John Hoover: Drake Stoops
Coming off the greatest recreation of his profession — career-high six catches for 89 yards and a landing — won’t permit Drake Stoops to fly beneath the radar. But he’ll must step up once more with sketchy climate in the forecast for Lubbock. Stoops traces up in the slot a team-high 83.3 % of the time, in keeping with Pro Football Focus, which makes him a primary security blanket for Dillon Gabriel, who notably struggles in the parts. If Oklahoma needs to resolve its third-down maladies — the Sooners are 2-for-29 of their final two video games — then discovering Stoops could be a great place to begin.
Ryan Chapman: Jordan Kelley
Fresh off a powerful efficiency towards Oklahoma State, defensive lineman Jordan Kelley might once more play a key position in Lubbock. The veteran completed Bedlam with two sacks and a couple of.5 tackles for loss, and the Sooners might want to plant the Texas Tech offense behind the chains to discourage the Red Raiders from maintaining their offense on the area on fourth down. Texas Tech’s offensive line has been poor this 12 months, permitting 3.45 sacks per recreation, which is tied for the 112th-worst mark in the nation. OU ought to have the ability to generate a move rush on Saturday, and Kelley may very well be at the heart of it, serving to anchor the Oklahoma defensive entrance.
Josh Callaway: Danny Stutsman
Danny Stutsman has had a little bit of an uneven second season in Norman. But his final couple of video games have been amongst his greatest. As the Oklahoma protection as an entire has seemingly turned a nook, so has Stutsman. This is a giant alternative for him to proceed to indicate progress. If Texas Tech quarterback Donovan Smith goes to get unfastened in the run recreation, the burden to cease him could usually fall on Stutsman. If he can discover a solution to have one in all his higher video games of the season, the Oklahoma protection has an amazing shot to copy what they did final weekend in Bedlam. If he struggles, the Sooners could also be in for a protracted evening in Lubbock. It is not all on Stutsman’s shoulders, by any means, however him acting at a excessive degree might wind up being the distinction in what sort of evening it’s for Oklahoma. Against Iowa State, Stutsman got here up with the game-sealing interception. Last week, he dropped one which was there for the taking. If he will get that chance once more, Stutsman might present the game-changing second in what’s going to possible be a nip-and-tuck contest on Saturday evening.
Ross Lovelace: Jovantae Barnes
Last week, Jovantae Barnes was reintegrated again into the offense after being sidelined with a hamstring harm. In his return, the true freshman had a profession excessive 9.8 yards per carry in a essential Bedlam recreation. He totaled 59 yards on six carries, together with his longest run of the day approaching a 22-yard scamper. Now that he’s a full go, Barnes appears to be like able to have a giant week. Jeff Lebby has talked about his significance to this workforce and his promise for the future this whole season, and he has an opportunity to complete on a excessive be aware. As we’ve seen over the previous few weeks, Oklahoma will strive arduous to determine the run early. If Barnes breaks off a number of large runs in the first quarter, he might have a giant recreation towards Texas Tech.
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