PF.com Preview: SMU takes on No. 18 Oklahoma

by **PonyPride** » Thu Sep 07, 2023 4:57 pm

PF.com Preview: SMU takes on No. 18 Oklahoma
Sooners blasted Arkansas State, 73-0, in 2023 opener

It would be forgivable if watching the Oklahoma Sooners’ 73-0 mauling of Arkansas State Saturday led to the conclusion that OU is among the most lethal teams in the country. Recapping the Sooners’ season opener would be pointless; OU dominated in every facet of the game so thoroughly that the Sooner Schooner piled up more yards on post-touchdown sprints up and down the field than the 208 yards mustered by the Red Wolves.

To Oklahoma fans, the rout was a welcome change after a 2022 season in which the Sooners limped to a 6-7 record (3-6 in Big 12 games, including a 49-0 butchering at the hands of the hated Texas Longhorns) in Brent Venables’ first season as the team’s head coach.

But against a hugely outmanned Arkansas State, how much really can be gleaned from the Sooners’ opener?

Regardless of the opponent, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said he is extremely impressed by the Mustangs’ opponent in their first road game of the season.

“They look … like Oklahoma,” Lashlee said of the Sooners, who are ranked No. 18 in the newest Associated Press ranking. “They look like a team that can compete to win the Big 12, and compete to be in the College Football Playoff.

“On offense, they play extremely fast — there’s a lot of similarities in the (Sooners’ and Mustangs’) style of play. Their offensive line is huge. They run it, they can really throw it. Because they can run it, that puts a lot of pressure on you on the outside (in) one-on-ones — favorable situations to throw the football.”

Leading the offense that averaged 32.9 points per game last season is quarterback Dillon Gabriel, the former UCF southpaw. Against Arkansas State, he completed 19 of 22 passes for 308 yards and a pair of touchdowns before giving way to backup Jackson Arnold … who completed all 11 of his attempts for 114 yards and a score. But again, those gaudy numbers came against modest competition.

In 2022, Gabriel completed 229 of 366 passes (62.6 percent) for 3,165 yards (263.6 yards per game), 25 touchdown passes and just six interceptions. He also was the Sooners’ third-learing rusher last season, picking up 315 yards on 89 carries (4.5 yards per rush) and five touchdown runs.

“Dillon Gabriel is a stud,” Lashlee said “I knew him when he was at UCF. I think he’s a winner — he can really throw the deep ball, he can run, he can scramble … offensively, there’s a reason they scored 73 and only punted once.”

SMU defensive coordinator Scott Symons is similarly impressed with Gabriel, having crossed paths with the Sooners’ quarterback when both were at other schools.

“You know, I was at Memphis in ’18 when we played UCF in the conference championship, and he started that game,” Symons said. “We were up 17 (points), I believe, at half, and he came back and whooped us pretty good. So he’s been doing it a long time — that was 2018 and we’re in 2023 … and he’s gotten so much better…

“Now, to be a guy they trust — you can tell — 100 percent to run the offense, whether it’s RPOs, whether their choice, play-action, protection stuff … make the right reads, deliver the ball on time, with the speed, and skill, and size that they have at receiver, the explosiveness that they have at running back, and you know, a very, very experienced O-line.”

It’s why you play college football, and obviously, with the future for us, it’s going to become much more the norm, which is what we want. It’s a great opportunity for us, in Week 2, to try to improve and see kind of where we stand, two games into the season, against someone who, based off what I saw on film, could be competing to be in the top four in the playoff this year.

I think it depends. I think, from a defensive standpoint, it’s going to be just getting our cleats in the ground and getting lined up, because similar to what we like to do, they like to play super-fast — snapping the ball with “between 30 and 34 seconds left on the play clock” fast.

Fun fact: Lashlee’s assessment that the OU offensive line is huge is true — the Sooners average 6-5.2 and 313.6 across the front five … but if there is any accuracy in listed heights and weights, SMU’s offensive line is actually bigger, albeit by the smallest of margins. The Mustangs’ starting five of left tackle Marcus Bryant, left guard Logan Parr, center Branson Hickman, right guard Justin Osborne and right tackle Hyrin White averages 6-5.4 and 314.4 pounds per man.

No Sooner rushed for as many as 40 yards against Arkansas State — sophomore Jovantae Barnes (6-0, 204) led the ground game with 49 yards on 13 carries. Junior Tawee Walker (5-9, 215) added 44 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns. Four other Sooners — Gabriel, Arnold, Marcus Major and Kalib Hicks — each had a rushing touchdown.

The top two Oklahoma receivers from last season — wideout Marvin Mims and tight end Braydon Willis — are gone. Freshman Jaquaize Pettaway (5-10, 185) led all receivers with nine receptions against Arkansas State, but finished tied for third with 56 yards. Redshirt freshman Nic Anderson (6-4, 209) needed just two catches to rack up a team-high 68 yards. Three Sooners — sixth-year senior Drake Stoops (yes, the son of former head coach Bob Stoops), Jayden Gibson and Gavin Freeman — each caught a touchdown pass.

The Oklahoma defensive line is led by junior defensive end Ethan Downs (6-4, 265), a second-team All-Big 12 honoree a year ago and the only Sooner named by Big 12 coaches to the preseason all-conference team this season. He had just two tackles (including one tackle for loss) against Arkansas State, but again, stats from what amounted to an intramural game mean nothing. In 2022, Downs started all 13 games, and led the team and ranked fourth in the Big 12 with 13.5 tackles for loss — meaning more than a third of his 38 tackles were made behind the line of scrimmage. He also tied for the team lead last year with 4.5 sacks, and led the Sooners with nine quarterback hurries.

Against ASU, Oklahoma was led by linebackers Kobie McKinzie and Danny Stutsman, each of whom had four tackles.

SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods said that the OU defense, which surrendered just just 48 yards and three first downs on the ground against Arkansas State, presents a significant challenge for the Mustangs’ offense, especially in the ground game.

“OU is very good,” Woods said. “They’re well-coached. They do a lot — they’re incredibly multiple in what it is they do. They play a lot of guys, (and) you can tell they know what’s going on. They’re really big into tendencies, preparing from that standpoint, and if you expose yourself, then they’ll take advantage of that. Even last year, when they were struggling, they were, you know, elite athletes.

“It’s going to be as hard to run on this team this weekend as anybody we’re going to play this entire season, so we’re going to have to buckle our chinstraps for this one.

While the Mustangs gear up for what could be their toughest opponent of the season, Venables said the Sooners are fully aware of the improvement the Mustangs have shown in recent years.

“We’ve got a really good, strong SMU team coming in here this weekend,” Venables said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge that they bring to the table. It’s a veteran football team — they’ve got, give or take, 14, 15 seniors starting on defense and offense, so (SMU is a) very experienced football team. They’ve done a great job, in just a short amount of time. I know Rhett Lashlee very well, and everywhere he’s been, he has had great success — obviously on the offensive side of the ball, as a coordinator, and he’s done a great job in a short amount of time with SMU.”