The Alamo Bowl performance demonstrates that Oklahoma’s defense is still far from perfect.

The Alamo Bowl performance demonstrates that Oklahoma’s defense is still far from perfect.

Brent Venables’ defense did a great job on Thursday, but the Sooners need to improve this offseason in order to compete in the SEC.

SAN ANTONIO: For Oklahoma’s defense, the Alamo Bowl served as a microcosm of the 2023 campaign.

While Arizona managed to contain one of the most potent offenses in college football for extended periods of time, the Sooners were still able to mount a successful comeback in the second half at the Alamodome.

In an attempt to prevent Arizona’s gifted receivers from reaching the end zone, Brent Venables introduced a novelty for the Wildcats by rolling out three defensive linemen to add an extra defensive back to the game.

Even though they removed a larger player from the field, OU (10-3, 7-2 Big 12) applied a lot of pressure.

Noah Fifita, the quarterback for Arizona (10-3, 7-2 Pac 12), was sacked five times by the Sooners, who also had 11 tackles for loss.

While teammate Jacob Cowing finished with seven grabs for 152 yards and two scores, Tetairoa McMillan hauled in 10 receptions for 160 yards, but Oklahoma lost him in coverage much too often, especially on third down.

In the fourth quarter, the score was knotted 24–24, but Arizona finally took the lead when a second receiver got past the OU coverage.

After the game, Venables remarked, “I just thought that having a little more speed on the field would be important.” “In my opinion, we could win the game if we performed a little better on defense in the second-and-17 situation. After all the hardships that have occurred, the game is tied, and McMillan is down to a second-and-17. I need to put them in a better position. They went up after, I believe, two plays when they scored a touchdown.

The Sooners were not defeated by OU’s defense.

The reason Arizona returned to Tucson with the Alamo Bowl trophy was due to six turnovers committed by Oklahoma’s offense, which the Wildcats exploited for twenty points.

However, the defensive inconsistencies highlight the defensive improvements still needed by the Sooners in order to succeed in the Southeastern Conference.

OU gave up yards in the first quarter, as they have all year, but they came back to force Arizona to settle for two field goals.

After that, Venables’ squad shut out the Wildcats in the third quarter, with a scoop-and-score accounting for the sole point the team scored.

Still, there were mental mistakes that, as the defense begins its third season under Venables, will have to be eliminated.

Safety Billy Bowman stated, “I think we did a great job preparing for Arizona.” “Coaches use appropriate language. I simply believe that Oklahoma defeated Oklahoma tonight, and you can’t expect to win if you do that.

“I think our job of securing them in the chains was satisfactory. All we need to do is figure out how to leave the field.

THE THROW. THE CATCH. TOUCHDOWN ARIZONA.

Wildcats take the lead with a @jaycowing_ 57 yard TD reception 😤

AZ 31 – OK 24

📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/LQ9qbd0PUc

— Arizona Football (@ArizonaFBall) December 29, 2023

Entering bowl season, the Sooners ranked 79th in the country in total defense, allowing 389.9 yards per game.

Oklahoma fared significantly better than Venables would have liked, allowing just 22.2 points per game (41st), which puts them well short of his goals for his defense in 2024.

The core that is returning is robust.

In 2024, Bowman will be joined in Norman by defensive lineman Ethan Downs, Jacob Lacey, and Da’Jon Terry, as well as linebacker Danny Stutsman.

After recording seven tackles in the Alamo Bowl, linebacker Kip Lewis tied Woodi Washington for the team lead. On Thursday night, Lewis appeared to be the driving force behind everything that went well. He helped lead the Sooners with two tackles for loss, one of which was a big sack.

In spite of this, Oklahoma needs to exert greater pressure up front throughout the course of the 12-game season, and OU needs to step up its pass defense, which came into the Alamo Bowl ranked 99th in passing yards allowed per game.

The Sooners possess the necessary components to improve their defense in 2024, especially because Jackson Arnold will be entering his first full season as the starting quarterback and offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh will need to entirely restructure his group.

“That (Arizona) offense is really athletic and skilled, and they give you a little more variation in coverage and things like that,” Venables remarked. While part of it was excellent, some wasn’t so great.

“I believe there was some disturbance that occurred. Once more, we have a few more drives left on the field, but I felt that some positive things came out of it.