Troubling news could derail Oklahoma Sooners College Football Playoff hopes in critical must-win matchup against LSU Tigers
An under-the-radar issue with Jake Maikkula could flip Oklahoma’s matchup against the LSU Tigers
The Oklahoma Sooners are feeling confident heading into their final matchup of the season, as they host the LSU Tigers in a must-win matchup. Win, and Oklahoma is likely bringing a College Football Playoff game to Norman. Lose, and it’s out. LSU is limping to the end of its season, but its defense is still one of the nation’s best, and could give Oklahoma fits if it isn’t careful.
The Sooners could have even more trouble, given the latest injury report published on Wednesday night. Center Jake Maikkula is listed as questionable to play, but sources say it’s not due to an injury. We’ll know more about his availability the closer we get to the game, but the question arises…who replaces him with Troy Everett out?
The Sooners have a risky plan in place
When you have your starting center and your backup center out for a game, you’re not really going to have any easy solutions trying to address it. However, it seems Oklahoma at least has a plan, and part of that is the much-improved depth along its offensive line.
If Maikkula misses Saturday’s game, the Sooners will be moving starting right guard Febechi Nwaiwu to center in his place. Replacing Nwaiwu will be true freshman Ryan Fodje, while transfer Derek Simmons will take Fodje’s spot at right tackle. Rather than risk playing redshirt freshman Gunnar Allen, who has played a grand total of nine snaps over the last two seasons, against a tough LSU defense, the Sooners are rolling with the experienced Nwaiwu at the pivot.
The issue is: Nwaiwu has never played center. It’s not exactly an easy position to pick up overnight, especially for an offense that operates primarily out of the shotgun. There’s definitely a risk to this; it’s not as easy as Madden makes it seem. However, Oklahoma simply might not have any choice due to its availability.
Hopefully, Maikkula can return to play by Saturday, and all the Sooners have to worry about is a day or two of a different center in practice. Best-case scenario, you figure out that Nwaiwu can play center, so you have a plan in place if Maikkula goes down in the offseason. Worst case… well, luckily LSU’s offense looks worse than Oklahoma’s, so you might be able to get by on defense.
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