There was a time when the traffic between the middle of the field and sidelines almost needed a stop sign. Offenses and defenses had become so specialized that both units had different groups of players for just about any down-and-distance situation.
It was a chess match between opposing coordinators, all designed to find favorable personnel match ups.
But the most impressive aspect of Oklahoma’s 52-26 victory over Cincinnati at Owen Field Saturday was its ability to do just about anything it wanted with its base personnel on both sides of the ball.
“We have some guys that give us a lot of flexibility,” OU coach Bob Stoops said Sunday.
Consider OU’s first offensive play. It trotted onto the field with two wide receivers, two tight ends, and a running back, but lined up in a five-receiver formation.
On the defensive side of the ball, OU spent just about all of the game with four defensive linemen, three linebackers and four defensive backs on the field. Yet that base 11 was able to match up with the Bearcats’ four-receiver sets and two-running back alignments.
In a nutshell, there is both the reason OU has shifted to a no-huddle offense and the defensive answer to stopping one.
“I think we have something that’s really going to put a lot of stress on defenses this year,” quarterback Sam Bradford said. “We have so many different formations out of each personnel group that a defense can’t just look at who we have on the field and be able to predict what we’re going to do.”
Tight ends Jermaine Gresham and Brody Eldridge and running back DeMarco Murray all lined up as slot receivers at some point Saturday. All three can catch the ball with Gresham and Murray possessing skills on par or surpassing wide receiver’s.
Defenses have to choose how to defend them. Once the decision is made, the trap is set. Defenses can’t substitute if offenses aren’t huddling and aren’t doing their own substituting. Referees won’t stop the game to allow it.
Cincinnati didn’t have any answers Saturday. The Sooners piled up 592 yards and pretty much moved the ball at will.
The Bearcats were trying to do the same thing to the Sooners, but it didn’t work out because of the versatility the Sooners showed at defensive end and linebacker.
OU used defensive end Jeremy Beal at linebacker against spread sets and linebacker Keenan Clayton was able to provide a favorable match up against inside receivers.
“You have to have an answer for anything they send out there,” Beal said.
Look for the Sooner defense to remain that way the rest of the season. Saturday was the big experiment to see if they could go toe-to-toe with an explosive offense like Cincinnati and handle whatever was thrown at them.
“It’s all about personnel,” Venables said. “You don’t just do it if you don’t have the right people. But when you can, it gives you a lot more flexibility. It was good for us.”
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
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