OU Preview: Sooner Offense vs. UH Defense

OU head coach Lincoln Riley is 24-4 in two seasons.

Can The Cougar Defense Stop The Rebuilt Sooners?

On September 1, the Cougars begin the Dana Holgorsen era at Oklahoma in Norman. It’s the return game of the 2016 opener at NRG – the game that shot UH into the national conversation. Six Cougars that played in the game will go to Norman as seniors, most of whom should start.
 
Dana Holgerson makes his debut against a team he knows quite well. Holgorsen faced OU seven times while he was the head coach at West Virginia but lost each game. His defense held the Sooners under 44 points just once, a 16-7 loss at OU in 2013.
 
Holgorsen getting his feet wet against a likely #4 team in the country is markedly different from other UH coaches this century. Major Applewhite opened against Arizona, a team coming off a 3-9 season. Herman faced FCS Tennessee Tech while his predecessor Levine got Texas State in their first-ever FBS game. Sumlin faced FCS Southern while Dimel and Briles each opened their UH careers vs. Rice.
 

Holgorsen at Friday Night Lights

The Matchup

The OU offense was the most prolific in the country last year. The numbers look overwhelming when compared to a Cougar defense that was in the bottom 10-15 in most categories. It’s not a pretty picture:

OU Offense Vs. UH Defense: A Comparison

StatisticOU Offensive RankUH Defensive Rank
Total Yards1126
Rushing11115
Passing7123
First Downs3128
3rd Down %4120
TDs By Unit2123
Passing TDs480
Rushing TDs6128
Scoring1118
Red Zone 8123
Yards Per Play1111
Yards Per Completion5114
Turnovers920

If you’re looking for good news against the OU offense, here are 3 nuggets of hope:

  • Kyler Murray and four starting OL (all 5 in the NFL) are gone from the 2018 team. Murray, of course, won the Heisman while the departed OL combined for 55 (out of a possible 56) starts at the two guard and tackle spots. That’s a lot of quality production lost. The OL loses three All-Big 12 first-team selections, including a consensus All-American, and a second-team left tackle.
     

  • New starting QB Jalen Hurts has won a lot of games but most of those were thanks to the Bama defense. Alabama gave up just 12.7 ppg in his 28 starts – 356 total points. To compare, OU has given up 350 points in their last 9 games. He’s never had the burden put on him to win games and is unproven in this offense.
     

    Sorry! The rest of this content is only available for GoCoogs members.

    Join GoCoogs For All Of Our Content

    No one has broken more Cougar sports stories in the last year than GoCoogs.com. In early August, we broke the biggest news since Dana Holgorsen was hired: Eyabi Anoma is transferring to UH and will be a Coog!

    And no one gives you feature-length interviews, profiles, and looks back at the Glory Days like GoCoogs! You can SUBSCRIBE NOW to get all of our content and the private Veer message board for just just $69.99 for the year or $8.99 per month.
     
    GoCoogs takes Cougar fans beyond the game recap with premium content and exclusive stories you can’t find anywhere else.
     
    The biggest inside scoops – no one breaks more UH football news than GoCoogs;

    20+ pieces of content each game week – more than every other outlet combined;

    NEW! Talkin’ Bout Them Cougars! – our twice-weekly Cougar football podcast;

    Film Room: analyzing the plays or drives that change the game;

    NEW! Inside analysis from former UH football players;

    Beyond the Box Score: understanding the analytics and stats behind the game;

    NEW! On This Day stories that take our social media series even further;

    Profiles of current and former players and UH commits;

    Our most popular series: Reliving the UH Glory Days;

    Exclusive Q&As with players, coaches, and administrators;

    Our subscriber-only message board, The Veer;

    And more!

    No one produces more quality HOUSTON COUGARS content than GoCoogs. This season, 75% of our content will be exclusively for our subscribers.

    [perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”#dd0000″ class=”” size=”20″] Did you know? GoCoogs is the only UH subscription website with special prices for UH students & staff. [/perfectpullquote]

    Become a subscriber now:

    Annual Subscription – $69.99

    Or you can subscribe month-to-month:

    Monthly Subscription – $8.99
     

    Once you subscribe to GoCoogs.com, you receive full access to our premium content. You also have access to the Veer, our private, subscriber-only message board.

    The Veer forum is where we first post our insider scoops, news, and stats. GoCoogs subscribers have built a fun, drama-free community that allows for great, civil conversation among passionate Cougar fans. By having a completely private forum, we’ve eliminated trolling, outsiders, politics, and over-the-top profanity.

    Subscribers also have access to awesome UH emojis, exclusively on the Veer, like these:

    UH Emojis Available With A GoCoogs Subscription

    Get all of this for just $69.99! There’s no better deal for Cougar fans!
     

    A great deal for UH students and staff

    GoCoogs offers discounted subscription options for UH students & staff: either a monthly ($3.99/month) or annual ($29.99) subscription. These plans are only valid only when subscribing with a @uh.edu e-mail address.[footnote]We reserve the right to verify if students and staff are currently enrolled or employed at UH.[/footnote]

    Students & Staff Monthly – $3.99 | Students & Staff Annually – $29.99

    GoCoogs.com is the only UH subscription website with special pricing for UH students & staff.
     

    *Please note: the promotional subscription deals above are valid for until August 31, 2019, and cannot be guaranteed after that. These are our most up-to-date subscription specials.

    *By clicking Place Your Order, you agree to our Payment Terms. After year one, your subscription renews at the regular rate available at the time of renewal. All renewals beginning this fall will be for $89.99.
     
     

Categories:

Recent Content