The Oklahoma Sooners will have some challengers for the Big 12 championship. However, they can still repeat as champions.
The Oklahoma Sooners have won two-straight Big 12 championships and look to make it three in 2017. They’ll have a good chance to repeat with quarterback Baker Mayfield under center.
There will be challengers in the Kansas State Wildcats and Oklahoma State Cowboys this season, two teams Oklahoma will face on the road.
After all, why else would Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph and wide receiver James Washington return for their senior years? Facing top talent like Oklahoma and getting a victory is worth it, but they’ll need to deliver.
An even bigger game looms when Texas Longhorns head coach Tom Herman faces the Sooners in the Red River Shootout. Herman defeated Oklahoma last year as head coach of the Houston Cougars in the American Conference.
The Oklahoma Sooners have the proverbial bullseye on their backs again in 2017. They want to win the Big 12 title as it will become a stepping stone to their second berth in the College Football Playoff.
Here’s a look at five reasons why the Sooners will repeat as Big 12 champions.
5. Offensive Line
The Oklahoma Sooners could make a push for one of the best offensive lines in the country. All five starters return for an o-line that didn’t make many mistakes in 2016.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield shouldn’t have to worry too much about protection in the pocket next season. The offensive line features the Big 12 offensive lineman of the year in left tackle Orlando Brown.
Brown is a 6-foot-7, 340-pound prospect who has protected Mayfield’s blindside for the past two seasons. He’s made 26 starts since earning the starting job.
Next to Brown, the Sooners return a lot of depth at the position with Ben Powers, Erick Wren, Dru Samia, Cody Ford, Bobby Evans and Jonathan Alvarez all capable of earning playing time.
Needless to say, if anybody goes down with injury, the Oklahoma Sooners shouldn’t have a hard time finding a replacement on the depth chart. While it’s hard to name starters right away, protecting Mayfield will be key in winning the Big 12 crown.
4. Improved defense
The Oklahoma Sooners defense should be much improved in 2017. They are making the transition back to a traditional 4-3 base, which should help simplify things for them.
The Sooners defense allowed 28.8 points per game, 5th in the Big 12, but some changes up front should give them an advantage.
Cornerbacks Jordan Thomas and Jordan Parker lead a secondary looking to give up less passing yards through the air in 2017. Thomas did have 17 pass breakups in 2016, but he had just one interception all season. He had five interceptions in 2015.
Converted linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo leads a defense that allowed just 162.6 rushing yards per game, second in the Big 12. Okoronkwo led the team with 12.0 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks on the season.
The Oklahoma defense will need to replace linebacker Jordan Evans but it explains the change in defensive schemes. With a lack of a playmaker on defense, strength in numbers will help the Sooners balance things out, hopefully.
3. Running back depth
The departure of running backs Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine may be noticeable at first. However, once the 2017 season really gets going it may not even matter.
The Oklahoma Sooners have some incredible depth at the running back position. Aside from running back Abdul Adams returning for his sophomore season, the team has a lot of running backs prime for playing time.
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Adams is the lone running back with on-field experience. He ran for 283 rushing yards on 53 carries in 2016. He averaged 5.3 yards per carry as well.
Running back Trey Sermon enrolled this past January as a member of the 2017 recruiting class. Sermon ran for 1,227 yards and 16 touchdowns on 166 carries (7.4 yards per rush) as a senior. He held offers from a lot of top schools in the country.
Another early enrollee is running back Marcelias Sutton, a junior-college transfer from Lackawanna Community College. Sutton is another highly-rated running back prospect. He ran for 907 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns as a sophomore at Lackawanna.
If Adams doesn’t pan out, the Oklahoma Sooners have plenty of options to choose from at running back. Plenty of options that it puts them ahead of everyone else in the Big 12 talent pool.
2. Offensive weapons
The Oklahoma Sooners offense will have to reload on offense, but they have the talent to do so seamlessly. It will be hard to duplicate the numbers wide receiver Dede Westbrook put up but with the returning starters, it shouldn’t be too tough of a task.
The Sooners averaged 43.9 points per game in 2016, third in the FBS. With Baker Mayfield under center, they’re on the right track. Finding players to replace the playmakers of 2016 shouldn’t be too difficult.
Wide receiver Jeffrey Mead, Nick Basquine and tight end Mark Andrews represent a bit of the production from a season ago. Mead caught 10 passes for 150 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Basquine caught 20 receptions for 265 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Andrews could be a target due for a big 2017 season. He caught 31 passes for 489 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Finding a new favorite target shouldn’t be too difficult for Baker Mayfield. After all, Westbrook needed just one breakout season in 2016 to hearing his name called in the 2017 NFL Draft.
1. Baker Mayfield
The Oklahoma Sooners have a gem in quarterback Baker Mayfield. In two seasons as starter, Mayfield is 17-1, having lost just one game in Big 12 play to the Texas Longhorns in 2015.
Mayfield has been a model of success since becoming starter in 2015. He won Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2015, after throwing for 3,700 passing yards and 36 passing touchdowns.
He followed that up with 3,965 passing yards and 40 passing touchdowns in 2016. Mayfield led the Big 12 and FBS in passing yards per attempt (11.1).
He set the new FBS record for passing efficiency with a 196.4 rating. He was first in the FBS and Big 12 in passing completion percentage at 70.9 percent.
To close out the 2016 season, Mayfield led the Sooners to a 35-19 victory over the Auburn Tigers in the Sugar Bowl. Now, he enters 2017 looking to dominate the Big 12 and earn his team a berth in the College Football Playoff.
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After finishing fourth in Heisman voting in 2015 and third in voting in 2016, it’s hard to doubt Baker Mayfield. Winning his third-straight Big 12 title will have huge implications on his legacy. He’ll just need to deliver on his end now.