Oklahoma Missing 'Violent' Running Game

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s rushing attack has been bad this season.

There’s no other way to put it.

After an offseason spent touting the emphasis on running the football better, the result so far has been a step backward from even last season’s struggles.

The Sooners come into Saturday’s game against No. 2 Georgia with the No. 123 rushing average in FBS.

Their 110.3 yards per game is better than just three Power Four teams — Cal (106.7), Stanford (103.0) and Arkansas (75.3).

It won’t be easy for Oklahoma to move the ball on the ground against the Bulldogs, who are No. 3 nationally, allowing just 45.7 rushing yards per game to this point.

“Our runners have to run the ball violently,” Sooners offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said.

Oklahoma hasn’t shown much of an ability to do that this season.

Lloyd Avant leads the way with 141 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries.

“I think Lloyd has proven he’s a good player,” Sooners coach Brent Venables said. “Whatever Lloyd does, he does well, and he’s consistent.”

It’s the same thing Venables has said about Avant for the last two months.

But Avant is far from locked in to the No. 1 role.

Behind Avant. Xavier Robinson has 45 yards on 12 carries, freshman Jonathan Hatton Jr. has 29 yards on nine carries and sophomore Tory Blaylock has five yards on five carries.

Robinson has shown explosiveness in the past but has yet to find a groove this season, while Hatton and Blaylock have been working their way fully back from injuries that limited them for significant periods of preseason camp.

“You want guys to emerge and separate and leave no doubt,” Venables said. “Lloyd’s been the most consistent. He’s had the most opportunity as well.”

Likewise Arbuckle praised Avant, though said the group was still a work in progress.

“We’ve really wanted to see early in the season what those guys could do, so being able to give them opportunities early on, before we developed more of a set rotation, hey, this is how we’re going to do it,” Arbuckle said.

But it figures the Sooners are going to need to settle on a rotation soon — if they’re ever going to find one this season.

Besides Avant, the Sooners’ only other rushing touchdown this season came from backup quarterback Whitt Newbauer.

Oklahoma’s two rushing touchdowns are its lowest through three games in at least 40 years — and probably significantly longer. Likewise for the rushing average through three games.

Last season’s 118.5 yards per game on the ground was the lower average for the Sooners since 2001 and their rushing touchdown total was their lowest since 1998.

Oklahoma’s backup quarterback from last season, Michael Hawkins Jr., has nearly as many rushing yards himself through three games at West Virginia as the Sooners do as a team, and Hawkins has scored twice the number of rushing touchdowns.

Of the Sooners’ nine SEC opponents this season, seven are in the top 50 nationally in rushing defense so far. Four are in the top 30.

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