OU football stock report: Sooners' defense looks to bounce back after 'poor performance'

Norman, Oklahoma — Oklahoma's defense delivered an uncharacteristically poor performance in last Saturday's game. Coach Brent Venables' team, once one of the nation's best, allowed an unimpressive 521 total yards, with 309 through the air and 212 on the ground. South Carolina's quarterback LaNorris Sellers seemed to have an easy game against what was supposed to be a disciplined defense.

"Let them throw the ball over our heads and didn't tackle great," Venables lamented. "We were in position several times and played on our heels. The quarterback played fantastic. Their O-line played really good. Their running backs played well. Again, they played with great purpose."

Entering the game, Oklahoma's defense led the nation in allowing just 13.6 first downs per game. South Carolina racked up 22 first downs. Despite ranking second in the country in third-down conversion percentage, the Sooners let the Gamecocks convert eight of their 14 attempts.

This defensive struggle isn't a new trend for Venables' team. The unit's defensive Pro Football Focus grade of 59.5 was their lowest under Venables since their 2023 Kansas road loss, which earned a 57.7 defensive grade. However, Venables remains confident in his players and anticipates a significant improvement when they travel to face Florida on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.

"We need to play like we're capable of playing. We need to play better," Venables stated. "Our fundamentals were really poor. Our entry angles in space, closing space were not great. People kept great leverage in coverage. We just played an overall poor performance."

The lackluster showing was particularly puzzling given the Sooners' tackling struggles. They missed 25 tackles in their loss to South Carolina. Linebacker Kip Lewis led the team with six missed tackles followed by Owen Heinecke, who missed three. "We knocked 'em backwards a lot and guys just lost 'em. Didn't finish," Venables explained.

"Some of it's their straining. Some of it's, we're knocking backwards and we're halfway on the blocks still, and they're doing the job, finishing and we're not doing as good of a job on the outside in, or top down, or in the second level of assuming the guy is still not tackled." The team's overall physicality and toughness were notably lacking, putting pressure on other parts of the team and focusing on not playing to their strengths.