Insane Oklahoma Sooners' stat shows they are the definition of shooting yourself in the foot
The unfortunate reality for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2024 has been their inability to get out of their own way. Far too often, the team is one step forward, two steps back. This is particularly true when it comes to turnovers. After setting records for generating turnovers to start the season, Oklahoma is now -11 […]
The unfortunate reality for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2024 has been their inability to get out of their own way. Far too often, the team is one step forward, two steps back.
This is particularly true when it comes to turnovers. After setting records for generating turnovers to start the season, Oklahoma is now -11 in turnover margin in the SEC.
While that stat is ridiculous in and of itself, it's the manner in how they commit turnovers that fully demonstrates the self-immolation this team has done in 2024.
Essentially, every turnover the defense has picked up in SEC play has been immediately followed by another committed by the offense almost virtually right after.
Here's their turnover margin in each of their SEC losses this season:
- Tennessee: -1
- Texas: -1
- South Carolina: -4
- Ole Miss: -1
- Missouri: -3
You can't win like that, even more so in a conference as talented as the SEC is.
To make it worse, it's the time and ways they commit turnovers that are the most frustrating part. They seemingly always come at the worst possible times for the offense. They've had multiple turnovers, outside of the South Carolina game, come on the opponent's side of the field and/or right after the offense puts together a decent drive.
Even worse, it's how they commit turnovers. If the quarterback gets picked off on a deep shot or tries to make a play on fourth down, that's one thing. These are mind-numbing, mostly just players putting the ball on the turf too often.
They are back-breaking turnovers. They kill drives or repeatedly set up the other team with short fields. It's not even specific to one position either, though most of them are the fault of Jackson Arnold. The running backs have fumbled the ball multiple times this season, and against Missouri, Deion Burks coughed up a pretty unbelievable fumble late in the game on a third-down conversion.
It's unbearable and only adds to the misery of Oklahoma's offense this season. As good as the defense has been, it doesn't matter when the offense can't get out of their own way with the turnovers. It's unfortunate, but it's been a constant theme all season, and I don't know how they can fix it moving forward.
