Sooners in danger of missing bowl game after loss

The 2022 season has been a roller coaster ride for the Oklahoma Sooners. Three wins to start the season, three losses to start Big 12 play after that, a two-game winning streak followed by a two-game losing streak, and here we sit with the Oklahoma Sooners at 5-5 with two games to go.

Hosting Bedlam in primetime followed by a road trip to Lubbock for another night game, the Oklahoma Sooners will have their work cut out for them to get to bowl eligibility. Though they’re favorites this week against Oklahoma State and will likely open as favorites against Texas Tech, nothing is certain with the Sooners at this point.

They’re as likely to lose both games as they are to win. Coming off another disappointing loss at the hands of West Virginia, Oklahoma headlines week 11’s winners and losers from USA TODAY Sports Paul Myerburg.

Brent Venables’ tough start continued with a 23-20 loss to West Virginia, dropping Oklahoma to 5-5 and in legitimate danger of missing the postseason with games against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech to close the regular season. The Sooners’ laundry list of issues against the Mountaineers included yet another atrocious showing from the run defense, which gave up at least 200 yards for the fifth time this season, and critical penalties that allowed West Virginia to extend drives and rally from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter. – Myerburg, USA TODAY Sports

The run defense is a problem, in particular the quarterback run game. Oklahoma has struggled to stop athletic quarterbacks throughout their 5-5 campaign. Adrian Martinez and Max Duggan had huge days earlier in the season, and Garrett Greene continued that trend in Morgantown. Against Baylor, it was the more traditional rushing attack that hurt Oklahoma. Still, on either side of the Baylor loss, the Sooners’ defense did a good job bottling up Iowa State and West Virginia’s running backs.

The traditional run game for Oklahoma State isn’t as good as Baylor, TCU, or…