Life Without A.D.

We'll get into closing the door on the Cyclones later but for now let's address a more pressing issue. What does the loss of Adrian Peterson mean to the Sooners?

First and foremost it will mean a drastic change in offensive philosophy. Oklahoma will become a more balanced team on offense as Malcolm Kelly, Joe Jon Finley and Paul Thompson take even bigger roles in leading the Sooner attack.

With Peterson out opposing defenses will quit playing Oklahoma to stop the run first. This might actually free up the next running back to put up solid numbers because there will be no more seven and eight man fronts. Defenses will now be playing Oklahoma to stop the pass.

So who steps up to replace the guy who could have been the best running back in Oklahoma football history? Here are the candidates;

Allen Patrick - Patrick (a junior) is listed as second on the depth chart. He has rushed for 198 yards on 43 carries averaging 4.6 yards a carry.
Jacob Gutierrez - Gutierrez (another junior) has carried the ball 50 times for 271 yards averaging 5.4 yards a carry.
Chris Brown, Mossis Madu and DeMarco Murray are all freshmen who up until this point were heading for a redshirt season. Madu was mentioned specifically offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson as a guy he would play but Brown has been getting reps with the first team offense in practice. Murray was hampered by a toe injury and hasn't worked his way up the depth chart yet.

It looks like it will be running back by committee from here on out with Patrick and Gutierrez sharing the bulk of the load and one of the three freshmen coming out of redshirt, my guess is Madu.

Have we seen the last of Adrian Peterson?

Unfortunately I think we have. Another year at Oklahoma could be a liability to him because he is going to be a top 5 pick in the NFL draft this season. No Heisman Trophy, no national championship and no Oklahoma rushing title are in his future but millions of dollars are.