FanPost

Three things for the Red River "Showdown"

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

When people think of the 2019 Oklahoma Sooners, they think of a dynamic offense led by Jalen Hurts. Over five games, Hurts has led the Sooners to 622 yards per game and 49.2 points per game, which ranks first and forth respectively among FBS teams. The most telling statistic presented by the Sooners offense is points per play. In this category, the Sooners rank first in the nation amongst FBS teams, scoring .767 points for every play they run offensively. That tells us that Oklahoma is not inflating the stats by running more plays -- they are scoring a lot of points, and they are doing it efficiently.

If Oklahoma has one weakness, it is defense. Film review reveals that the defense has struggled at times with tackling. The Sooner’s defense ranks 76th nationally against the run, with an average yards per game of 168.2 given up on the ground. Conversely, the pass defense has been better than average, giving up only 180 yards per game, good enough for 16th in the nation. Despite the criticism, the defense has been stingy in the scoring category, only giving up 20.2 points per game, and ranking 31st in the country with a points per play average of .305.

A review of the statistics and film will reveal that Texas is up to a tall task this weekend when faced with keeping pace with the Sooner’s dynamic offense, especially considering the better than average defense the Sooners have been able to put on the field so far in 2019. Here are three things the Longhorns need to focus on if they are going to be successful against the Sooners.

Stopping the Run

Yes, Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley’s came from an Air Raid background, however, the Sooners are third in the country in rushing offense, averaging 283.5 yards per game on the ground. Additionally, the Sooners have scored 18 of their 35 touchdowns on the ground this season. While Hurts is their leading rusher, accounting for 35 percent of the Sooners rushing offense, even if his production was removed from the offense, the Sooners would still rank 36 in the country, just ahead of Baylor with an average of 188.6 yards per game.

Despite their high-scoring reputation, make no mistake, the Sooners want to run the football. Oklahoma ranks 42 in the country with a rush percentage of 56.03, compared to their 89th ranked pass percentage of 43.97. If Texas wants to win this game, they must make the offense one dimensional, and that starts with stopping the run.

Containing CeeDee Lamb

The Sooners have a dynamic passing attack that can use a multitude of weapons. They are the sixth ranked passing offense in the country, averaging 338.5 yards per game. Even if the Longhorns are successful in stopping the run, they will be challenged to keep pace with the Sooners without slowing down their passing attack. In order to minimize this damage, the Longhorns must keep the Sooners X receiver, CeeDee Lamb from making big plays.

Lamb accounts for 439 of the Sooner’s 1777 receiving yards this season, or approximately 25 percent. Lamb has also produced seven of the team’s 17 touchdowns through the air this season, about 41 percent of their touchdown receptions. Lamb averages 24.3 yards per reception, while the rest of the team averages 15.7 yards per reception.

In order to be successful in minimizing the damage Hurts can cause through the air, Texas must keep Oklahoma's big-play weapon contained by preventing him from being a threat down the field while ensuring sure tackling when the receiver is able to get the ball in space. D’Shawn Jamison’s physical style of play and athletic ability seem to match up well with Lamb, but it is unlikely the sophomore will be successful in a one-on-one matchup with Lamb all afternoon. Expect Texas to have an extra defender aligned to Lamb’s side of the field for the majority of Saturday’s game in order provide additional help to Jamison, along with the other Texas defensive backs that may be charged with defending Lamb on Saturday afternoon. Doing this, combined with taking away the run game will force Hurts to sit in the pocket, read the defense, and distribute the ball, which isn’t something he has done with a great deal of success at the collegiate level.

H-Receiver Production

Until this point, this article has focused on how to slow down the Sooner’s offense. While playing sound defense is the key to winning football games, it is impossible to win without scoring points. As discussed previously, the Oklahoma has struggled with the ground attack this year, mostly due to deficiencies in their ability to bring down a hard-charging ball carrier. While the Sooner’s rushing defense is suspect, their pass defense is well above average, and they do not give up big plays, which means it will be difficult for Sam Ehlinger and the Texas offense to push the ball down the field.

In order to take advantage of the Sooner’s deficiencies in the tackling area, and to create opportunities for big plays down the field, Texas must establish a solid short passing game, starting with two of their most dynamic weapons, Devin Duvernay and Jake Smith. The Texas H receivers have combined for 41 percent of the team’s receiving yards and 47 percent of the touchdown receptions so far in 2019, with 636 yards and eight touchdowns over five games so far this season. Look for Texas to try and get the ball to Duvernay and Smith in space using screens. This will supplement the run game, play into Texas strengths in the passing game, and take advantage of the Sooner’s issues with tacking this season.

Another play that can get the ball to these receivers in space is the H Shallow. Not only does the shallow create opportunities to gain yardage with the run after the catch, it can open up the passing game down the field. As the safeties begin to cheat to the shallow and crossing routes run in the play, Texas can use some minor modifications of the shallow to mix in the post/wheel route, further stressing the safety, and creating mismatches down the field. If Texas has success running the football this play can also be combined with a play action to freeze the safety, creating further stress on the Sooner’s ability to defend the pass down the field.

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