Oklahoma Sooners 2021 College Football Preview
Created July 20, 2021
2020 Recap
Record – 9-2
ATS – 8-3
All looked lost early in the year when the Sooners SPIT THE BIT and lost in back-to-back weeks vs Kansas St (!) and Iowa St, but they defeated Texas the following week in a dramatic 4-OT classic, and rattled off another seven wins in a row to finish with a respectable record of 9-2. Those victories included the Big 12 Championship Game (Iowa St, W 27-21) and a SPANKING of the shorthanded Florida Gators (W 55-20).
Oklahoma Sooners 2021 Outlook
OFFENSE
Oklahoma didn’t run the ball as effectively as usual (180 YPG, #5 Big 12) but they were very efficient in the THROW GAME behind QB Spencer Rattler (#10 FBS pass efficiency). Rattler made a few too many mistakes early on but had a great 15-2 TD to INT mark in his final seven games. The top three rushers are gone but they add Eric Gray from Tennessee (1300+, 8 TD in 2Y) and note that Kennedy Brooks rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2019. The 1-2 WR combo of Marvin Mims (16.5, 9 TD) and Theo Wease returns as does their excellent receiving TE Austin Stogner who put up a fine stat line LY (26-422,16.2, 3 TD). Keep an eye on highly-regarded freshman Mario Williams at WR. They return three starters up front but lose a pair of really good ones including AA center Creed Humphrey who’s off to the NFL. Looks like these guys are in fine shape for their 7th straight year averaging 40+ PPG.
DEFENSE
DC Alex Grinch has done a great job with this stop unit. Last season Oklahoma finished #9 in the FBS in run defense, #9 in pass efficiency D, and #1 in the Big 12 in sacks/game. Eight starters and their top-eight (!) tacklers return for battle in 2021. This year’s D is CHOCK-FULL of talent and includes a pair of players nominated for the Chuck Bednarik Award (best DEF player). LB Nik Bonitto booked 8 sacks and 10 QBH LY and DE Isaiah Thomas led the team with 8.5 sacks (13 TFL). #1 tackler David Ugwoegbu is a good one and a talented secondary adds a potential starter from Tennessee (Key Lawrence). This has the makings of another really good defense.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Sooners have continuity in the kicking game and PK Gabe Brkic hit 20/26 FGA LY after going an impossible 17/17 in 2019. They’ll need to find a new primary KR.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – The schedule is very manageable and they should STEAMROLL into conference play with a mark of 3-0. They don’t have back-to-back true road games but finish with a pair of contests that will decide their Big 12 fate (Iowa St, at Oklahoma St).
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Baylor (November 13th)
Could be a lookahead spot as the pair of aforementioned yuuuuge games are on deck. Not sure we’ll wanna lay a ton of points.
Season Win Total
per 5Dimes July 20
Over 11 -110
Under 11 -110
MEGALOCKS says:
No leanage. Hard to bet “yes” for an undefeated regular season. Looks like the perfect number.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Per the excellent College Football News website, Lincoln Riley has never lost a game at Oklahoma when they win the turnover battle.
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
This team is absolutely loaded and are led by a Heisman-caliber QB in Spencer Rattler. There’s no reason to think they won’t have another top-notch Big 12 defense. We’ll call for ANOTHER Big 12 title and think they’re an excellent bet to win ALL THE MARBLES.
#BoomerSooner !
Want more Oklahoma football ?
WEBSITE
https://soonersports.com/sports/football
FORUM
https://247sports.com/college/oklahoma/Board/FootballRecruiting-103683/
http://www.soonertimesbb.com/forums/view_forum.php?id=2
http://www.soonerfans.com/forum/index.php?forums/sooner-football.2/
https://oklahoma.forums.rivals.com/forums/the-crimson-corner.12/
NEWS
http://www.crimsonandcreammachine.com/
http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/oklahoma-sooners
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/201/oklahoma-sooners
Hashtags – #BoomerSooner, #OUDNA
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