Where Oklahoma’s Run Defense Can Improve After Baylor Meltdown

After the first three games of the season, it certainly seemed like Oklahoma’s run defense would become one of Brent Venables’ first team in Norman.
The Sooners were a perfect 3-0, and the defensive line was a big part of the side, giving up just 30 points across all three competitions combined. Both Reggie Grimes and Ethan Downs stacked sacks over the edge and the pressure seemed to come from everywhere.
Fast forward two months, and Oklahoma currently has the No. 119 run defense in the country after losing its fourth game of the season to Baylor.
For most of the game, the Sooners held the Bears attack at bay, but Baylor took over in the fourth quarter. The team of the game’s last two drives covered 145 yards and lasted 9:40 minutes. Even with Oklahoma so obviously anticipating the run, the defense still couldn’t stop it. That day, Baylor rushed 281 yards at 5.9 yards per carry.
“We just have to put our heads down and get back to work,” Lineman defends Isaiah Coe said Monday. “We need to understand where our responsibilities lie, fill in our gaps with all sorts of things.
“We just have to be more consistent. More consistent three-and-outs, more takeaways, and averaging under four yards per carry for the season.”
The Sooners tried many different rotations across the defensive line to fix the problem, but not much worked. There seems to be constant confusion at the line of scrimmage, including player positioning and line-ups. However, for Oklahoma to finish the season strong, the defensive line needs to find success for one last run early in the season.
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“Playing together as a unit,” Coe replied when asked what could improve the defensive line. “Everyone understands their task. I know it sounds pretty simple, but in the heat of the moment things have to go a certain way. As long as everyone gets the call, lines up properly, and everyone goes to their job, we can be one of the best-run defenses in the nation. We were for the first half of the season…there’s no reason we can’t go back to that.”
As Coe mentioned, fully understanding assignments and filling in gaps is critical to rediscovering success and is highlighted in film reviews. Communication seems to be the biggest key to putting the pieces of the puzzle together. If the defensive line plays as well as the early season stretch, the defensive as a whole clicks much better. Pressure is a necessity for success in a Venables-led defense.
“Seeing here and there what would happen if you miss games, that’s what training is for,” Coe said. “You go back and watch the film on Sunday after the game, have the corrections done, and then we go out here and try to perfect our craft every week. I just feel like if we keep working we can be the defense each of us wants and the defense we believe we can be.
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