2011 Oklahoma Football Predictions

Written by Jack Jones

When Bob Stoops arrived in Oklahoma, the Sooners were coming off of five consecutive losing seasons. He won a national title in just his second season and has played in three more since. After a 12-2 campaign in 2010, and with more returning talent than any team in the country, the Sooners are primed to make another run at a championship in 2011. Oklahoma welcomes back eight starters on both sides of the ball from a team that won the Big 12 title and a BCS bowl game.

Since 1998, OU has been ranked #1 and in the Top 5 for more weeks than any other team in the country. They are sure to be #1 when the preseason polls come out with the personnel they have returning. Here is a look what you can expect to see from Oklahoma on both side of the ball, as well as my prediction on how they’ll fare in the conference.

Offense:

The Sooner offense is coming off a season in which they ranked 10th in the nation at 481 yards per game, including 3rd in the land with 343 passing yards per contest. This unit returns eight starters and should be just as potent as they were a year ago after scoring 37.2 points per game in 2010. It all starts up front with the offensive line, where four starters return and eight of their top 10 are back. They do lose first-team All-Big 12 RT Eric Mensik, who started in all 14 games last year. This unit should protect their quarterback, and help improve upon the 3.3 yards per carry their backs ran for in 2010.

Landry Jones returns at quarterback to guide the ship. He is coming off a very solid sophomore campaign in which he completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 4,718 yards and 38 touchdowns to only 12 interceptions. His 405 completions broke Oklahoma’s school record, and he tied Sam Bradford’s single-game mark with 468 passing yards in their huge 47-41 win over Oklahoma State. He is primed for an even bigger junior year and will likely be a first-round pick if he comes out.

DeMarco Murray is going to be impossible to replace, but the Sooners have plenty of options to choose from at running back. Murray set the school’s all-time touchdown (63) mark, had the most all-purpose yards (5,881) in school history, and led the team in rushing (1,214) last season. He was first in the FBS among running backs with 71 receptions last year, and he did all this despite playing through injuries most of his career. True freshman Brandon Williams had a tremendous spring and is poised to take over the starting role, while Roy Finch, Brennan Clay, Dominique Whaley and Jonathan Miller all battle it out for carries.

Biletnikoff finalist Ryan Broyles is back to lead the receiving corps after a monster season. Broyles led the FBS in receptions (131) and finished with 1,622 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. He is already OU‘s career receiving leader and should put all of his records out of reach in his senior season. True freshman Kenny Styles lived up to the hype that surrounded him last spring, catching 61 balls for 786 yards and 5 touchdowns. With their top two weapons back, and talented freshmen Justin McCay and Trey Metoyer coming in, this has the makings of perhaps the best receiving corps in the country.

Defense:

Where Oklahoma has room to improve is on defense, where they ranked 51st in the country in yards per game allowed (362) while also giving up 21.8 points per contest. This unit got much better as the season progressed, though. OU gave up 421-plus yards in four of their first seven games last year, but held their final seven opponents to 382 or less. They return eight starters on this side of the ball and look to build on their strong second half.

The Sooners always seem to have a talented defensive line. They do lose their most productive starter from a year ago in Jeremy Beal, who was fourth in tackles (72) and led the team in both sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (10.5). This unit allowed 149 rushing yards per game last year, which was their highest total since 1997. Six defensive linemen return with starting experience in 2011, including Ronnell Lewis who made the switch from DE to LB and started the final four games. While they lose their top guy, the front four should be better than they were a year ago because they have more experience returning.

At linebacker, the Sooners had to replace two starters last season and were very inexperience. Five of their top seven on the depth chart were either freshman or sophomores, and this unit was decimated by injuries to boot. This year they will return five players with five or more starts, meaning they’ll be more experienced. They got great news with second-team All-Big 12 LB Travis Lewis decided to pass up the NFL, and he returns after leading the team in tackles (109) to go along with 3 interceptions. Tony Jefferson (65 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 INT) had a tremendous freshman year and will only improve as a sophomore. Spring star Corey Nelson will also figure into the mix, while senior Austin Box returns at the starting MLB spot.

OU was pretty stout against the pass last year, allowing 213 yards per game on only 54.6% completions. CB’s Jamell Fleming and Demontre Hurst return as perhaps the top tandem in the country. Fleming ranked #2 in the FBS in pass break-ups (14), is the second-leading returning tackler (71), and also led the team in interceptions (5) a year ago. Hurst has 11 pass break-ups with one pick, though he easily could have had three more against Texas A&M alone. They will be breaking in two new starters at the last level of defense, with junior Javon Harris likely taking over at free safety and sophomore Aaron Colvin at strong safety.

Big 12 Prediction: 1st Place – Clearly this team has way more talent than any other team in this conference on both sides of the ball. I like how their schedule sets up with three of their four Big 12 road games at bottom feeders Kansas, Kansas State and Baylor. They will have to win in Stillwater again when they take on the Cowboys in their regular season finale, but I believe they’ll be up to the task after edging out OSU 47-41 last year. You should see this team playing in the national title game for a fifth time under Stoops.

Big 12 Football Predictions by Team
Iowa State Football Predictions	Kansas Football Predictions
Kansas State Football Predictions	Missouri Football Predictions
Baylor Football Predictions	Oklahoma Football Predictions
Oklahoma State Football Predictions	Texas Football Predictions
Texas A&M Football Predictions	Texas Tech Football Predictions

College Football Predictions
ACC Football Predictions	Big 12 Football Predictions
Conference USA Football Predictions	Independents Football Predictions
PAC 12 Football Predictions	SEC Football Predictions
Big East Football Predictions	Big Ten Football Predictions
MAC Football Predictions	Mountain West Football Predictions
Sun Belt Football Predictions	WAC Football Predictions

Other Resources

Kyle Hunter – isn’t as big of a fan of the Sooners as most people are.

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