OU Football: Previewing The Sugar Bowl Matchup With Auburn

Oklahoma (10-2) and Auburn (8-4) will square off in Monday’s Allstate Sugar Bowl as both teams look to snag momentum heading into next season.

Related: Takeaways From The Alamo Bowl

With kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, here’s everything else you need to know about the matchup:

Auburn can play some D

It’s no easy task to finish the season as the No. 2 defense in the Southeastern Conference, but the Tigers managed to do just that by holding their opponents to only 15.6 points per game. To prove just how good this group is, Auburn’s defense held No. 3 Clemson to a season-low 19 points when the two teams squared off at the beginning of the season.

The Tigers’ secondary has only given up one completion over 60 yards this season, while the defensive front is led by two future pros, Montravius Adams and Carl Lawson.

OU’s offense is electric, but nothing will come easy for Baker Mayfield and the Sooners come Monday night.

Return of the Tigers’ QB

While he may not be as good as Mayfield, Auburn has the luxury of having sophomore quarterback Sean White back behind center. White, who threw for 1,644 yards and nine scores this season, is a confident passer who the Tigers missed badly after injuring his shoulder in early November.

Before his injury, White led the SEC in passing efficiency while the Tigers led the SEC in total offense.  

With White back in the lineup, look for Auburn to test OU’s somewhat suspect secondary.

Auburn’s running back is pretty good too

While it’s a luxury to have White back and healthy, Auburn’s most important playmaker is running back Kamryn Pettway. The sophomore has rushed for 1,123 yards this year while averaging over six yards per carry.

ESPN commentator, Brent Musberger, is on record saying Pettway is one of the best backs he saw this season, so Mike Stoops and the Sooners’ defense must find a way to contain him.

Just like OU has two stud running backs, Auburn does as well. Sophomore Kerryon Johnson is a speedy runner, and has 862 rushing yards of his own this season.

Perine closing in on record

Despite only being on campus for three seasons, OU running back Samaje Perine is only 83 yards away from becoming the Sooners’ all-time leading rusher.

With his OU future somewhat uncertain seeing Perine has yet to decide about the NFL draft, this may be the last chance the junior has to top a list that includes Heisman winners Billy Sims and Steve Owens.