How Can Oklahoma’s Defense Force More Turnovers in 2026?

For how strong Oklahoma’s defense was in 2025, the Sooners largely struggled to force turnovers.

OU didn’t log its first takeaway until its Week 5 game against Kent State last year. The turnovers were more plentiful in the back half of the season, but the Sooners still forced only 13, putting them tied for 114th nationally.

In several defensive categories, the Sooners were among the nation’s best. OU led the SEC in total defense, scoring defense and sacks.

But simply put, the Sooners must improve at forcing turnovers.

“We’re not expecting to get off to a slow start,” linebacker Owen Heinecke said. “We were shocked last year.”

It’s easy to see how vital forced turnovers were to the Sooners’ strong finish to the regular season.

Nine of Oklahoma’s 13 takeaways came in its final four regular-season games. The Sooners won all four of those contests — against Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU — to enter the postseason 10-2 and clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Still, the Sooners’ turnover margin for the entire season was minus-three, which ranked 94th of 136 FBS schools. Notably, Oklahoma committed five turnovers and forced zero takeaways in its only three losses of 2025 (against Texas, Ole Miss and Alabama in the College Football Playoff).

With three College Football Playoff teams from 2025 — Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas A&M — on the schedule, as well as Texas, Michigan, Missouri and South Carolina, the Sooners can’t afford a turnover drought at any point in the 2026 season.

So Heinecke and his defensive teammates have set a lofty goal.

“The expectation is to have three turnovers a game,” Heinecke said. “If we're not reaching that we're missing the mark.”

Several of Oklahoma’s top defensive players didn’t log any turnovers last year.

Though freshman defensive back Courtland Guillory tied for a team-high seven pass breakups, he failed to record an interception. Star defensive lineman David Stone ended his sophomore year with eight tackles for loss, but he didn’t force or recover any fumbles. And safety Michael Boganowski, who played a key role at safety, also didn’t force any turnovers.

The Sooners know that they must become more disruptive in this area. And according to Guillory, that’s been a primary focus throughout the offseason.

“I feel like that's what we practice every day in practice — forcing turnovers, whether it's punching the ball out, interceptions, tips and overthrows,” Guillory said. “That's been the thing that we've been focusing on, and we’re going to make those plays happen.”

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