Offensive Keys To Victory Against O-State

DeMarco needs to have another game like we've seen from him the last month.

Oklahoma’s offense has yet to be stopped this year and they are learning to pace themselves. OU has the most balanced attack in the conference and the most lethal in the country. Against Oklahoma State on Saturday they’ll have to remain balanced in order to neutralize Oklahoma State’s attack. We’ll get into the Pokes offense on the next post but let me just say that they’ll pose more of a threat than Texas Tech did because of balance.

Oklahoma State is 4^th in the conference in points allowed at 23.8 and they are allowing almost 102 yards per game on the ground while giving up 259 through the air. For Oklahoma to come out of Stillwater with a victory the Sooners must be able to do the following things on offense.

• Run the football! Oklahoma wore down the Texas Tech defensive front with their rushing attack and need to do the same against OSU. DeMarco Murray is averaging 5.7 yards a carry and Chris Brown an even 6. They are a powerful combo and can quickly wear down a defense. If the Sooners are running successfully on Saturday evening it will mean two things. First, that they are winning the battle up front and second passing yards will be even easier to come by.

• Protect Sam Bradford! There isn’t a better quarterback out there when it comes to making quick accurate passes. When the Cowboys played Texas Tech they couldn’t get to Graham Harrell. He stayed in the pocket and completed 40 of 50 passes. This bodes well for the Sooners because there offensive line is a step up from Tech’s and if Bradford gets that much time then he’ll have another impressive mark on his Heisman resume.

• Rack up the YAC! Oklahoma State is going to have to respect OU’s rushing attack which means they’ll be playing their linebackers up. That should pave the way for some slants and middle crossing routs and screens. Oklahoma currently has 9 players on their roster who average more than 10 yards per catch. Of those, 7 of them receive significant playing time. Those guys need to turn the 5-7 yard passes into 20-25 yard passes.

• Finally, don’t drop passes! I called out Jermaine Gresham before the Tech game for his knack for dropping sure touchdown passes. What did he do? He went out and dropped a sure touchdown pass. Again, that is a trend that must stop!

There isn’t an offense like Oklahoma’s in the Big 12 but I don’t believe that the Sooners can afford to get into a shootout with OSU. The Sooners need to maintain a balanced attack to both run the clock and the Cowboys into the ground.