MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — With all the attention on Kyler Murray and Oklahoma’s record-setting offense, it’s easy to overlook the group that will decide the Sooners’ fate — for better or worse — in the Orange Bowl on Saturday.
That responsibility falls on the shoulders of OU’s defensive backs — a group tasked with defending Heisman runner-up Tua Tagovailoa, Biletnikoff Award winner Jerry Jeudy and a number of other weapons who would be starting at most other programs.
All year long, Oklahoma has merely survived on defense. The Sooners gave up 46 to Texas Tech, 47 to Oklahoma State, 40 to Kansas and 56 to West Virginia.