2015 Oklahoma Sooner’s Season Preview

Following what turned out to be a dismal outcome for the University of Oklahoma after finishing the season with an 8-5 record, most didn’t think things could go more awry for the Sooners. But then came a bowl game matchup against the Clemson Tiger’s, which saw the Sooners dismantled 40-6.

Having 5 turnovers in the game against Clemson certainly didn’t help either. After the bowl beat down the Sooners were handed, head coach Bob Stoops wasted little time replacing offensive coordinator Josh Heiple of whom to the surprise of many was replaced with East Carolina’s Lincoln Riley.

Riley is well-known for a style of offense he runs which has come to be called as an air raid style of offense. His style of offense helped propel ECU’s passing offense to the 3rd ranked pass offense in the country. But even with all his past success and implementing such a progressive style of offense, the drastic change from the smash mouth football team the Sooners and college football fans had grown accustomed to knowing, didn’t seem to take the college football world by storm.

The main consensus around CFB was there would be a decline in production for at least the first season in lieu of a major offensive shift. But Riley was not the only change on OU’s coaching staff after the sub par 8-5 season.

Stoop’s made 8 different changes whether it be positions shifts or more/less power to the coaching staff. But even in the midst of all the changes and lack of chemistry, there was one shining standout that has made Riley’s job easier, and that came in the form of running back Samaja Perine, who his teammates affectionately nicknamed “Stump.” Samaja Perine rushed for over 1700 yards in his freshman season.

He also broke the single game rushing record with 427 yards on 34 carries. Perine has proven to be a Sooner first down maniac with an average yards per carry on first down of 6.8 yards. Once he gets going, he’s an absolute freight train and makes it difficult for defenders to bring him down. Another freshman running back who took Sooners nation by storm and is a kick returns specialist is Alex Ross.

Ross lead the Nation in kick return yards average with 45.7 per return. Then we get to the all so important quarterback position. Although JR Trevor Knight has been the go to QB for the last two seasons, look for the junior transfer quarterback out of Texas Tech, Baker Mayfield, to start on September 5^th when the Sooners kick off their home opener against Akron.

But it’s not only on offense that the Sooner’s will make a charge this season, their defense looks to be special too.

The Sooners will be getting back the team’s standout cornerback Zack Sanchez who’s shown great signs of improvement. Add to the mix every quarterback in the conference’s nightmare, linebacker Eric Striker.

To make the OU defense look even more imposing is the return of fresh off of suspension linebacker Frank Shannon, who may prove to be the country’s best linebacker by the time the season is over.

Both Striker and Shannon could be extra dangerous as they look to pad their resumes for the draft after this season. One thing is certain, the closer the season opener gets, the more attention the Sooners will draw.

And even with TCU and Baylor expected to be top dogs in the Big 12, don’t be surprised that when the dust settles, the Sooners wind up atop the conference when it is all said and done. Despite what writers around CFB say about this new look OU team, the Sooners didn’t get the memo as to what the Big 12 pecking order is supposed to be. And that may spell trouble for a lot of people this season.

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