There has been a lot of talk, and rightly so, about the speed, size and strength of Miami's defense as they come to Norman Saturday for their showdown with Oklahoma. Here at the Machine we are just as guilty of talking up the Canes defense as anyone else but here's the deal. The Oklahoma Sooners have a pretty solid group of guys lining up on the defensive side of the ball as well.
Last week Miami's defense gave up only 234 yards to Marshall while OU yielded just 247 to North Texas. While Oklahoma truly has a balanced attack (403 yards through the air, 285 on the ground) we still contend that Miami is one dimensional (81 yards through the air, 260 on the ground). So the question looms which defense has the best match up? I've got to say Oklahoma!
While I agree that Miami defense will slow down an Oklahoma offense that produced more yards last week than any other offense in the country I also contend that the Sooner defense will shut down a Miami offense that could only move the ball on the ground against Marshall.
OU gave up a total of 15 yards on the ground last week to North Texas! While comparing Miami to the Mean Green isn't even as close as apples to oranges if the Hurricanes think they'll role into Norman and run over the Sooners then they are sadly mistaken. Miami is going to have to pass the ball to beat Oklahoma and I just don't see them being capable of doing that.
Both defenses are similar in the fact that they are strong and fast but that is where the similarities between the two teams stop. Offensively the Sooners are well ahead of the Hurricanes which should translate to OU's defense being in better position to have more of an impact on the game than Miami's.