future. At least, that’s the plan. Definitely an area where improvement is needed, and quickly.
As for the defense, it was a good performance, aside from Zack Sanchez getting torched on one long pass play. That said, Akron lined up for much of the night in what amounted to the single-wing, and were literally incapable of doing much in the passing game. For the most part, they didn’t even really try. Tennessee will be a far different animal.
The biggest thing we took from this game with respect to the defense is that, while Akron was not running anything resembling a Baylor-speed offense, the defensive calls appeared to be getting to the players in a timely fashion. Communication was clearly better, on the field and off, something that is likely largely attributable to Mike Stoops’ move up to the press box, where he can see things so much more clearly.
Special teams were a mixed bag. New kicker/punter Austin Seibert is the real deal. He was perfect on PATs, perfect on a pair of field goals, and punted for nearly a 50-yard average. He was the nation’s #1-rated kicker coming out of high school, and he looked every bit of it. Barring injury, the Sooner kicking duties should be in good hands for the next few years. He just needs to get rid of those blue shoes.
The return game was another story. Shepard fumbled a punt at the end of the first half which led to Akron’s only points. Mixon muffed a punt, which he recovered, fair caught one inside the ten, and failed to fair catch one that could have easily bounced up and hit him in the backside. Shepard had a pair of nice returns – both called back for penalties. Lots of improvement needed here, and quickly.
Frankly, we are happier with an opener that shows some warts than one where everything runs like clockwork. This team understands that they need to improve, and quickly.
Big boy football starts next Saturday, before more than 100,000 Tennessee fans dressed in the ugliest orange you’ll ever see. The Sooners have traditionally excelled in these big road games under Bob Stoops. We’ll see how the 2015 Sooners fare in SEC Country in a few days. See you in Knoxville.
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