Know Your Foe: Sooners Face Florida RB Jadan Baugh

Oklahoma’s defensive checklist in Gainesville starts with one name: Jadan Baugh.

Florida can look messy around the quarterback. That part has been obvious. What has not changed is the running back. Baugh is still the guy who can drag the Gators through a game if Oklahoma gets soft, late, or lazy on the edges.

He announced himself last year with 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns on 5.3 yards per carry. The headline number was the 266-yard, three-touchdown beatdown of Florida State. The more telling number was that nearly 800 of his yards came after contact.

So no, this is not some back who needs 10 free yards before he becomes dangerous. He creates the extra yards himself.

This season he has stayed right at the center of Jon Sumrall’s offense. Through eight games, Baugh has 152 carries, 801 yards, and 13 touchdowns. He cooked FAU for 160 and three scores. He went right at Ole Miss for 142 yards and three more on 29 carries. Over the last month the production has dipped some, including a 38-yard day against Georgia, but that feels more like the quarterback situation forcing defenses to crowd the box than Baugh suddenly turning ordinary. He is still one crease away from going the distance.

Baugh is listed at 6-1, 225, and he runs like it. Compact, physical, downhill. He will wait on the blocking just long enough, then stick a foot in the ground and go. The issue for defenses is what happens after the first guy gets there. Arm tackles do not finish him. He keeps the legs moving, throws the stiff arm, and falls forward. Even when the defense is mostly right, he can still steal four or five yards and keep Florida ahead of the chains.

That is the part Oklahoma should be worried about.

Not just the home-run shot, though he has the speed to take one the distance. The bigger issue is the steady bleed.

First down after first down. Defense on the field too long. John Mateer and the new-look offense forced into obvious passing spots because Florida never had to get off schedule.

First, wreck the timing up front. Baugh is at his best when the picture stays clean and he can be patient. Oklahoma’s defensive line has to make the backfield noisy.

Penetrate. Close the gaps early. Do not let him get a clean read and a running start.

Second, tackle like they mean it. One guy is usually not enough. The linebackers and the secondary have to come to legs, not shoulders, and they have to arrive in waves. If OU goes fishing with arm tackles in Gainesville, Baugh will make them pay all afternoon.

Third, win early downs. That may be the whole game. Florida has bounced between Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr., and the passing attack has not exactly inspired confidence, especially after the Georgia game. If Baugh is held in check on first and second down, Oklahoma can start hunting on third. If Baugh is getting five yards a pop, the Gators never have to solve the hard stuff.

This is not a mystery matchup.

Baugh is the engine. Oklahoma’s front seven has been good enough all year to handle a featured back when it stays disciplined. The South Carolina tape also showed what happens when that physical edge disappears. Gainesville is not the place for a repeat of that.

Keep Baugh crowded, finish plays, and force Florida to live in the passing game. Do that, and the Sooners have a real chance on the road.

Let him settle in and run downhill with confidence, and the rest of the afternoon gets a lot harder than it needs to be.