Lincoln Riley knew something had to change.
In its first season, Riley’s iteration of the air-raid offense was inconsistent at best through the first four games of the season.
Oklahoma averaged 42 points per game — good but not great — in its first four contests, notching wins over three non-conference opponents and West Virginia. OU’s offense was especially slow early in games, totaling just 27 combined points in the first quarter of those games.
Then, in his fifth game as offensive coordinator in Norman, the Sooners posted just 278 yards in an embarrassing 24-17 loss to Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
It was puzzling when it happened but is even more so now. The Sooners are winners of four straight, averaging 58 points per game in the process.
It was on the way home from the debacle in Dallas that Riley knew change was necessary.
Riley called a meeting on the following Sunday and challenged the offensive leaders to decide what they wanted to be as a unit.
“We sat down in a room, and we said ‘what do we want this offense to be from here?’” receiver Sterling Shepard said.
That meeting proved to be impactful.
“Coach Riley brought everyone together and challenged us,” receiver Durron Neal said. “That was definitely an aggressive and heartfelt meeting.
“We took it upon ourselves to dominate every game and to come out starting fast every game. We wanted to keep the pedal to the metal and show why this offense is what it is.”
Riley wasn’t specific about what he told his team on that Sunday afternoon. But whatever it was, it worked.
“Guys' attitude totally changed from that moment on,” Shepard said after OU’s 62-7 victory over Kansas.
Oklahoma’s offense averaged 60 points per game over the next three weeks, scoring at least 55 points in each contest. That was the first time since 2008 a Sooners offense had accomplished that.
But the transformation didn’t just happen in a day. Since that point, Oklahoma has made a consistent effort to have an edge offensively.
“You learn a lot about yourself when you don’t play how you expect to play,” Riley said in reference to the Texas game. “The good thing is, nobody in this room pouted. They went back to work, put their head down, got their hands dirty and decided they were going to get better.”
As for what was actually said, Riley was vague.
“Nothing magical,” he insisted. “I think we found out a little something about our offense after that, and I knew the direction that we wanted to go after we talked about it as a staff on the way home from Texas. We knew the direction we needed to go with it right then without even watching the tape.”
