Oklahoma's Defense Hoping to Maintain Focus, Intensity Coming Off Bye Against UCF
NORMAN — If Oklahoma’s win over Texas gave way to overconfidence, those warts could show up quickly.
The No. 6-ranked Sooners return to action on Saturday, hosting the UCF Knights for the first ever meeting between the programs at 11 a.m. on ABC.
And while the Knights (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) have struggled in their maiden Big 12 campaign, the Gus Malzahn announced UCF would be getting starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee back to lead one of the nation’s most prolific offenses.
UCF ranks fourth nationally in yards per game, powered by the third best rushing attack in the FBS.
Plumlee combines with running backs RJ Harvey and Johnny Richardson to rush for 246.3 yards per game, producing great results in Malzahn’s tricky offense.
“I think good coaches, deception is part of the game,” OU coach Brent Venables said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday before evoking Sun Tzu’s Art of War. “I think that’s a big part of strategy. Gus and UCF… I think they’re top two or three in the country in deceptive plays as far as a percentage of their total number of plays.
“If they run the screen, they’re gonna run the screen and go. If they run the sprint, they’ve got the sprint throwback… All of those things to slow your aggression down and to manipulate you. We try to work on that every single week as part of our normal, even if they don’t do it.”
Halfway through the regular season, Oklahoma’s defense has been exceptional at both defending the run and staying disciplined when opposing offenses try to pull one over on the Sooners.
SMU ran a number of trick plays at OU back in Week 2, and linebacker Danny Stutsman and the rest of the defense stayed in position, rarely fooled.
The Sooners passed a huge test in the Cotton Bowl in Texas’ rushing attack, helping OU win the rushing battle. Coming out of the bye week, the Sooners sit at No. 29 in rushing defense, allowing nearly 75 yards less per game than in 2022.
With all the pre-snap motion and deception UCF will deploy on Saturday, Oklahoma will have to show it was able to tune out all of the praise since beating Texas, continuing to play fast and aggressive with the focus that’s led the Sooners to starting the season a perfect 6-0.
“Our mindset is that we’ve already put all the pressure on ourselves,” defensive end Ethan Downs said on Tuesday. “We have high expectations and we have goals. The goals are still the same as they were before the hype and after. We appreciate all the recognition, but our goals exceed far beyond that.
“What happens in the building and what happens in every practice is what we’re focused on. It hasn’t changed.”
Venables’ defense has already shown it can stifle an explosive rushing attack with the right mindset this season.
Entering OU’s Big 12 opener against Cincinnati, the Bearcats were the eighth-best rushing attack in college football.
The Sooners held the Bearcats to 141 yards on the ground, allowing just six points on a pair of field goals.
While both Cincinnati and UCF excel on the ground, the Knights stress defenses in a different manner than the Bearcats.
“Different styles, a little more option principles,” Venables said. “But similarities on the run with the RPO’s and then coach Malzahn has a depth of experience systematically. And then he’s got the right players. He’s got explosive playmakers. You know at tailback at quarterback and at receiver to help all of it work.
“They’ve got a veteran offensive line that can move people and open up gaps and so they know how to put you in conflict, put pressure on you and you’ve got to play with great precision and physicality, both. And you’ve got to close space quickly because their playmakers can run away from you in a hurry.”
Harvey leads all UCF runners with 511 yards on the year, but Plumlee averages 8.6 yards per carry and Richardson rushes for 8.3 yards per attempt.
Oklahoma limited Cincinnati quarterback Emory Jones to 42 rushing yards in Week 4, but every level of OU’s defense will have to stay sharp mentally to limit Plumlee in a similar manner on Saturday.
“Extremely mobile dude,” Stutsman said. “He can make plays with his legs. Obviously, we have to contain the quarterback. Looking back, it’s been a challenge for us. We and the D-line have to ready to cage a quarterback like that.”
The Sooners have set a new defensive standard through the first half of the regular season.
Now they’ll have to show they can live with the success and attention that comes with being right in the middle of the College Football Playoff conversation, starting by playing with the same intensity and fire that has been on display all year come 11 a.m. this Saturday.
“Realistically, it’s our goal every single week,” Downs said. “It showed up big in the OU-Texas game. We out-physicaled them and that’s how we have to be every week.
“We haven’t played our best yet. Our goal is to keep stacking wood and keep stacking days.”
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