OU's offensive line will be centerstage against Michigan

NORMAN — A lot of questions will be answered for Oklahoma on Saturday against Michigan.

But the biggest one will be answered: Can the Sooners’ offensive line hold up when the competition increases?

That’ll be fully on display this weekend.

The Sooners welcome 15th-ranked Michigan to Norman for a marque matchup in primetime (6:30 p.m. ABC), with ESPN’s College Gameday hosting their show on OU’s campus before the game. The Wolverines are coming off a 34-17 win over New Mexico on Saturday, logging three sacks and eight tackles for loss as a defense.

The Sooners, meanwhile, are coming off a murky-at-best performance on the offensive line. They had one warm-up game against Illinois State, and now have to hold up against the Wolverines.

“Football’s a game of matchups, and you got to win your matchups, and for us to win the game, you can’t come out of it saying, ‘Man, we just got destroyed up front,'” OU coach Brent Venables said. “So, we got to play well. You’re not going to beat a program like Michigan who’s 31-5 in their last 36 Big Ten games, 18-2 in their last 20 night games and won the national championship just a couple of years ago, beat Bama and beat Ohio State in back-to-back games just last year — you’re not going to beat them by sheer will.

“This is a game of execution, a game of physicality, and a game of performance. You’ve got to go and perform well. You have to be dominant anywhere; it certainly helps, but we got to be able to hold our own, and we got to be able to punch back up front on offense, no doubt about it.”

A lot has changed since last season, but this was a Michigan team that ranked 19th in scoring defense and 10th in total defense a season ago. OU’s offensive line, meanwhile, ranked 133rd in tackles for loss allowed and 134th in sacks allowed.

The offensive line was solid at keeping quarterback John Mateer clean against Illinois State. The Sooners logged a pass-blocking grade of 89.2, per Pro Football Focus, surrendering five pressures, four quarterback hurries and one sack. The sack was allowed by true freshman Ryan Fodje, who played nearly 60 snaps.

But run-blocking was the biggest issue. The Sooners finished with 102 rushing yards and averaged 3.3 yards per carry while finishing with a run-blocking grade of 55.9. That’ll be tested against Michigan, which just surrendered 50 yards on 1.8 yards per carry against New Mexico with a 91.1 run-defense grade.

Jaydn Ott is expected to see a much-bigger role in the running game, and that should help. But it’s clear the Sooners have to be a lot more efficient running the ball.

“After reviewing the tape on the run blocking, I don’t think it’s all just offensive line, it’s not all tight ends, it’s not all running backs,” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “Whenever you talk about running the ball, it’s really all 11 players on the field being on the page at the same time. Everything goes into it. Wide receivers push crack, quarterback making sure we’re running the best look possible, running backs hitting the hole whenever it’s there, hitting the crease when it’s there. It’s not just one specific position group in the run game. Because there’s a lot of things that they did do well, the offensive line on Saturday.

“It’s constantly meshing everyone together in that regard.”

More importantly, the Sooners have to figure out which players should be on the field. They didn’t have their full arsenal of linemen, and they may not this weekend, either. Derek Simmons, Heath Ozaeta and Michael Fasusi were all unavailable last weekend. Starting left tackle Jacob Sexton left early in the first quarter, and his status is unclear for Michigan. But even if Simmons and Ozaeta are able to return, young players like Eddy Pierre-Louis, Fodje and Fasusi are going to have to grow up quickly. That’ll put more pressure on veterans like Febechi Nwaiwu to be consistent and steady.

“Communication can be better, 100 percent,” Nwaiwu said of the Illinois State game. “I think individually, like for me, I can be more of a leader out there on the field. I can try to encourage guys to get things going a little bit more. Try to be a spark for the offense. That’s one thing I see.”

This weekend is a huge opportunity for the Sooners’ offensive line to establish dominance and prove that last season is in the rearview mirror. If they don’t seize it, it could be a long night for OU’s offense and cast doubts on their ability to hold up against SEC opponents.

“(This is) a defense that for the last several years has been one of the gold standards in college football for playing great defense,” Venables said. “It’s gonna be a great, physical matchup and a great litmus test to where we’re at. I know our guys are looking forward to the challenge of the game.”