Utah State @ Oklahoma preview
Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 15, 2007 ) Utah State 3, Oklahoma 54
Oklahoma is being billed as a top-tier national championship contender. Nothing new there.
The eighth-ranked Sooners begin their BCS quest against visiting Utah State on Saturday night. Coming off last season’s injury-plagued 8-5 campaign, staying healthy against a less-talented opponent is priority No. 1 for Bob Stoops.
However, the Sooners’ coach stresses that the Aggies are not pushovers.
In coach Greg Andersen’s first season, the Aggies went 4-8 but had chances to win at Texas A&M and Fresno State, two traditionally tough places to play. Now, with a year in Andersen’s system, Utah State is hoping to make strides in the WAC.
The Aggies feature senior dual-threat quarterback Diondre Borel. But they lost their top two weapons to injury in the offseason. First, 1,300-yard rusher Robert Turbin tore his ACL in February and then star wide receiver Stanley Morrison broke his foot over the summer. Both All-WAC candidates will miss the season.
The Sooners, with a bevy of returning starters on offense, are heavy favorites. They’ve got a seasoned quarterback in Landry Jones, who stepped in as a redshirt freshman when Sam Bradford suffered a shoulder injury in last year’s opening loss to BYU. The 6-4 Jones improved throughout his nine starts last season and finished with a 418-yard, three-touchdown performance in a Sun Bowl win over Stanford.
Jones has plenty of weapons at his disposal, including senior running back DeMarco Murray and junior receiver Ryan Broyles.
While Oklahoma’s offense should be explosive, there are question marks on defense, where the Sooners are breaking in two new cornerbacks. The defensive line is banged up, with end Frank Alexander expected to miss the opener with an ankle injury and tackle Adrian Taylor limited from ankle surgery.
Dual-threat quarterbacks like Borel have given OU’s defense fits in the past. Keep an eye on sophomore linebacker Ronnell Lewis. Coaches and players have raved about his intensity and athleticism. He’s a rising star for the Sooners and will be chasing Borel.
The kicking game is also a concern for the Sooners. Stoops named walk-on sophomore Patrick O’Hara his kicker Tuesday, but only after a long battle with Jimmy Stevens. O’Hara was 6-of-9 on field goals last season and made all 15 of his extra-point attempts.
Utah State is 0-41 on the road against Top 25 teams and 0-10 against the Big 12. Oklahoma beat the Aggies 54-3 in 2007.
The Sooners host Florida State on Sept. 11.