Oklahoma-Auburn GameDay Preview: X-Factors

These are the X-factors for the Sooners to beat the Tigers on Saturday at Auburn.

Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

OU-Auburn: X-Factors

Sooner Magic

That sounds trite at this stage of the Oklahoma season. A good defense has been undermined by a dreadful offense, and everything has been damaged by an unprecedented run of injuries to the OU roster. But if OU’s going to beat Auburn — the Sooners opened as a 3-point favorite, and now that line has shifted to Auburn -1.5 as additional Oklahoma players have been ruled out — something unusual, unexpected probably needs to happen. Bottom line, OU is going to need a Danny Stutsman pick six, or a Jayden Jackson scoop-and-score, or a Peyton Bowen punt return — or maybe Michael Hawkins can manifest some Sooner Magic from his OU DNA. 

— John E. Hoover

Play Within the System

Oklahoma’s defense is good enough to keep the Sooners in games. What OU can’t afford is the functioning unit on the football team to press and try too hard to force turnovers. Brent Venables’ side of the football was excellent against Tennessee, and Auburn has proven to be as turnover prone as it gets. Turning the Tigers over won’t take some Herculean effort. Hugh Freeze’s offense is explosive and can move the ball down the field. Rolling the dice to step in front of a receiver to try and force a pick six could just as easily result in a busted play and a touchdown going the other way, something that Oklahoma can’t afford. The defense can hang in there, but it doesn’t need to do too much to help the offense beat Auburn.

— Ryan Chapman 

Auburn's crowd 

The crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium has been known to affect opposing teams, especially when a young quarterback is in command of the offense. At SEC Media Days, Carson Beck warned of the “cursed” atmosphere in Auburn, which the Sooners and true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. will have to overcome on Saturday. After being named the starter earlier in the week by Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, the OU legacy will make his first start in the Sooners' first-ever SEC road game.

— Randall Sweet

The QB1 Call 

Brent Venables was quick to pull the trigger and announced Michael Hawkins as QB1 on Monday to avoid any extra noise or a lingering QB battle. Now Hawkins can prepare all week as the guy. Hugh Freeze, though, has been rotating QBs since Week 2 and just named Payton Thorn the starter this week. And based on how Freeze has been this season, whoever he does throw out there on Saturday will be on a very short leash against an OU defense that has forced more turnovers than any team in the country. I witnessed first hand Oklahoma State's three-QB rotation last season, and it's hard for any offense to find a rhythm and be successful during that chaos. Venables' decisiveness will pay off Saturday. 

— Dekota Gregory

Ball Security

Oklahoma enters a must-win matchup against Auburn banged up on all fronts. The team is hurting at wide receiver, and star player Deion Burks is out this week. It’s hard to envision a breakout on the scoreboard from the offense, making ball security a premium for Oklahoma’s first SEC road test. The Sooners were plagued by turnovers against Tennessee a week ago and must learn from their mistakes. Even if Oklahoma ran an extremely conservative offense with no turnovers last Saturday, settling for field goals and field position wins, the game could’ve been much closer. That’s the approach Oklahoma must take at Auburn. The Tigers have been equally as bad on offense and both quarterbacks at Auburn have turned the ball over week after week. Oklahoma needs to take care of the ball at a high rate — getting into a field position punting battle against the Tigers is not the worst thing in the world. Let the defense do the dirty work and don’t shoot yourself in the foot.

— Ross Lovelace

Playing Back Against a Wall

Houston and Tulane gave the Sooners more than they bargained for, and Tennessee gave them their first taste of SEC football in a 10-point loss. Undoubtedly, there’s some bleakness to it, but it’s in moments like these that Oklahoma football has defined itself historically. This could be a program-defining moment. The Sooners won’t be favored many times again in conference play, but winning a legitimate challenge in Auburn will give Venables’ team necessary confidence ahead of tougher battles. 

— Bryce McKinnis