Why Oklahoma's Defense Must Remain 'Patient' Amidst Offensive Struggles

The roles have reversed for the No. 21-ranked Sooners as the defense is playing at a high level while OU's offense sputters.

Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman Gracen Halton (56) celebrates beside defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings (3) and Tennessee Volunteers offensive lineman Javontez Spraggins (76) after recovering a fumble during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Tennessee Volunteers at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — Be careful what you wish for. 

Oklahoma fans wanted a defense to be proud of for nearly a decade, and the 2024 unit is certainly that. 

The Sooners held Tennessee to 25 points, bottled up an explosive rushing attack and made the best of the handful of big plays they allowed to Vols’ quarterback Nico Iamaleava through the air in Saturday’s 25-15 defeat. 

Unfortunately, OU’s has yet to get going this season. 

In 2018, when the Oklahoma defense hit its lowest, the Sooners could be found near the bottom of virtually every major metric. 

Four weeks into the year, Seth Littrell’s offense is in the same boat. 

OU ranks 77th in scoring offense, 101st in rushing offense, 111th in passing offense, 124th in third down offense and tied for 116th in sacks allowed per game. 

The offense is a mess. 

“Obviously not near good enough,” Littrell said on Saturday night. “It’s the same thing that’s happened the previous few weeks. Once you kind of don’t get that rhythm and kind of get out of it, it’s like it snowballs. It’s hard. You got to have real man-to-man leadership, guys that pick each other up, guys that have that fight, grit and determination.

“… It starts—again, it starts with coaches first. Period. I’ll say that first. But then you got to be able to overcome that adversity.”

For years, Oklahoma’s offense preached that it wasn’t frustrated with the defense. The unit would continue to put points on the board, and try to support the defense wherever possible to prevent the locker room from splitting.

Now, the defense will need to prop the offense up. 

“Whenever the defense is called, we’re going to respond,” OU linebacker Danny Stutsman said after the game. “We did everything we could. Both sides of the ball have to play complementary football. Obviously, defense didn’t play perfectly. We made a ton of mistakes, myself included. 

“Really, they shouldn’t score any points, and we’d win every game. If we want to be the best defense, we have to be able to do that.”

Former Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson knows how a locker room can still come together even when one side of the ball is struggling. 

He experienced a version of that in both 2017 and 2018 when OU’s offense was putting out video game numbers. 

Everyone will get frustrated when a week of practice doesn’t result in a win, but Anderson said everyone has to understand and improvements can’t always be rushed. 

"You've just got to be patient and realize that not everybody is going to make progress as fast as everybody else,” Anderson said during his weekly appearance on 107.7 The Franchise on Monday. “And so staying positive with the offense is the best thing I think those defensive guys can do. The moment you start rushing and chirping at these guys... that's the moment that the locker room starts to separate, divide. You just have to stay positive.”

Things can get heated on any practice field across the country as guys compete and work to improve throughout the week. Anderson stressed the importance of not letting frustration spill over to teammates, regardless of what side of the ball had success on Saturday. 

Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings caused one of the two forced fumbles for the defense against Tennessee. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“Back in the day whenever I was playing, the offense — roles were reversed almost identically,” he said. “The defense struggled a lot. But what good was it going to do us moving forward if we just started fighting with our own team? Nothing. 

“So the reason we were still able to have success is because we didn't stop believing. … We kept pushing forward."

OU will have to keep pushing forward this week. 

The Sooners (3-1, 1-1 SEC) will hit the road for the first time in conference play to take on an Auburn (2-2, 0-1) team dealing with its own offensive struggles. 

A vast majority of attention this week will be pointed straight at the now-open quarterback competition between Jackson Arnold and Michael Hawkins Jr. 

All Oklahoma’s defense can do is keep producing at a high level while the other side of the ball comes along. 

“We could do more on defense, I feel like,” defensive end Trace Ford said on Saturday. “We left a lot of meat on the bones. 

“… Everyone on that defense is really competitive. We all like playing football. I mean, I like being out there, I like playing. Every rep I get, I'm happy, so it's just keep playing defense.”