Less than a day removed from Oklahoma’s 63-28 loss to LSU in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, head coach Lincoln Riley addressed the beat writers one last time to wrap up the 2019 season.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways.
Not worried about national CFP perception
Let’s face it, this simply doesn’t look good. Four appearances in the college football playoff, four losses and allowing 37, 54, 45 and 63 points in those four games.
It takes a lot to earn the right to be one of those four teams, but there has to be a feeling of OU fatigue around the country because nobody believes the Sooners can win the big one. They haven’t proven it in a long time.
But it’s not something Riley can be worried about and definitely not something he expects to be an issue with the college football playoff committee in 2020 and beyond.
““No. If that happens then they’re not doing their job,” Riley said. “We’ve had our opportunities. We didn’t play very well.
“The goal is to get the best four teams in it. Year to year, so many things change, especially in college football these days. More guys leaving early, transfer portal, rosters are turning over faster than ever. Different every year, so if they start factoring that (playoff losses) in — they won’t — it’s not their job. They’ve got too many good people on it.”
It's an optimistic view of the situation because people are going to point toward OU winning the Big 12 as not a great league and then laying an egg when you get the big opportunity.
As great as the first-year turnaround was under Alex Grinch, the lasting impression is now 63 points and the lack of defense narrative could return.
Rattler, Mordecai and another?
Riley felt like he needed a strong, experienced presence in the quarterback room in 2019, which is why OU pursued Jalen Hurts. Now heading into 2020, where do things stand?
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Tanner Mordecai and redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler are the only two scholarship quarterbacks on the roster at this time.
And there was definitely an eye-popping moment when Rattler was inserted into Saturday’s game instead of Mordecai in the final minutes.
“I repped them both equally. We got to a point where you only have two games left. Spencer’s only used two. Obviously, they both… The eligibility wasn’t a concern either way, so I repped both guys,” Riley said. “And if Spencer would’ve gotten that first down, I was going to put (Tanner) Mordecai in the very next play.
“I hoped to rep them both. I put Spencer in first frankly because Spencer’s had less game reps than Tanner’s been able to have, and I wanted to get him in… We’re getting ready to have a battle with those guys. The more reps that they can get, the better.”
Riley said he likes the room and is absolutely not planning on going down the grad transfer direction this offseason.
There is still one option left with former Arkansas commit Chandler Morris in play. Morris was one of the few 2020 quarterback offers for the Sooners and will announce at the Under Armour All-America Game later this week.
“For depth purposes, for the future and all that, there’s no question we’d like to get somebody,” Riley said. “But it’s not that simple because those two guys are pretty good and I could bring in some random guy to add depth, but what does that accomplish other than adding another body? We want to make sure it’s the right guy, too.”
No clarity on suspensions
You can add another asterisk to an OU playoff appearance. This is a more self-inflicted one, though. Not like Baker Mayfield getting sick before the Rose Bowl, or not knowing how explosive Marquise Brown would be before the Orange Bowl.
No, this was a suspension issue as OU was without running back Rhamondre Stevenson, wide receiver Trejan Bridges and defensive lineman Ronnie Perkins.
The three traveled with the team, practiced on scout team and were at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Riley did not clarify their suspension standing Sunday morning.
“That’s still up in the air right now,” said Riley, because of the appeals process. ““The process is ongoing, yes.”
If it’s a traditional penalty for failing an NCAA drug test, the suspension would be six games total and mean those three would miss the first five games in 2020.
Included in that stretch would be Tennessee, going to Army and beginning Big 12 play at home vs. Baylor and in Dallas, of course, for the Red River Showdown vs. Texas.
The gap remains
Another year, and another time where Riley has taken the opportunity to preach the Sooners are closing the gap.
The talent gap, the recruiting gap, the physicality gap, and ultimately, the gap toward becoming a national champion.
As much as OU continues to feel like it’s heading toward the right direction across the board, some issues still remain. Riley acknowledged as much.
“Right now, we’ve got a lot of good personnel, but there’s still a handful of teams across that, from top to bottom, have better personnel than we do,” Riley said. “That just is what it is. We’ve got good personnel. We’ve got a lot of good individual players, but we got to continue to build the talent base across the whole team.”
Riley is not worried about a knee-jerk recruiting reaction where the perception of Saturday diminishes the OU brand. He just admits it’s a process, an ongoing process where OU is getting closer and closer, he said.
“We’re closing the gap. There’s no doubt we are. I think a lot of the things that need to happen are being done, it’s just there’s not always the immediate results we always want. That’s just part of building it.”
No concern at RB
A couple of draft-eligible running backs in Trey Sermon and Kennedy Brooks, but Riley made it sound like he’s not too worried about how that position stacks up for 2020.
“I think it’s got a chance to be one of the deeper positions on our team. I’m pretty excited about what we brought in and we’re continuing to recruit in that area,” Riley said. “We’re going to return several guys that have played a lot of ball. So, I think that room is going to look a lot like it did this year with some good additions and I think it’s going to be a pretty good room.”
Marcus Major said he will be ready for spring ball. OU is adding four-star back Seth McGowan and is still pursuing perhaps another back in Corey Wren.
Brooks said he was only focused on his family and the team when asked about his future following the game.
‘This is where I want to coach’
Another annual OU tradition this time of year has become the future of Riley, and whether or not he’s going to return to Norman or head to the NFL.
Never say never, but Riley made it clear there’s no desire in him to leave OU anytime soon.
“I think our recruits know where we stand. We’ve been very up front and it’s a common question,” Riley said. “Every home we go into, every person we talk to, that’s a question we get and I think they’ve appreciated our honesty about it. I’ve told them the same thing that I’ve told you guys.
“This is where I want to coach and this is where I want to coach for a long time. I’m not ever going to say never because I don’t ever want to be that guy, but it’s hard to envision me wanting to leave this place unless something about our setup here changed that I thought wasn’t good for the program or our future.”
Now the focus will shift toward filling out the rest of the 2020 class and moving ahead to 2021. OU will be pursuing some key names heading into the February signing period.
