Oklahoma Football: Sooners prove better than 2017 version in FAU victory

The Oklahoma defense looks championship-level strong in 2018

In the run to the Big 12 title in 2017, the Oklahoma defense gave up an average of 156 rushing yards and 238 passing yards per game. Mike Stoops guided a defense that ranked 68th nationally in points allowed. Talented offenses were perfectly capable of racking up yards and points on the Sooners, as evidenced by six teams racking up 30 or more points on Oklahoma’s defense last year.

Again, it is wise to caution about only having a sample size of one at this point. The data are hardly flat at this point of the season. But against a Florida Atlantic side that ranked sixth nationally in 2017 and allowed the 12th-fewest sacks of any FBS side, Oklahoma stymied any chance the Owls had of generating a statement-making upset over a Power Five opponent.

Devin Singletary, last year’s leader in rushing touchdowns, entered the season as a Heisman dark-horse candidate. But Oklahoma’s defense held the dynamic rusher to just 69 yards and a touchdown on the ground on 18 carries. Singletary added one catch for 13 yards on a fourth-down play in the red zone late in the third quarter, a few plays before Florida Atlantic scored its first of two touchdowns.

Singletary did manage to get that one score over the goal line against the Sooners, preventing the hosts from enjoying a shutout. Otherwise, they were unable to do much against the Sooners as they were held to only 324 total yards of offense all day, most coming later in the game.

If Oklahoma can maintain the defensive solidity it displayed against a relatively strong Florida Atlantic offense, the Sooners will be a legitimate College Football Playoff contender in 2018.