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OU’s Offense, Defense Have Major Talent Advantage Over OSU in Bedlam

The talent gap is wider than you might think.

Published

5 years ago

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The talent disparity between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State when the two teams take the field on Saturday will be stark.

Based off an examination of high school recruiting rankings using 247Sports as a measuring stick, the Sooners have a major advantage on both sides of the ball going into Bedlam.

Here’s how OSU’s starting unit ranked coming out of high school. (Note: As I do each week, unranked prospects have been given a grade of 70 to avoid completely torpedoing the overall average ranking of each unit.) The overall average ranking is 82.94, which figures out to be a mid-to-low 3-star per starter using the services own logic.

POS OSU OFFENSE RATING
WR Tyron Johnson 98.79
WR Landon Wolf 70
WR Dillon Stoner 83.95
WR Tylan Wallace 94.42
LT Arlington Hambright 84.65
LG Marcus Keyes 80.72
OC Johnny Wilson 85.9
RG Larry Williams 85.50
RT Teven Jenkins 84.22
TE Britton Abbott 70
TE Jelani Woods 85.59
QB Taylor Cornelius 70
RB Justice Hill 84.43
AVERAGE 82.94

OU’s offense, meanwhile, averages out at 88.83 per starter. Its average is buoyed slightly by former five-star Kyler Murray who, believe it or not, also happens to be the best player on the team. (Note that OU’s most recent depth chart I was able to track down was ahead of its game against Texas.)

POS OU OFFENSE RATING
WR Marquise Brown 89.50
WR Ceedee Lamb 93.58
WR Myles Tease 70
LT Bobby Evans 92.60
LG Ben Powers 86.47
OC Creed Humphrey 89.62
RG Dru Samia 89.86
RT Cody Ford 86.74
FB Carson Meier 85.35
TE Grant Calcaterra 91.31
QB Kyler Murray 98.55
RB Trey Sermon 92.32
AVERAGE 88.83

As for the defense, things get a little surprising when you dig into OU. Per usual, OSU’s class comes in right above 85, slightly above OSU’s offense based on high school recruiting rankings.

POS OSU DEFENSE RATING
S Malcolm Rodriguez 82.33
S Thabo Mwaniki 83.87
S Kenneth Edison-McGruder 87.41
CB AJ Green 84.65
CB Rodarius Williams 85.29
MLB Justin Phillips 84.51
OLB Calvin Bundage 87.70
DE Jarrell Owens 87.34
DE Jordan Brailford 88.94
DT Enoch Smith Jr. 81.17
DT Trey Carter 88.07
AVERAGE 85.57

A look at OU’s recruiting rankings on defense not only surprised me because of how much higher-rated it was than OSU’s, but also at how much higher-rated it was than OU’s prolific offense! Another reminder: I used OU’s depth chart it released for the Texas game, which so happened to be Mike Stoops’ last as the team’s DC.

POS OU DEFENSE RATING
DE Kenneth Mann 85.30
DE Amani Bledsoe 92.87
DE Mark Jackson Jr. 92.22
MLB Kenneth Murray 87.71
WLB Curtis Bolton 86.49
CB Tre Norwood 85.17
SS Justin Broiles 96.07
FS Kahlil Haughton 89.70
CB Parnell Motley 86.09
CB Brendan Radley-Hiles 98.07
DT Neville Gallimore 96.43
AVERAGE 90.56

There are a number of factors that will determine the outcome of Saturday’s game — discipline, coaching style, gameplan, penalties, special teams, etc. — but talent may be among the most notable, and where OU has arguably the biggest advantage.

The Sooners are a 17.5 point favorite to knock off the Cowboys in Norman.

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