All Sooners

Why Oklahoma's Defense Has Been Stout at the Goal Line in 2023

This season, the Sooners have had a knack for stopping their opponents just short of the end zone, which has resulted in a few huge moments for Ted Roof's group.

Randall Sweet

In this story:

NORMAN — On Saturday, the Oklahoma defense once again found itself on the 1-yard line at a crucial point in the game.

The Sooners were tied with BYU, and the Cougars had easily moved the ball down the field early in the second half with a chance to take the lead and swing the momentum at LaVell Edwards Stadium. 

With their backs against the wall, OU's defense came up huge once again, as junior safety Billy Bowman intercepted a goal-line pass from Cougars quarterback Jake Retzlaff and raced down the field for the third 100-yard pick six in Sooners' history.

"He really wasn't even supposed to be there," veteran cornerback Woodi Washington said after practice on Monday. "It was kind of, ball got snapped, he seen the guy was open so he just made a play. And I mean, that's the type of thing that Billy does every week. He's a great player, he reads his keys well, and he just, like I said, just made a play."

It obviously wasn't the first time Oklahoma's defense had come up with a big stop at the 1-yard line this season. Against West Virginia the week prior, the Mountaineers connected on a long pass play that put Garrett Greene and company on the doorstep just before halftime.

Despite facing four consecutive plays from the 1, the Sooners' defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs. 

While OU was already up 31-7 over West Virginia, the Sooners pulled off a much more dire goal-line stand against Texas.

In the Red River Rivalry, Brent Venables' defense was able to keep the Longhorns out of the end zone after Quinn Ewers and company had a first-and-goal at the 1. 

That stop was one of the biggest moments of Oklahoma's season, as the impressive goal-line stand came in the fourth quarter with Texas trailing by just one score. 

Thanks in large part to huge plays by their defense on the goal line, OU was able to defeat then-No. 3 Texas in October and BYU on the road last weekend. 

Part of the Sooners' recipe for success on the goal line is a shared mentality that their opponent still has to fight for the final yard to actually get into the end zone. 

"I think it's just a mindset," Washington said. "Guys are like ‘They’re not in yet,’ so we got a chance to get a stop. That's the approach that we take."

After stuffing one of the best teams in the country at the goal line in October, it is easy to see where Venables' defense gets its confidence from. 

Following another massive another stop on the goal line against BYU, Bowman echoed a similar sentiment.

"I feel like that's preparation and our coaches doing a great job of knowing what we're going to get once we get down into that goal line," Bowman said on Saturday after the game. 

"It's only a short ... list of plays they could run. So I feel like we just do a good job of 'They're not in until they're in,' and doing a good job of all coming together, 'Hey let's get a stop.' " 

Coming out of Oklahoma's bye week, OU pulled off another goal-line stand against UCF. 

The stop ended up being negated by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from Jaren Kanak after the play, but once again illustrated what the Sooners' defense is capable of when backed up on the goal line.

Sophomore linebacker Kobie McKinzie said he believes the team has had so much success in goal-line stand situations due to their impressive interior run defense.

"The thing with being really good at the goal line is we’ve been really big about stopping the run," McKinzie said on Monday. "You have to know, when you’re really good up front, that their first thought process is to throw the ball. They’ve seen that on film. They’re going to attack the perimeter, for sure."

In the Red River Rivalry, Texas threw a screen pass to Xavier Worthy on fourth down that was stopped just short of the end zone. On Saturday against BYU, the Cougars also tried to throw a screen pass to get into the end zone, but were unable to connect and instead gifted the Sooners a lead they would not relinquish. 

With at least two games left this season, Oklahoma may have even more opportunities to step up and make another stop at the goal line. After successfully keeping their opponent out of the end zone multiple times in 2023, OU's confidence is likely also a major aspect of the team's impressive goal-line defense.

The Sooners will square off against the TCU Horned Frogs on Friday at 11 a.m. CT in Norman for the program's final Big 12 regular season game.

Published
Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall is a recruiting analyst and staff writer at AllSooners focusing primarily on OU Football and the recruiting trail. Working as a journalist, Randall has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and high school sports across the state. A 2022 University of Oklahoma graduate, Randall hails from Lubbock, TX. While in college, Sweet wrote for the OU Daily in addition to working with Sooner Sports Pad and OU Nightly. Following his time at OU, Sweet served as the Communications Coordinator at Visit Oklahoma City before leaving to join the team at AllSooners. The West Texas native has bylines in the Norman Transcript and is a Staff Writer for Inside the Thunder. Randall holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. 

Home/Football