Oklahoma football: Is defense any better than Venables’ 2011 unit?

The Oklahoma defense under Mike Stoops, 2012 version, seemed to be vastly improved from the OU defense under Brent Venables, 2011 version. Then the last two weeks arrived.

OU is 2-0 the last two weeks, no thanks to its defense. The Sooners beat Baylor 42-34, allowing 252 rushing yards. Then the Sooners went to West Virginia, and 252 yards rushing seemed quaint. The Mountaineers ran for 458 yards, totaled 778 yards and still lost 50-49.

In the wake of this November meltdown by the OU defense, it’s time to look back at exactly how improved is this Sooner defense.

Mike Stoops, Brent Venables.

So here’s what I did. I took the 10 games this season and found 10 comparable from last season. For example, Texas Tech last year and this year are close to the same. Kansas, close to the same. Kansas State, close to the same. And things even out. Texas is better offensively this season than it was a year ago, but Baylor was better last season than it is this season.

I figure Florida State and Notre Dame are solid comparisons; the Seminoles probably better on offense. Tulsa-UTEP, with Tulsa better last season. West Virginia is a good replacement for Texas A&M. The Mountaineers are more potent than the ’11 Aggies, but A&M had an NFL-caliber quarterback and head coach. West Virginia is better, but that offsets the Florida State/Tulsa edges.