Oklahoma Sooners Football At TCU Horned Frogs | What To Expect From The OU Offense

Oklahoma has had a week off to game plan, rest up, and heal before taking to Ft. Worth for a Top 25 match-up against TCU. The Sooners will be without running back Keith Ford for the second consecutive game but, as Samaje Perine proved in Morgantown, that's not necessarily a show stopper. What may be an issue for Oklahoma's offense though is a Horned Frog defense that it is tops in the conference and only allowing opponents an average of 2.1 yards per carry. This is an obstacle that the Sooners must overcome as it will be at the center of their offensive game plan...hopefully.

As for that plan itself, here's what you could expect Oklahoma to try and do.

Run the football. Granted Josh Heupel has the tendency to lean heavy on the pass but there's no denying that the Sooners are at their best when they're running the ball. You don't have to look any further than the last game to get a clear understanding of that. While I don't expect OU to have the same type of success against the Frogs as they did against the Mountaineers, I do expect them to pound away at TCU's defensive front that is talented but also thin. Hopefully the inability to sub at regular intervals combined with the constant pounding from the Oklahoma offensive line and running game will pave the way for a weary defensive front late in the game.

Attack the edges. I think I can confidently say that TCU is most likely going to stack/load the box and try to force Trevor Knight to beat them. An area where the Sooners could exploit this defensive set it to get the ball to the edges and take advantage with their speed. For this reason I believe that Alex Ross could be in for a big game out of the back field. I would expect OU to do a lot of things with motion and misdirection for this very purpose. It's all about getting to that edge and then getting down hill. If the defense is willing to pack inside then you have to beat them to the outside, make a guy miss, and then get down the field. This should be a fun angle of the offensive game plan to keep an eye on, the success of plays to the outside as opposed to those to the middle.

Keep pressure off of Trevor Knight. This will most likely be the biggest test to date for Oklahoma in terms of pass protection. The Frogs have regularly put quarterbacks down through their first three games and will be hunting to make Knight uncomfortable as much as possible. I don't expect to see a bunch of shots taken down the field but I do expect OU to use their short to mid-range passing game to try and exploit some one-on-one opportunities. The offensive line needs to keep Knight's jersey clean.

Use the short to mid-range passing routes. If TCU uses the defensive alignment that believe they will then someone is going to be left in one-on-one coverage. There's really no need to run them deep, just get them the ball and let them either shake the tackle of take a six-yard gain. TCU is equally good against the pass as they are the run. The Frogs have recorded five interceptions this season against their opponents and given up just a single touchdown through the air. Oklahoma doesn't need to have yards in big chunks against this defense, they just need to continually get moderate gains.

One thing that you can always count on TCU is they'll have a solid defense, along with a solid game plan and this year is no exception. It doesn't mean that OU won't have an advantage though. It just means they'll just have to work harder to exploit it.