Oklahoma GameDay: X-Factor

The SI Sooners staff takes a look at what areas of the game Oklahoma needs to take care of this weekend against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

John Hoover: Sooner Nation

Oklahoma has the longest winning streak in the nation at 16 straight, dating back to last year. Eight of those were at home. Take out the two easy ones during that stretch — 62-9 over Kansas and 76-0 over Western Carolina — and the average margin of victory over those six opponents is a mere 8.2 points, or one possession. It’s time Sooner Nation gets its due for consistently performing at a high level. Like the team they follow, they do have their off nights. But also just like their team, when they do bring it, it can be elite. The fans bounced back after a lousy showing against Tulane (40-35) and had a positiver impact on the Nebraska game (23-16) and the West Virginia (16-13) game, and jumped on TCU (52-31) early and never let up. Another electric performance like that on Saturday, and Texas Tech could be overwhelmed.

Ryan Chapman: Pride

Last week the Oklahoma Sooners got taken to the wire by Kansas. Let me say that again. The Oklahoma Sooners got pushed around in a football game by the Kansas Jayhawks. All told, it was one of the most embarrassing performances by an Oklahoma team in the last 20 years. But the Sooners can take a step in the right direction with a strong performance against Texas Tech. The team should come out as if they lost last week, firing on all cylinders from the opening kick. If they do, they'll hopefully have learned their lesson headed into the bye week. OU players talked a lot this week about taking pride in practicing at a high level, and it's time for them to show their work on the field. If Oklahoma can't come out and dominate Texas Tech, needing another close win to move to 9-0, it's time to call the Sooners what they are: a flawed football team with a penchant for winning down the stretch. 

Josh Callaway: Offensive Line Play

The Oklahoma offensive line has been better the last few weeks after a rocky first month of the season. That needs to progress significantly on Saturday. Texas Tech ranks toward the bottom of college football in terms of team sacks and is also a bottom half rushing defense in the country. This should be the game where Bill Bedenbaugh’s group cranks it to another level. Caleb Williams should have time to make plays and Kennedy Brooks should go for well over 100 yards on the ground. The Sooners offense has every chance to have a big afternoon with the offensive line, as per usual with any successful offense, being right in the middle of that. Before the big final stretch of the season, let this be the offensive line’s best performance of the year to inject a heap of confidence going into the bye week. 

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