Satterfield on the Sooners defense.
“On the defensive end, Brett Venables is an outstanding defensive coach. We played him when he was with Clemson many times, and he does a tremendous job. This year their defense is playing very well. They’ve held each team to single digits throughout their first three games. They like to pressure, play a lot of different coverages in the back end, they run well, have great size, so obviously they are a very good team.”
It all starts with their linebackers as junior Danny Stutsman currently leads the team in tackles with 30 tackles, one sack, and an interception. Redshirt freshman Kip Lewis (15 tackles) and sophomore Jaren Kanak (12 tackles) file out the linebacker room for the Sooners. However, a player to keep an eye on is Dasan McCullough at the Cheetah position, as he looks to make his Sooners debut after missing the last three games due to injury. McCullough enters his first season at Oklahoma after transferring in from Indiana this past offseason and was one of the most touted players in the transfer portal this offseason.
Bearcats keys to the game.
Red zone opportunities- The Bearcats have to find a way to convert in the red zone, something they struggled with vs Miami as many saws. However, if the Bearcats get 7 or 8 trips to the red zone vs a solid Oklahoma team, they have to find a way to convert and get in the end zone. Especially vs an offense that comes in averaging nearly 55 points per game, the Bearcats enter this one 12th in the nation in scoring, so they know they have to capitalize on the early opportunities when they come. “You feel like if you get inside the redzone eight times, you are going to score on at least four touchdowns, that would be an average day,” Satterfield said. “Two touchdowns like we had Saturday vs Miami just isnt going to get the job done, we have to be a lot better there in the redzone, there’s no other way to look at it.”
Dominate the point of attack
Both Scott Satterfield and Brett Venables know this game will come down to the point of attack up front, but it will all come down to which team prevails and finds ways to disrupt the quarterback. The Bearcats come in to this one with 10 sacks on the season, as we all know Bryan Brown loves to get creative on defense and allow his guys to play downhill. However, Brett Venables, is a defensive guru as many saw during his time at Clemson. The Bearcats will have to find ways to win their matchups up front and allow Emory Jones to play his game and play freely. Miami did a great job at getting to the backfield on Saturday, making Jones use his legs more than expected after having to rush for 110 yards on 20 carries in the Bearcats 31-24 loss. “This is going to be a line of scrimmage football game, on both sides of the ball,” said Brett Venables. “It’s going to be an exciting challenge.”
This is where the Bearcats defense can thrive as Jowon Briggs, Dontay Corleone, Malik Vann and Eric Phillips all have played against Gabriel at one point or another during their Bearcat career. However, the Bearcats know they will have to find a way to win their assignments and get to the backfield and make Gabriel uncomfortable, and if they can do that, should be a good day on Saturday. “They have really good players up front on the defensive line,” Brett Venables said. “They are big, strong, physical. They are a relentless group; I love the way they play. Those guys can really get it done up front. It is going to be a challenge mentally and physically; they will give you four hours of challenge. They have had great success at putting pressure on the quarterback, they will make some of their plays and that’s part of the game. You aren’t going to keep their defense from making some plays, we have to find a way to keep them at a minimum. This is a great opportunity for our guys, and it’s an opportunity I know they are looking forward too.”
