Oklahoma Sooners’ offensive line proves all the doubters wrong in upset victory over Tennessee Volunteers thanks to young superstars
The young stars on Oklahoma’s offensive line delivered for the Sooners against Tennessee, and should have fans excited for years to come
The Oklahoma Sooners pulled off a monumental upset victory on Saturday, beating the Tennessee Volunteers 33-27 in a must-win road showdown in the SEC. For Oklahoma, this win kept their hopes for the College Football Playoff alive, and they can go into their bye week riding high before facing a daunting three game slate of Alabama, Missouri, and LSU.
However, this game proved one key point about the Sooners’ offense, both now and for the foreseeable future: They have found their offensive line. Fans had been wanting to see the room regain its former glory of being a dominant unit in college football, and their outing against Tennessee served to be just that.
On the backs of two true freshman in offensive tackles Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje, as well as redshirt freshman Eddy Pierre-Louis at left guard, the Sooners’ offensive line paved the way for Mateer and Xavier Robinson to lead a comeback victory over the Volunteers. Now, Oklahoma has finally found their best combination they should ride with for the rest of the season and all of next year as well.
Fasusi and Fodje are the future of Oklahoma
Bookend offensive tackles Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje were two of the most-prized recruits the Sooners have ever pulled, and they have immediately delivered. Fodje rotated in at right guard, but an injury to right tackle Derek Simmons and poor play from swing tackle Logan Howland prompted the Sooners to turn to him at right tackle, and he has delivered in his two games as a starter.
Meanwhile, Fasusi earned the left tackle job very early on in the season, and aside from a few freshman mistakes, has been a shutdown tackle whose confidence is growing every week. The two did not yield a single sack against Tennessee and combined to allow just four pressures on a fairly disruptive Volunteers’ pass rush. For two freshmen at offensive tackles making some of their first few starts, it’s as impressive a result as you’d hope to find.
Perhaps the most encouraging result was the play of left guard Eddy Pierre-Louis. Heath Ozaeta has mainly been the starter at left guard, but a shoulder injury delayed his development, and he hasn’t regained his former self, forcing the staff to rotate in EPL at left guard. It seems like Pierre-Louis has earned the job moving forward, considering Pierre-Louis did not come out of the game once.
Remarkably, Oklahoma’s offensive line room put up an astounding 2.29 Line Yards per Carry on Saturday against Tennessee. While that might not immediately register for some fans considering it’s a bit of an obscure stat, just know that no other team put up a number higher all week. Fans have been wanting to see this unit run the ball better, and they finally delivered on that against Tennessee.
Moving forward, Oklahoma’s offensive line should remain:
LT: Michael Fasusi
LG: Eddy Pierre-Louis
C: Jake Maikkula
RG: Febechi Nwaiwu
RT: Ryan Fodje
The best news of all of this for the Sooners is that their LT, LG, and RT all have multiple years of eligibility, and four of their five will return next year. The only starter out of eligibility will be right guard Febechi Nwaiwu. We’ll see who emerges there (perhaps Ozaeta with more time to rehab gets back to his 2024 self?), but the fact that Oklahoma has such an outstanding room despite their youth is a testament to Bill Bedenbaugh’s coaching ability.
Oklahoma Sooners News
Xavier Robinson delivers Sooner Magic once more for Oklahoma in upset victory to keep their CFP hopes alive
Running back Xavier Robinson delivered Sooner Magic in yet another monumental win for Oklahoma, picking up where he left off last year
