Long in search of complementary football, Lincoln Riley now has a defense he can trust
Looking back across the 2020 season, Oklahoma won games this year by playing a lot of complementary football.
Now imagine suggesting that just a few short years ago.
When Lincoln Riley arrived in Norman, the OU offense was limping. But Riley landed a quarterback and polished him up (then another, then another), and with excellent offensive line play, explosive productivity from the skill-position players and Riley’s clever play-calling, scoring and yardage records at OU were shattered regularly.
Meanwhile, the Sooner defense languished, setting new standards for mediocrity game after game — talented players trying hard, but the end result a wretched wreck.
To suggest that less than four seasons into his head coaching tenure, Riley would turn a championship game over to his defense to win it seemed beyond preposterous.
Yet that’s exactly what happened on Dec. 19 when the Sooners outlasted Iowa State 27-21 for their sixth straight Big 12 championship. While the OU offense was bogged down both by its own inefficiencies and a stout Cyclones defense, the OU defense was “able to hold it together,” Riley said.
While Riley was forced to punt on five straight possessions (including one on fourth-and-1 and two from midfield), OU’s defense bottled up the nation’s leading rushing to just 3.4 yards per carry. While the Sooner offense was converting just 1-of-11 third downs, the secondary was collecting three interceptions, including the game-clincher with a minute left.
“That's what excites me about this team,” Riley said, “because we do have the capability to really make things tough on opposing offenses. We've shown the capability of being explosive offensively. We want to push for more and more, certainly, on both sides of the ball, and never (have) a sense of satisfaction. But we have shown the ability to win games in a lot of different ways.”
Riley acknowledged that coaching involves being able to “shift through the years” and said the objective should always be to do whatever it takes to win each individual game.
“And that all depends on so many things,” he said.
Next time out in Arlington — the No. 6-ranked Sooners (8-2) play No. 7 Florida (8-3) in the Cotton Bowl — the Oklahoma defense might not have the kind of success it did last time at AT&T Stadium. The Gators lead the nation in passing offense, quarterback Kyle Trask is a Heisman Trophy finalist, and wideout Kadarius Toney made All-SEC at three different positions (first-team all purpose, second-team receiver and second-team return specialist).
“With a high-powered offense like Florida,” said OU defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas, “it will really give us that challenge to give us a real feel of what our defense is really made of and see what players are willing to step up in a big-time game like this. I'm excited for the challenge.”
“Yeah, I think it's a tremendous challenge,” said defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. “There's no question about it … like, the best offense we've faced this year. Obviously, you talk about a quarterback playing as well as anybody in the country, skill across the board. And we ran into that in a bowl game last year (a 63-28 loss to LSU), that very elite offense, in a lot of ways. And I don't know all the numbers or records in that, but borderline historic-type of numbers. And so that's a challenge, certainly, for us defensively.”
Three years ago, this game would have been a track meet. Or two years ago. Even last year. In three straight bowl games against SEC opponents — all College Football Playoff losses — defenses coordinated by Mike Stoops, Ruffin McNeill and Grinch have allowed 54, 45 and 63 points.
But Riley believes his defense is better equipped this time around to at least keep up with the SEC’s most prolific offense.
“The other thing, I think, that's been really good about this team is this team … has been able to answer the call, maybe, when one side is not playing well,” Riley said.
He pointed to not only the Big 12 title game, but also the Texas game, a blown fourth-quarter lead and a four-overtime victory.
“Defensively we played so well and then we kind of struggled there towards the end of the game,” Riley said. “And first couple of overtimes, offense really got on track and was able to keep extending the game and ultimately win it.
“So this team has done that. And how teams play off of each other and complement each other, I think, is so important. And that has given us a chance to win games in very different ways.”
Oklahoma goes into bowl season ranked 19th nationally in total defense, allowing just 333.6 yards per game (better than all but two SEC defenses). The Sooners are second in the nation in rushing defense at just 90.6 yards per game (they’re behind only Georgia). OU ranks fifth in the country in third-down defense, yielding a conversion just 27.7 percent of the time (no SEC defense ranks in the top 20).
“I feel like there's still a notion that we don't have a lot of respect as a defense when playing against those type of teams,” said linebacker Nik Bonitto. “So going against Florida, it's a great opportunity. They have a great offense, great team in general. And we just see there's a huge opportunity in front of us to prove ourselves as a defense and show we belong with one of the best in the nation. I feel like we're ready to take on that challenge, and we're ready to play a great team in Florida.”
“What you're not going to do,” Grinch said, “is take the victim mindset: ‘Oh, my God, this is our reward for (this) type of season? Because it is. When you're at the University of Oklahoma, the expectation is to win championships. And we've been very fortunate to win two in our time here.
“And the next one, again, lies in wait. Every mountain you climb, there's another mountain that's waiting for you. And that's why you go and coach at a place like an Oklahoma. It's why kids play at places like Oklahoma.”
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