NORMAN — Oklahoma spent an offseason talking about becoming more physical.
On Friday, the Sooners finally put some of it on tape.
Oklahoma rushed 39 times for 170 yards in its 51-0 win over UTEP, used multiple tight-end packages and created three touchdown passes of at least 34 yards. Lloyd Avant ran for 79 yards on 15 carries, while Rocky Beers, Hayden Hansen, Jack Van Dorselaer and Trynae Washington gave offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle the size and versatility to change formations without changing personnel.
It was a promising first answer.
Michigan will demand a much stronger one.
“It’s going to be a physical game,” Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer said. “It’s football—raw football. That’s what it should be. Good teams, good talent, going at each other.”
The Wolverines did not allow an offensive touchdown in their 13-12 victory over Western Michigan. Whatever criticism followed their offensive performance, the defense still put a fact on the board that Oklahoma cannot ignore.
“They didn’t get a touchdown scored on them,” Mateer said. “The facts are the facts. They’ve got a lot of talent. They’ve got a good front.”
That front will test whether Oklahoma’s improvement in the running game is real or simply the product of an opener against UTEP.
Arbuckle liked the urgency Oklahoma displayed in Week 1, but the Sooners still left room for growth.
“I thought there was, at times, really, really good pad level and really good velocity off the ball,” Arbuckle said. “But do I still believe that we can get a whole lot better in those areas—and we need to? Absolutely.”
His challenge is for Oklahoma to keep moving defenders off the line of scrimmage and for its backs to run violently enough to turn the “dirty” two-, three- and four-yard gains into something larger. That requires patience. Against Michigan, the early runs may not look impressive on a stat sheet, but abandoning them could remove the foundation that allowed Oklahoma to create explosive passes against UTEP.
The return of veteran center Jake Maikkula could be significant in a game in which communication and movement inside will be essential.
“You can’t put a value on what Jake Maikkula means to this football team,” Arbuckle said Tuesday. “What he means to the offense, what he means to the confidence of Bill Bedenbaugh, what he means to the confidence of his teammates that line up next to him.”
Ryan Fodje’s versatility also gives Oklahoma another answer across the offensive line. Once he is healthy and cleared to play — and that is expected for Michigan — you have another offensive lineman that can play multiple spots across OU’s front.
Also, true freshman Noah Best proved he could handle the moment when injuries pushed him into the starting lineup against UTEP, while Caleb Nitta gave the Sooners reliable snaps and showed why the staff trusted its depth.
Hansen believes that depth is beginning to look different.
“Coach Venables always says if we can get the twos and threes to play like starters, that’s when we’ll be really good,” Hansen said. “I think the O-line has taken a great step forward in that regard.”
The tight ends are part of that equation, too. On review, Arbuckle saw a group that owned the C-gap, climbed to linebackers and defensive backs and created paths for runners to reach the edge or cut vertically for additional yards.
“I’m a firm believer that if your tight ends have a good day at the park, you probably have a good day at the park,” Arbuckle said. “If your tight ends don’t have a good day at the park, things probably are a little bit tougher.”
Oklahoma used 13 personnel and even 14 personnel Friday, forcing UTEP to defend formations built around three or four tight ends. Beers caught a 40-yard touchdown. Hansen contributed as a blocker and receiver. Van Dorselaer and Washington allowed the Sooners to keep rolling bodies through a position that looked dramatically different from a year ago.
For Hansen, it was new territory.
“Never in my life,” he said when asked when he last played in those heavy packages. “Thirteen personnel, 14 personnel—it’s one of those beautiful things. It’s like poetry in motion, and I’m glad Arbuckle is starting to trust it more.”
The beauty will matter less than the force behind it Saturday.
Michigan is built to test pad level, leverage, toughness and patience. Oklahoma cannot abandon the run at the first sign of resistance, nor can it ask Mateer to carry the offense 19 times as a runner like he did against the Wolverines last season.
The Sooners need Avant and the rest of the backfield to generate yards after contact — and if sophomore Tory Blaylock makes it through the week, and is able to play Saturday, after being out with a hamstring for most of fall camp and week one, you add another after contact running back. Something Blaylock was great at last season for OU.
Oklahoma also need the tight ends to function as extensions of the offensive line. They need Bedenbaugh’s group to handle movement, pressure and crowd noise without creating negative plays.
On the other side, Oklahoma’s defense will face the same challenge. Venables said the Sooners tackled poorly at times against UTEP despite pitching a shutout. Michigan’s ball carriers will punish the same mistakes.
“These are real dudes that are going to be carrying the football,” Venables said. “Striking blocks, getting off blocks, tackling—population at the football is going to be critical in this game.”
Venables expects four quarters and a result that could come down to the final possession or two. In that kind of game, style points disappear. The winner is usually the team that controls the line of scrimmage when everyone in the stadium knows what is coming.
“There is no path to winning without being the most physical team,” Venables said.
Oklahoma has talked about building that team for months. It showed flashes against UTEP.
Now it has to prove it against Michigan.
