Why Jeff Lebby Says His Oklahoma Offense Can Be 'Really, Really Good'
Jeff Lebby and the Oklahoma offense found a groove last Saturday that, at times, seemed virtually unstoppable.
The Sooners hung 52 points on a ranked Kansas team, racking up 701 total yards of offense. It was a balanced attack, as Dillon Gabriel threw for 403 yards while the running back combo of Eric Gray and Jovantae Barnes combined for 245 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
The outburst was quite the change of pace from the previous two weeks, where the Sooners really struggled to move the ball.
Obviously, the loss of Gabriel was a factor in each of Oklahoma’s blowout losses. But even the loss of the lefty quarterback shouldn’t cause the offensive struggles OU endured. After scoring just 24 points against TCU, the Sooners were blanked in a historic Red River Rivalry loss. Even though the blame is to be distributed evenly, the inability to move the chains hurt both the offense and the defense.
There were multiple areas of Oklahoma’s roster that many expected to go through growing pains and experience slow starts. One that many forgot to consider was offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby establishing his own system and operating it without help from an elite offensive mind.
Of course, he ran the offense at both Mississippi and UCF, his two previous stops as coordinator. Lane Kiffin and Josh Heupel both have distinct offensive systems, though, and Lebby was a disciple.
Now, alone in Norman, Lebby’s offensive identity is starting to take shape. Outside of Oklahoma’s rather weak non-conference slate, Saturday was the first time that Lebby has looked comfortable dialing up the plays in Norman.
Against Kansas, Oklahoma simplified things. There weren’t a lot of glaring “misses” on offense, and it was because the Sooners didn’t try to do too much.
“The biggest thing is we wanted to take what they gave us,” Lebby said following the victory. “Talked all week about Kansas being great against the run. They play with great energy and toughness, and that’s what you saw from them. Statistically, they’d been really good against the run. We liked our matchups, guys made plays. It was good to get it going that way.”
In games like Kansas State and TCU, the play-calling seemed effective but Gabriel and the wide receivers struggled to find rhythm at times. There were multiple high overthrows and misses downfield on offense. The receivers seemed to get plenty of separation, though.
When the Sooners lost to Texas, obviously Gabriel’s absence loomed large. Still, Oklahoma was moving the ball successfully on two straight possessions before switching formations and coming up empty. Both times, Lebby was committed to the run with Willis and Gray, but opted to switch things up near the goal line and it proved costly.
Saturday though, both the play-calling and the players seemed to be on the same page. Lebby found a groove dialing up plays and had the Jayhawks on their heels all game long.
“I think the biggest thing is our guys made plays,” Lebby said. “We talked a ton about it. We’re going to pitch and catch, but you’ve got to make plays and make competitive plays in certain situations. That showed up today situationally, which was great to see. Again, plenty to clean up. But proud of our guys, the way they came back, fought, been inside-out the entire time. Just proud of them for that.”
Heading into the open weekend, Oklahoma still has time to salvage the second half of the season. If the offense looks anything like it did against Kansas, the Sooners have the ability to stay in any game. Building off of the bye week is especially important for the offense. Oklahoma’s momentum on the offensive side of the ball can energize the entire team while helping Lebby establish his own offensive identity.
“It’s huge,” Lebby said. “Everybody in that locker room understands we have the opportunity to be really, really good on offense. So for us to be able to go play clean and play the way we played outside of the turnovers and the mishap there at the end of the first half was really good to see. Just proud of our guys, happy for our guys that they get to enjoy a great win here at home before this open date."
