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Oklahoma Sooners running back Jovantae Barnes (2) moves past Tennessee Volunteers linebacker Arion Carter (7) during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Tennessee Volunteers at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Oklahoma Sooners offense has problems that go beyond the quarterback. Sure, inconsistent play in the passing game has an impact on the number of defenders an offense will face around the line of scrimmage, but even when the Sooners have had favorable boxes, it hasn’t helped.
Oklahoma ran for over 200 yards in week one against Temple. OU rushed for just over 180 yards against Tulane, buoyed by Jackson Arnold’s near-100-yard day. But against Houston, the Sooners ran for just 75 yards on just 2.58 yards per carry. OU hit rock bottom against Tennessee when they averaged 1.1 yards per carry on 24 attempts. Yes, you read that right: 1.1 yards per carry.
Take the quarterback run game and sacks out of the equation, and the numbers look slightly better. It amounts to 17 carries for 37 yards. It’s still not good or even average, but it improves to 2.17 yards per carry. It’s a far cry from what this offense expects of their running game.
So far, Oklahoma’s averaging just 3.6 yards per carry, helped by Arnold’s big day against Tulane. However, that’s the lowest yard-per-carry average for a season since 2010, when the Sooners averaged just 3.3 yards per attempt.
With a rushing average that low, one would think the Sooners struggled offensively. But what did Oklahoma have going for it that season? Landry Jones was cooking, throwing for 4,718 yards and 38 touchdowns. Ryan Broyles had 1,622 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns. They had DeMarco Murray, who ran for 1,214…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/oklahoma-sooners-more-consistent-running-140132563.html
Author : Sooners Wire
Publish date : 2024-09-25 14:01:32
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