Road to the College Football Playoff – Oklahoma: Kyler Murray is Superman

For the second year in a row, Oklahoma is in the College Football Playoff because of a Heisman quarterback.

Oklahoma completed a four-peat as Big 12 champions and returned to the College Football Playoff for the second consecutive seasons. Two years under Lincoln Riley has produced a pair of playoff trips as the transition from Bob Stoops to Riley has been as seamless as Sooners fans could have imagined.

Speaking of seamless transitions, the handoff from Baker Mayfield to Kyler Murray saw Oklahoma have the best offense in the nation and Murray could make it two years in a row for an Oklahoma Heisman winner.

Now that Oklahoma is in the College Football Playoff, let’s look back at their road to get here and assess their Orange Bowl matchup with Alabama on Dec. 29.

Kyler Murray takes over for Baker Mayfield

Mayfield won the Heisman after throwing for 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns to only six interceptions. Murray is a Heisman finalist after throwing for 4,053 yards and 40 touchdowns to seven interceptions, but what separates the two is Murray’s ability to beat teams with his feet. Murray added 895 yards and 11 scores on the ground. His dual-threat ability was unmatched this year and it might be good enough to beat Tua Tagovailoa and Dwayne Haskins for the Heisman.

Helping Murray’s Heisman case this year has been the stellar play by receivers Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and CeeDee Lamb and a run game led by freshman Kennedy Brooks and sophomore Trey Sermon and one of the best offensive lines in the nation.

Most schools would see a steep drop in offensive production after losing a generational talent like Mayfield, but Murray actually made it better. Oklahoma led the nation with 49.5 points per game and in yards with 577.9. They are an unstoppable force.

Ruffin McNeil takes over for Mike Stoops

The low point for Oklahoma was losing the Red River Rivalry to Texas 48-45 on a field goal in the closing seconds. The loss resulted in the firing of defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and the hire of Ruffin McNeill. The change produced immediate results with Oklahoma allowing a total of 41 points in wins against TCU and Kansas State the next two games. The potent offenses in the Big 12 and the personnel made it difficult to match that pace the rest of the way. Oklahoma’s defense is not perfect, but it was vastly improved under McNeill. The defense still allowed large chunks of yards and a lot of points. However, it didn’t cost them any games, and in fact, the defense was instrumental in wins over West Virginia and Texas in the Big 12 Championship.

Oklahoma scored two defensive touchdowns in the 59-56 shootout win vs. West Virginia that clinched their spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. The defense stepped up again vs. Texas with a safety that turned the game around and sapped any momentum the Longhorns had.

Playoff prognosis

Oklahoma plays Alabama in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 29 and are considerable underdogs for the first time all year. The Sooners opened as 14-point underdogs against the No. 1 Crimson Tide who remained undefeated with a comeback win in the SEC Championship Game. As dynamic and explosive as the Oklahoma offense has been this year, Alabama’s has been right there with them. Oklahoma and Alabama ranked 1-2 in yards per play and 1-2 in points per game. Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa is Murray’s chief competition for the Heisman.

What separates the two and why it’s such a large spread is the play of Alabama’s defense. The Crimson Tide has the No. 4 scoring defense, allowing 14.8 points per game. Alabama ranks seventh in yards per play allowed compared to 102 for the Sooners. Alabama will be able to score on Oklahoma’s defense, and while Oklahoma will be able to score on Alabama too, will they be able to make any stops?

This game will be a shootout and the team with the ball last may be the winner.