Only a few critiques were made of OU’s 73-0 rout of Arkansas State on Saturday.
One that was brought to the attention of many was the Sooners’ pass rush — or lack thereof — which totaled one sack and two quarterback hurries on 28 dropbacks. From OU’s perspective, those numbers don’t tell the full story.
“That quarterback had to get rid of the ball quickly,” junior linebacker Danny Stutsman said postgame. “On the blitzes that me and (sophomore linebacker Jaren Kanak) were going on, we were coming free but he was getting the ball out so quick we really had no time.”
Quick, short passing plays appeared to be the Red Wolves’ gameplan. In their first two possessions, they attempted five passes, only one of which traveled more than five yards past the line of scrimmage. Additionally, Arkansas State’s quarterback took less than two seconds from fielding the snap to releasing the ball in five of his first six passes.
The Red Wolves also consistently called swing passes, screens and check downs, leaving head coach Brent Venables unable to determine a verdict for his defensive line.
“The pass rush, it’s hard to tell today,” Venables said postgame. “If it wasn’t three step (drops) or screen (passes that we were facing), then it was seven and eight man protection. It has improved, we’ll see how much over time.”
Defensive coordinator Ted Roof had a more clear takeaway from his defensive front. Roof noted the obstacle Arkansas State’s frequent max protection provided, but was pleased with the depth the unit displayed. OU’s defensive line featured 18 players throughout the game.
“We had some depth there to be able to rotate guys and not see drop offs, and that's an encouraging sign,” Roof said Monday, after reviewing Saturday’s tape. “We still have a lot of things to get better at and improve on and we've got to do that, but at the same time it was a great start. And that's what it was — a start. We've got to improve a lot this week.”
The Sooners’ run defense was subject to less scrutiny following OU’s blowout win. Arkansas State averaged 2.1 yards on 23 attempts and were tackled for a loss six times.
The Red Wolves’ leading two rushers were backup quarterback Jaxon Dailey, who ran for 11 yards on three attempts, and starting quarterback J.T. Shrout, who tied for second with 10 yards on one attempt.
Additionally, the defensive line made OU’s linebackers’ jobs easy in the run game.
“The (defensive) line did a tremendous job stopping the run,” Stutsman said. “I don’t think an offensive lineman even touched me, so that’s a great job by them.”
