Lincoln Riley and the 'Return of the Jedi' effect on the Sooners

[Harry]

NORMAN — Following the most disappointing of all his 16 seasons as Oklahoma's head coach, Bob Stoops sensed a great disturbance in the Force.

Stoops knew drastic change was needed, especially after a humiliating Russell Athletic Bowl defeat in which the OU offense committed five turnovers and managed just 275 yards and six points. 

So he sat down to research the most productive offenses in college football and quickly realized that he'd lost his way.

While Stoops had been toiling in a mostly unsuccessful experiment with an unfamiliar offense, the system that kickstarted his remarkable run at OU — and helped him win his only national title — had produced seven of the top 13 total offenses in the country in 2014.

“It just happens gradually, for whatever reason,” Stoops said. “We gravitated in a little bit of a different direction.”

Stoops hired 31-year-old whiz Lincoln Riley to re-install the Air Raid offense, a system famous for shocking life into downtrodden programs. Stoops hopes Riley can do for Oklahoma what Mike Leach — Riley's mentor — did for the Sooners in 1999.

It's up to Riley to restore balance to the Force.

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