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  1. #1
    Sooner Benchwarmer milesl's Avatar
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    Oklahoma Sooners Football: Five biggest questions for 2015 season

    http://saturdayblitz.com/2015/08/04/...s-2015-season/




    The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off a subpar 2014 season. This season, the Sooners could be posed to make a championship run. There are some underlying factors involved that will contribute to Oklahoma’s success.


    The Oklahoma Sooners are looking to bounce back from a rather disappointing 2014. However, Bob Stoops has a track record of bounce-back seasons after disappointments, the additions of Lincoln Riley and Baker Mayfield will help some of the highlighted issues for the Sooners.

    Oklahoma has made some significant upgrades at multiple positions for last year. With a revamped offense and coaching staff, Oklahoma has their eyes set on dominance in the Big 12. Fans are expecting the Sooners to have one of the best offenses in the country and Stoops expects the offense to be the definition of perfection.

    The Sooners begin fall practices on Thursday. Ideally, you would expect Oklahoma to have a shot at the Big 12 even with TCU, OSU, and Baylor threatening to take the No. 1 spot. However, this season, Oklahoma remains arguably one of the most talented rosters in the Big 12.

    Last season, Oklahoma was favored to contend for a national championship or a playoff position. However, the Sooners finished with an unimpressive 8-5 record while losing four of those games to other Big 12 teams. Including tough losses to TCU, Kansas State, Baylor, and Oklahoma State before an embarrassing 40-6 loss to Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

    Heading into the season Oklahoma will have a decent schedule this year. Most people have the game against Tennessee in Knoxville circled. It’s always fun when the Big 12 goes against the SEC.

    Oklahoma has a clear shot to win the Big 12, but questions must be answered first. While much uncertainty surrounds the Sooners entering 2015 these are the five factors that will play into the success or failures of Oklahoma.




    5. Bob Stoops Is Not Going Anywhere


    The Sooners had a season last year that left them with lots of questions and a “back to the drawing board” mentality. While OU was heavily ranked and favored at the start of last season, issues began to unfold leaving OU football in the middle of the Big 12 and the firing of offensive coordinator Josh Heupel.

    The Joe Mixon situation was another black-eye for the Sooner program. Not only was Oklahoma their top recruit, but Oklahoma had the local and national media hounding the fields questioning how Oklahoma dealt and handled that situation.

    OU had bad losses against TCU, Kansas State, Baylor, and Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Fans questioned turning Blake Bell from a quarterback to a tight end, Heupel’s playcalling, the lackluster secondary, and if Stoops was on his way to Florida, Michigan or the NFL for another coaching job.

    The rumors of Stoops leaving OU last season came fast and plentiful. However, Stoops has pretty much handled every rumor the same way by refusing to publicly confirm or deny interest and/or contact with each possible suitor. It seems like Stoops is continuously linked to other head coaching jobs but never accepts the position. Stoops maintains that he is in Oklahoma to stay.

    The fact of the matter is Stoops has OU competing at a high level year in and year out, and with all the changes he’s made to the coaching staff and bringing in five-star recruits, it’s safe to say that Stoops is not going anywhere despite the constant rumors with each passing season.




    4. The Lincoln Riley Effect

    Last season, Samaje Perine was a huge bright spot. The Sooners freshman running back rushed for 1,713 yards and 21 touchdowns with Joe Mixon suspended for an off-the-field incident, Perine commanded the Oklahoma running game. He set the single-game rushing record with 427 yards against Kansas and is in position to contend for the Heisman as a sophomore.

    Sterling Shepard also made noise at the wide receiver position with 975 yards and five touchdowns to give the Sooners offense plenty of talent at the skill positions to compete in the Big 12.

    Perine, Shepard and now Mixon are going to make the Oklahoma offense a three-headed monster capable of bringing that “Sooner Magic” back to the Big 12. But before that can happen, Stoops had to address the offensive coordinator position by firing Josh Heupel and bringing in Lincoln Riley, a former quarterback at Texas Tech who was the offensive coordinator at East Carolina.

    The spring football game left fans and writers alike with a good feeling, notably with tight end Mark Andrews. Andrews is a four-star recruit from Scottsdale, Arizona, and very much looks the part of being the real deal. At 6-6 and 247 pounds he has the body type for a tight end who can be successful right away. You would have to go back to 2011 with James Hanna and Jermaine Gresham before him to have a tight end who was a difference-maker on the Sooner offense.

    He along with Mixon, Perine, and Shepard could be the start of a team on a championship run. Perine and Mixon could be an absolutely lethal combo in the Big 12. There’s plenty of hype about Mixon who was a five-star recruit in last year’s class and should be anxious to make up for lost time and repair his reputation in Norman

    Bob Stoops has been known to use multiple backs in the past; and, under Riley’s system Mixon’s speed is going to cause a lot of teams’ problems. The Sooners aren’t lacking in offensive skill players. The running back group should be the deepest, most talented unit in the Big 12.




