On the surface, controlling the running game hasn’t been an issue for the Oklahoma Sooners. They’ve held their opponents to 77.5 rushing yards in the first two contests. As they should, playing the Tulane Green Wave and the Western Carolina Catamounts.
If you look at Pro Football Focus’s numbers, the Sooners allow 103 rushing yards per game.
Why the difference? NCAA rushing stats take yards away for sacks, unlike the NFL that takes away team passing yards when a quarterback is sacked. Pro Football Focus doesn’t count sack yards as lost yardage for the quarterback.
Michael Pratt was the main culprit for Tulane’s rushing attack, and he carried the ball seven times for 54 yards and a touchdown. Per Pro Football Focus, 16 of those yards came on scrambles after the Oklahoma defensive front pressured him.
On designed runs, the Sooners allowed 104 rushing yards on 20 attempts per Pro Football Focus. Take Michael Pratt’s 38 yards on three carries out of the equation on designed runs, and Tulane managed just 66 rushing yards. All other backs managed 4.125 yards per carry.
Safe to say, Tulane had a pretty decent day on the ground. A big second-half deficit forced the Green Wave into catch-up mode, and they had to throw the ball much more to overcome a 23 point deficit from the Sooners’ second-quarter explosion. Or, the rushing totals against Oklahoma could have been worse.
Part of the issue was the Sooners’ struggles tackling ball carriers. Tulane forced 12 missed tackles in the game. If you don’t tackle well, then you aren’t going to win in the running game. The Sooners will have to tackle better.
Against Western Carolina, it was better. The Sooners held the Catamounts to -5 yards rushing in the first half before finishing with 64 rush yards on designed runs. Western Carolina only forced six missed tackles per Pro Football Focus, and Oklahoma held them to 3.36 yards per carry on designed runs. On scrambles, they allowed 15 total yards and 7.5 yards per attempt.
For the Oklahoma Sooners to beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers, they’ll have to be better in the run game than against Tulane.
It just felt … difficult, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Nebraska beat its head against the wall with the run with the patience we often cry to have. I will say that while it was tough sailing for much of the day, the consistency of staying with the run may have paid off in setting up some big pass plays too. – Christopherson
Though Nebraska is averaging 240 yards per game rushing, which is good for 20th in the nation, it’s a bit misleading.
According to College Football Reference, quarterback Adrian Martinez leads the way for Nebraska with 256 yards rushing and is averaging 7.5 yards per carry. Pro Football Focus has him at 296, which doesn’t take away rushing yards related to sacks and has him averaging 10.6 yards per carry. Much of that is on scrambles after being pressured by the defense as opposed to designed runs.
Pro Football Focus separates running plays by a quarterback into designed runs and scrambles. If you take away Martinez’s 247 rushing yards that he’s gotten from scrambling after dropping back to pass, then Nebraska has only rushed for 473 yards in three games or just 157.6 rushing yards per game. That number would be good for 71st in the country in yards per game, and that’s a steep drop-off from the top 20.
Running back, Markese Stepp is the only other Cornhusker averaging more than four yards per carry.
Nebraska will use a read-option to try and free Martinez up to run in space. The Sooners edge players Isaiah Thomas and Nik Bonitto will have to stay true to their assignments and not overcommit to the play fake to the running back. If they commit to the running back too early, Martinez has the athleticism to break containment for easy gains.
When Martinez drops back to pass, he’ll run in the face of pressure. The Sooners would be wise to spy him with a linebacker or safety to help the defensive front maintain containment. Using an uber-athletic player like David Ugwoegbu, who is long and one of the best tacklers on the team, to spy Martinez could help limit the damage once the Nebraska quarterback breaks the pocket.
It will take a total team effort from back to front to help control the Cornhuskers ground game. To beat the Sooners, they have to control the line of scrimmage and shorten the game by limiting possessions for Spencer Rattler and the vaunted Oklahoma Sooners’ offense.
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