Oklahoma’s Offensive Line Preparing for a Set of Major Tests After the Bye Week

The offensive line is rounding into form on the good time for Oklahoma.

Within the Sooners’ final outing, Invoice Bedenbaugh’s unit dominated the Kansas entrance seven.

OU rushed for 298 yards and 5 touchdowns, averaging 5.2 yards per keep it up the bottom.

Working again Eric Grey posted his finest speeding effort in an Oklahoma uniform for the third time this season, including 176 yards on 20 carries within the win.

And whereas Grey has gotten higher and higher at making defenders miss because the season has pressed on, his potential to burst untouched to the second stage of the protection has been made potential by nice performances within the trenches.

“Coach DeMarco (Murray) talks about on a regular basis profitable these one on one battles, as a result of on the finish of the day, they can not block all people,” Grey stated after the win over Kansas. “You bought to make one miss, and I am glad that I might try this immediately. Massive props to the o-line for getting me to the second stage, however it was undoubtedly nice

“… When you will get your operating again to the protection, it’s on him to make them miss, and that is the place the massive touchdowns come.”

Regardless of the turbulent begin to convention play, the Sooner speeding assault is ranked seventeenth within the nation, averaging 222.6 yards per sport.

Oklahoma was even capable of rush the soccer at occasions towards Texas when everybody within the Cotton Bowl knew operating performs had been popping out of the wildcat bundle, a testomony to the improved physicality and total play up entrance.

“I really feel like our major aim each week is to be extra bodily,” OU left deal with Anton Harrison stated. “We’ve to be most bodily on the sector each week to win. It begins with us up entrance.

“Offense and protection, it begins with the trenches. And I really feel like after we play good, we’re gonna win the video games.”

Over the following two weeks, the offensive line should take one other step ahead.

Iowa State and Baylor are on the horizon, and each groups at the moment are within the high 30 within the nation stopping the run.

Jon Heacock’s Cyclone protection is thought for dropping into protection and making opposing offenses win play after play to methodically work their approach down the sector.

However a line of defense anchored by Will McDonald IV has nonetheless dominated up entrance, permitting solely 105.3 speeding yards per sport.

Then when the Sooners return to Norman to host Baylor, the inside of OU’s offensive line should take care of Siaki Ika and Jaxon Participant.

Dave Aranda’s protection gave Lincoln Riley’s offenses as a lot hassle as Iowa State, and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby may have an opportunity to resolve the riddle for Oklahoma in back-to-back weeks.

Lebby has no reservations about operating the soccer again and again if that’s what defenses are giving him.

The OU offensive line might want to open holes for Grey and Jovantae Barnes on early downs to maintain the Sooners out of apparent passing downs, the place McDonald, Ika, Participant and the Baylor linebacker corps will have the ability to pin their ears again and attempt to assault quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

A win towards Kansas on the eve of the off week gave the offense confidence on the observe subject. The line of defense expertise is about to choose up, nevertheless, and the offensive line should proceed to play bodily, assignment-sound soccer for the Sooners to proceed to have success to finish the season.

“All people in that locker room understands we now have the chance to be actually, actually good on offense,” Lebby stated. “So for us to have the ability to go play clear and play the way in which we performed (towards Kansas), outdoors of the turnovers and the mishap there on the finish of the primary half, was actually good to see.”

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