    3. The Quarterback Situation

    The quarterback situation in Norman is an interesting one. As of now, we can guess that Baker Mayfield would be the clear-cut starter for the Sooners this season.

    However, Stoops has left the starting job a mystery not offering much information at Big 12 media day. Last season Trevor Knight came under some fire for his play. Knight threw for 2,300 yards, while throwing for 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Mayfield was named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2013.

    In the spring game Mayfield completed 10-of-13 passes for 176 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Mayfield has plenty of buzz going into the spring training, including high praise from Riley. The other quarterbacks fighting for a starting job are Cody Thomas who started the last three game of the regular season last year due to Knight being injured, and Justice Hansen who saw no playing time last year.

    It sounds as if the job is a toss-up between Knight and Mayfield.

    Stoops has maintained all three quarterbacks are in a tight battle and we can only assume a starter won’t be named until week 1 vs Akron. Having a quarterback battle should be viewed as a good sign because there’s three legit candidates. But then again, it could be Oklahoma has a revolving door of quarterbacks because neither of the three can separate from the pack.




    2. The Defensive Line and Secondary

    Oklahoma’s defense last season was sub-par at best. After ranking among the nation’s leaders in rushing defense, new defensive line coach Diron Reynolds expects OU’s defensive line to be the best yet again. The secondary needs the most work last season the Oklahoma secondary allowed opponents to score an average of 24 points a game.

    Notably, OU had a stretch of four games where the opposition scored almost 30 points a game allowing West Virginia to put up 33, TCU also put up 33, Texas dropped 26, and Kansas State posted 30 against the Oklahoma defense. The defensive line and the Secondary has to be better for Oklahoma to have success in the 2015 season.

    The Sooners are revamping their secondary in 2015, which is the biggest need on that side of the ball. Luckily, Oklahoma has a strong anchor in First-Team All-Big 12, and former Freshman All-American, Zack Sanchez at corner. Sophomore Jordan Thomas had four starts in 2014 and will most likely line up at the opposite corner. Junior Ahmad Thomas started all 13 games in 2014 at strong safety and has a hold on the spot again this fall. Sophomore Steven Parker looks to transition from nickel to the starting free safety.

    On the defensive line side of the ball, Oklahoma could hold the rushing yards to a season low against opponents. With experienced guys like Eric Striker, Jordan Evans and Dom Alexander all returning, OU’s linebackers are looking to get the defense back to dominant form.




    1. Restoring the Balance of Power in Big 12

    Can Stoops get Oklahoma back on top of the Big 12? Will the Oklahoma run game outshine the rest of the Big 12? On paper, there is no reason these two questions should not be answered with anything other than a resounding yes. Oklahoma Opens the 2015 season up with three favorable matchups vs Akron, Tennessee, and Tulsa.

    Then, following a bye week, Oklahoma begins its Big 12 schedule starting with West Virginia and Texas. The general consensus is that West Virginia will be Oklahoma again this year despite the Sooners begin able to run all over the defensive line of West Virginia. The game vs Texas is always difficult to judge or predict. Strange things always seem to happen during Oklahoma Texas.

    Following Texas, Oklahoma will try to grab some revenge vs Kansas State, where last season senior kicker Michael Hunnicutt left seven points on the field with missed and blocked kicks, including a late field goal that would have guaranteed victory. Oklahoma will have to win these games. If Oklahoma can go into Week 11 vs Baylor undefeated, they will very much put the pressure on Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State.

    Having your last three matchups against arguably the best three teams in the Big 12 is a tough task. Going into that stretch undefeated will add the confidence needed to beat Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State, thus securing Oklahoma for the throne of the playoff-less Big 12.

    It’s unlikely that Oklahoma ends up 12-0. However, it’s not crazy to think they could go 10-2.

  2. #2
    SoonerFans.com Elite Member KantoSooner's Avatar
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    Re: Oklahoma Sooners Football: Five biggest questions for 2015 season

    Did he mention that Hansen was in the running? Probly news to lotsa folks
    "I don't know karate, but I know ka-razor!" - James Brown

  3. #3
    Sooner All-Big XII-2-1+1-1+1 dwarthog's Avatar
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    Re: Oklahoma Sooners Football: Five biggest questions for 2015 season

    Article definitely seems a bit dated with the reference to Hansen.

  4. #4
    SoonerFans.com Elite Member KantoSooner's Avatar
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    Re: Oklahoma Sooners Football: Five biggest questions for 2015 season

    Extraordinary job of writing from a file of clippings. Probably a good reason to never read anything from Saturday Blitz ever again.
    "I don't know karate, but I know ka-razor!" - James Brown

  5. #5
    Sooner All-Big XII-2-1+1-1+1 Mazeppa's Avatar
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    Re: Oklahoma Sooners Football: Five biggest questions for 2015 season

    Could somebody please paraphrase the article for me, too many words for me to read at one sitting and keep my train of thought.

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