Oklahoma Football: Sooners’ 2017 previews, predictions

Oklahoma football enters the 2017 season with lofty expectations, but can the Sooners make it back to the College Football Playoff?

What a crazy offseason it’s been for Oklahoma football. Not only were there off-field issues regarding Baker Mayfield and his attempted escape from law enforcement, but there was also a shocking changing of the guard.

In fact, head coach Bob Stoops retired after 18 seasons with the Sooners, giving way to young offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley. Everyone expected Riley to be the predecessor for the elite head coach, but no one thought it’d be this soon. He was thrust into the head coaching role following spring practice and he’s now the big man on campus.

Riley will take over a talented team that went 11-2 in 2016, including 9-0 in conference play with yet another Big 12 title. Stoops was the king of the Big 12 over the past two decades and now it’s Riley’s turn to make the Sooners annual favorites.

The 2016 season was an interesting one for Oklahoma. First, it started 1-2 with losses to Houston and Ohio State to begin the year. It looked as if the Sooners were incredibly overrated in the preseason polls and some even speculated they might miss a bowl — although that was just the overreaction crowd.

Oklahoma then finished the year with 10 straight wins, including a Sugar Bowl victory over Auburn, capping off an incredible run which some argued should have resulted in a playoff appearance. Will that happen this year with the reinstatement of the conference’s title game?

Check out the complete season preview, with predictions, for Oklahoma football.

Offense

Bringing back Baker Mayfield is obviously a big win for the Sooners, but they will have their work cut out when it comes to replacing Dede Westbrook, Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon. Add in the fact that the team lost Nick Basquine recently to an Achilles injury, and this team could be in trouble.

However, there are two players who stand out as potential stars in the passing game this season. One is junior tight end Mark Andrews and the other is Kentucky transfer wide receiver Jeff Badet. Andrews might be the Big 12’s best tight end, catching 31 passes for 489 yards and seven touchdowns last season while Badet has breakout potential.

Jeffery Mead and Dahu Green are both upperclassmen who could contribute at receiver.

At running back, sophomore Abdul Adams looks to be the go-to guy with Mixon and Perine gone. That’s over 2,000 yards and 22 touchdowns to replace. Adams had 283 yards last season and has that big-play ability. He’ll be backed up by fellow sophomore Rodney Anderson.

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Returning is the entire offensive line for the Sooners, including All-Big 12 candidates Orlando Brown (LT), Ben Powers (LG) and Bobby Evans (RT). Erick Wren and Dru Samia will anchor the middle of the dominating offensive line. This unit might be the strongest on the team.

Baker Mayfield’s leadership in question

No one wants to see their senior leader, and potential captain, get into trouble with the law, but that’s what happened with Baker Mayfield in the offseason. He was arrested for public intoxication, disorderly conduct and attempting to flee the cops. He was promptly tackled by officers.

Unfortunately, the tape of his arrest went viral and many were calling into question his leadership ability. As a quarterback who has gone from rags (former walk-on) to riches (Heisman candidate), he knows what it takes to be successful and lead a team at this level. He’s apologized to his teammates, coaches and fans and it’s time to move forward.

Sure, there will always be people questioning his leadership after the offseason incident, but kids make dumb mistakes — his was just bigger than most.

Mayfield enters the season as the top quarterback in the Big 12, along with Mason Rudolph, after passing for 3,965 yards and 40 touchdowns with a 70 percent completion rate. This kid knows how to win and he will start with leading by example.

Defense

Oklahoma’s defense was the team’s Achilles heel in 2016, but it looks to move forward with five new starters, including the entire defensive line, in the front-seven.

OK, there are three returning linebackers, but one isn’t expected to start — senior Emmanuel Beal. The middle linebacker was second on the team in tackles last season, but is expected to give way to talented freshman Jon-Michael Terry. He will be joined by returning outside backers Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Caleb Kelly. The potential is there while both are backed up by freshmen.

The defensive line, on the other hand, will be anchored by four first-year starters. Seniors D.J. Ward and Matt Romar take over at end and tackle, respectively. They combined for 45 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks last season.

Sophomores Neville Gallimore and Mark Jackson Jr. will take over the other side of the line. The latter played sparingly in 2016 while Gallimore looks to be a future All-Big 12 tackle. This unit is relatively unproven, but it could churn out some young stars.

The elephant in the room

Clearly, the elephant in the room for Oklahoma has to be the fact that the defense was the reason Oklahoma didn’t make the College Football Playoff in 2016. In fact, the committee even stated that they look at teams’ overall bodies of work on both sides of the ball. Oklahoma had a top-five offense, but a bottom-tier defense and that killed them.

The rushing defense ranked in the top half of the country, so the aforementioned front-seven did just fine, although it could use some improvement — all-new starters will give the Sooners a fresh look up front.

However, the secondary ranked 111th in the country against the pass. Jordan Thomas returns at corner as a potential All-Big 12 defensive back and on the other side, sophomore Jordan Parker looks to be a rising star. Senior Steven Parker is back at safety, giving the team three returning starters in the secondary.

Junior Will Sunderland looks to start at the other safety spot while every single position in the defensive backfield has a younger player as the understudy. Maybe a youth movement is coming?

2017 preview

Fortunately, Oklahoma begins the season with a sure-win as it hosts UTEP. Unfortunately, the follow-up contest happens to be a road game against Ohio State, the presumed No. 2 team in the country behind Alabama. If the Sooners can steal a win in Columbus, they will have all the momentum in the world.

Tulane comes to town the following week to make up for the rough road game and then Oklahoma travels to Baylor before an early bye week. The first four games after the bye should all result in victories. However, that third one at Kansas State will be tough. Manhattan isn’t an easy place to play.

Then, the latest installment of the Bedlam Series strikes. Oklahoma State will be ranked higher at the time and hosting the Sooners, but Oklahoma has won 12-of-14 in the series. That includes 6-of-7 in Stillwater.

Lastly, the final fourth of the season is also favorable for Oklahoma as TCU and West Virginia both come to town and traveling to Kansas should be a layup. There’s a good chance the Sooners will be playing in the re-installed Big Ten Championship Game in December.

Next: College Football: Top 50 breakout candidates for 2017

Prediction: 10-2 (8-1 Big 12)

There are two games on Oklahoma’s schedule that seem to stick out as much tougher than the rest: at Oklahoma State and at Ohio State. The Cowboys and Buckeyes are tough to beat away from home, usually, but the Sooners have the talent to take down both. Unfortunately, the Ohio State game comes early in the year and the Sooners will be rusty and still adjusting to a new coach. The Oklahoma State game is a rivalry and, truthfully, anything can happen. It’s going to be a shootout, but I think the home team wins. Other than that, the Sooners run the table and meet OK State in the conference title game for a rematch.