Oklahoma-Houston GameDay Preview: X-Factors

These could be the X-Factors in OU's game against the Cougars on Saturday: Leadership ... Competition ... Health ... Suffocate the Pass ... Offensive Line ... RB Rotation

Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Danny Stutsman (28) and coach Brent Venables / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Leadership

Oklahoma wiped the floor with Temple last week from the opening kick to the final gun. It was a thorough beatdown in every aspect. But the Sooners showed they still have plenty of areas to work on this season — things that must be addressed, corrected and improved long before SEC play gets here. This coaching staff is too good let anyone think they can play like that again and still win easily. Now, though, it’s on the players to accept another week of hard coaching. In the spring and during training camp, the Sooners talked a lot about how good the leadership on this team is. Here’s where we see if all that talk was real or just lip service. OU should absolutely wipe the floor again with Houston. The Cougars got handed a 20-point loss at home last week by UNLV. No way they should be able to compete with the No. 15-ranked team in the country. If this game is close in the third quarter (or fourth; imagine that), then that’ll be an indictment on this team’s leadership from the players. If they took to the coaching this week and practiced with intent and got better and put that on Owen Field against the Cougs, then Sooner Nation will be treated to another blowout.

— John Hoover

Competition

Entering Week 2, the Sooners still have a host of jobs up for grabs across the depth chart. The offensive line’s shaky showing against Temple opens the door for any of the young guys to make their case to Bill Bedenbaugh that they should have a larger role in 2024, and Jalil Farooq’s injury shook up the wide receiver rotation yet again. Deion Burks, Nic Anderson and Andrel Anthony’s jobs are safe, but the rest of Emmett Jones’ unit will be fighting for a larger load of snaps later on in the year, regardless of how little a threat the Cougar secondary will pose on Saturday night.

— Ryan Chapman 

Health

Brent Venables has alluded to Nic Anderson and Jake Taylor possibly being able to play on Saturday night against Houston, but recent whispers reveal that neither player is certain to take the field this weekend. If the Sooners are once again without Anderson and Taylor, the team's offense will likely still have success, but look sluggish in the process. Woodi Washington and Gentry Williams were also dealing with injuries in Week 1, according to Venables, and both could make their return against the Cougars. With the status of four key players up in the air, OU will have to prepare to play without multiple starters for the second week in a row. If all four players are able to see action, however, Oklahomas should get back in rhythm against Houston.

— Randall Sweet

Suffocate the Pass

Houston quarterback Donovan Smith might be a fine passer. He didn’t look it in a 27-7 loss to UNLV. His final numbers: 15-of-30, 135 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and — this isn’t a typo — a QBR of 3.9. Ouch. In his defense, he was also sacked six times. Oklahoma’s pass defense is 1A this weekend. Its pass rush is 1B. Force Smith (or whomever takes snaps for the Cougars) into a straitjacket and then capitalize off his inevitable failures. It could be a field day for OU’s DBs.

— Bryce McKinnis

Offensive Line

Even after starting the season with a 51-3 blowout, OU's offensive line was disappointed with its performance and feels like it still needs to prove itself as the clear weak link Week 1. Injuries could be used as an excuse, though, with a pair of starters being out basically the entire game, forcing a lot of last-minute shuffling. However, it looks like the O-line should be a lot healthier, if not fully healthy, for Week 2, so this should be Bill Bedenbaugh's group's shot at showing what it's really made of. 

— Dekota Gregory

Running Back Rotation

Week one looked eerily similar to Oklahoma’s game plan a season ago. It was a running back room by rotation until the second half of the season when Gavin Sawchuk took matters into his own hands. Last season, the Sooners saw plenty of Marcus Major and Tawee Walker early on with bits of Sawchuk and Jovantae Barnes sprinkled in. It’s a good problem to have with multiple running backs ready to play, but it can also be harmful too — as Oklahoma saw a season ago. Letting one or two guys become a go-to back is a smart move and helps develop chemistry with the offensive line. Taylor Tatum and Barnes looked promising in the first game of the season, and the ability to get to the outside and make a defender miss seems to be a nice skillset to complement the offensive line that hasn’t been able to move bodies up front. Sawchuk tends to be at his best when a hole opens up. This will be one of the last games for the Sooners to establish a real running back rotation — not a committee — before the games get really tough.

— Ross Lovelace