Oklahoma Needs to Shore Up Fourth Down Woes Against Texas

The Oklahoma defense has to find a way to get off the field in the first half.

Though they’ve been the strength of the No. 6-ranked Sooners so far, the OU defense has taken a while to adjust and get going over the past three weeks.

On the first drives of the game against Nebraska and West Virginia, the Sooners gave up touchdowns, allowing their opponents to march down the field in 14 plays and 17 plays respectively.

Last week, the Sooners allowed K-State to string together a 12-play opening drive before Reggie Grimes forced a fumble, but then the defense let the Wildcats score on a 10-play drive and a 19-play drive before halftime.

All told, the defense is spending too much time on the field and not allowing the Oklahoma offense to get into any kind of rhythm.

“We’ve had a number of times we’ve gotten opponents down two third downs early the series, and you’ve got to capitalize on those especially early in the game,” Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “It’s so important as far as setting a tone that way. We’ve done so many good things defensively this year, but we haven’t played our best early. It’s a big point of emphasis for us.”

One problem the Sooners are having getting off the field is that teams have proven to be more than comfortable with keeping their offense out on the field to roll the dice on fourth down.

Through five games, Oklahoma’s defense is ranked 47th nationally in third down defense, but that number drops all the way to No. 100 in the nation on fourth downs. The Sooners are also tied with Michigan State for facing the most fourth down conversion attempts (19) in the country.

Rush linebacker Nik Bonitto said that the defense has had to refocus early in the season and adjust to the reality that if an opposing offense crosses the 50-yard-line, they’re probably in four-down territory.

“That's the next-play mentality,” Bonitto said during a Zoom press conference on Wednesday. “We know that offense, usually it's just three and out, three and out, but if offense does want to go for it on fourth down, we’ve got to have the mentality like, ‘OK, we got to play the next play, we can't cry about it.’ We just got to play the next play, get them off the field, get the ball back to our offense.

“We should feel disrespected if a team goes for it on fourth down, but Coach Grinch does a good job preparing us for moments like that and having the mindset to go out there and get a stop.”

While the defense has been generally good on third downs, allowing first-down conversions only 34.7 percent of the time, the Sooners have struggled in short-yardage situations.

When faced with a third down and four yards or fewer, Oklahoma has given up a first down 65.8 percent of the time.

The issue only compounds on fourth downs.

Of the 12 fourth down conversions the Sooners have allowed this season, nine of them have come in down and distances of fourth-and-four or shorter.

Linebacker DaShaun White said the failure to get stops on fourth downs boils down to being able to close out drives, and it’s an area in which he believes the OU defense will improve.

“Honestly, it's as simple as we have to finish,” White said on Wednesday. “We have to get off the field. When we have the opportunity, we really pride ourselves on being able to respond to adversity and if we're in a fourth, a third down situation, we really want to capitalize on that opportunity and get off the field.

“It's something we'll always be able to get better at and we'll always work to get better at. We'll keep working and I'm sure we'll get the results we want.”

Texas is tied for 27th in the country in total fourth down attempts, and the Longhorns have had decent success when head coach Steve Sarkisian has opted to go for it. The ‘Horns rank No. 44 in the country in fourth down conversion percentage, converting 63.6 percent of their attempts.

Not only will the OU defense have to find a way to get Bijan Robinson and the Texas offense off the field early in the game on Saturday, they’ll have to be excellent on first and second down to keep the Longhorns behind the chains and make the decision to go for it on fourth down a difficult one.

Defensive end Isaiah Thomas said the Sooners defense has to be ready to play right from the jump if they want to fix their early-game struggles, and they can’t wait to take the first punch inside the Cotton Bowl.

“We can definitely do better in how we start the game,” Thomas said. “But we also preach about finishing. I would rather be able to finish hard in the second half, not give up those 19-, 15- to 20-play drives like that and allow touchdown and stuff or anything like that.

“So we've just got to hone in on our jobs and quit trying to wait to get a wake up call or wait to get a feel for the game… We've just got to attack the game and don't let it attack us.”

Regardless of the fourth down struggles, the Sooners have still been able to bow up and force stops before allowing their opponent to score.

It’s unlikely that OU will totally contain Robinson — his lowest rushing output this season was when he only totaled 69 yards on the ground against Arkansas.

But they’re going to have to make timely plays to force punts and hand the ball back to Spencer Rattler and the offense if they’re going remain unbeaten on Saturday.

“We want to be better but we’ve got to keep swinging,” Riley said. “That’s the one thing we have been doing. We’ve continued to swing.”

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