Oklahoma's Defense Continuing to Build 'Four-Down Mindset' in Final Three Games

The Sooners still have two of the most aggressive fourth down teams in the country on their schedule, who will pose a major test for the defense as OU closes out the year.

NORMAN — Fourth downs hurt the Oklahoma defense against Baylor.

The Bears were a perfect 3-for-3 on the decisive down, turning two of those conversions into touchdowns later on in those drives.

Baylor’s execution on fourth down offensively was just one of many factors that led to the Sooners’ 38-35 defeat last Saturday, but it won’t be the last time OU sees a team that's aggressive on fourth down this year.

West Virginia and Texas Tech, two of OU’s last three opponents, both rank in the top 11 in college football for attempted fourth down conversions.

The change in offensive philosophy has led to a shift in how defenses have to mentally approach the game, OU defensive coordinator Ted Roof said on Monday.

“The game of college football has changed,” Roof said. “Everybody is working off the analytics now, and this year is going to set a record for the most fourth-down attempts in the history of college football. That's a point of emphasis every week as far as the mentality of having a four-down mindset, not a three-down mindset and you're off the field.

“I mean, (Baylor went for it) on 4th-and-1 from their own 29. It's not a surprise. It's not something that we haven't prepared for. It's not something we haven't spent time game planning for as a staff. A lot of coaches now are following the analytics and being aggressive with the fourth-down calls both offensively and defensively.”

Predicting what a team will do on any given week is a bit of a moving target.

Not only is down, distance and field position priced into every single situation, but Brent Venables also said the odds shift depending on the opponent.

“Every week is different. The matchups are different,” Venables said Tuesday. “The analytics change from week to week based on the matchups and the ability of the different units on both teams and things of that nature.

“If you are a much better team than the opponent you are playing, they will tell you to punt it more than going for it. If things are more evenly matched or you are out-matched, the analytics are very, very aggressive.”

On the whole, living with fourth downs is going to become part of life for every defense in football.

This year, the Sooners are the No. 77-ranked unit defending fourth-down conversions, allowing teams to convert on 52.9 percent of their attempts.

As aggressive as the Big 12 has been this year when going for it, with half the league (Texas Tech, Baylor, West Virginia, Iowa State and Kansas State) ranking in the top 16 nationally in fourth down attempts, opposing teams will inevitably hit on a few fourth downs.

Now college football defenses must be conditioned to respond and come up with stops later in drives even after allowing offenses to stay on the field with a conversion.

This season, Oklahoma has struggled to rebound in that scenario.

The Sooners have allowed at least one fourth-down conversion on eight drives this season, and opposing offenses have scored touchdowns on five of those eight drives.

Kansas State was able to use a pair of conversions in the red zone to lead to Adrian Martinez touchdown runs in OU’s 41-34 loss to the Wildcats at the end of September.

Iowa State converted on a pair of fourth downs to score its final touchdown against the Sooners two weeks ago. Baylor cashed two of its three conversions into 14 points.

Baylor wide receiver Josh Cameron celebrates after catching a 16-yard pass to convert on fourth-and-7 against the OU defense last Saturday :: Chris Jones / USA TODAY Sports

The Sooners have been able to bounce back and find ways to stop opposing offenses at times, though.

In Week 1 against UTEP, an interception from true freshman Gentry Williams ended the final drive for the Miners one play after UTEP converted on a fourth-and-10.

The OU defense staved off another conversion on Iowa State’s final drive in Ames, and safety Billy Bowman picked off Baylor’s Blake Shapen two plays after the Bears converted on their second fourth down of the game.

For Venables, not every fourth down the defense has faced this year is linked. Overcoming adversity is a tenet of the culture he’s trying to instill at Oklahoma, and getting off the field is just one piece of the bigger picture.

“I think every fourth down is a like season in its own,” he said. “They don’t have to have anything to do with one another. We’ve had plenty of times this year … where we’ve responded after giving up a conversion. There’s plenty. Last week we didn’t and we lost by a field goal. How you respond is how you respond to anything. Did we do a good job of that? No, we didn’t. But we have. It’s never an every time thing.

“Let’s face it, when the whole stadium is screaming and yelling and you give up one of those plays, it’s kinda deflating. … Yeah, we didn’t do a good job responding on those two drives (against Baylor) at all.”

OU will have every chance to get back on the good side of fourth down conversions this week in Morgantown.

West Virginia has found success on 71.4 percent of fourth downs this year, allowing the Mountaineers to stay aggressive throughout the game.

That aggression can backfire, however, and the Sooners will have an opportunity to flip the game if they can find success in the key moments this Saturday.

“You have to have a lot of courage, boldness and ability to be able to execute in those situations,” Venables said. “You have to live with the results as well. It doesn’t work out as great. You watched Ole Miss and Alabama the year before last and ‘We’re going to go for it on all these fourth downs,’ and they got destroyed because the other team was prepared. They got destroyed quickly. The game was over quickly because of a bunch of short fields.

“ … So it's been good for the teams that have chosen to go that route on a couple other teams. … I'd be interested in seeing the teams that it hasn't worked out well for. I think it can go both ways.”

---

Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the AllSooners message board community today!

Sign up for your premium membership to AllSooners.com today, and get access to the entire Fan Nation premium network!

Follow AllSooners on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest OU news.

Get your OU tickets from SI Tickets HERE.