Even if Kamario Taylor doesn't play, Sooners' defense still preparing for Jeff Lebby's high-powered offense

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There is no question Kamario Taylor is one of the stars in college football.

The question is whether he will play against the Sooners or not this weekend.

When Oklahoma football travels Saturday to Starkville to play Mississippi State, there is a massive unknown that will be solved by then — if Bulldogs’ star quarterback Taylor will play against OU.

Taylor has dazzled so far this season for the Bulldogs, throwing for 1,450 yards and 17 touchdowns while also leading MSU to a record of 4-1 when he plays.

However, he’s been dealing with an apparent foot injury that he sustained in MSU’s loss against Alabama a few weeks ago. Taylor did not play last week against LSU and MSU coach Jeff Lebby — OU’s former offensive coordinator — said he’s ‘day-to-day’ and he still has ‘a lot of work to do’ before making a return to the field.

The Bulldogs proved last week their backup Parker Puckett is no match to Taylor’s play as the Bulldogs lost 31-0 to the Tigers. Puckett completed 16 of his 26 passes for 121 yards and one of the worst interceptions you’ll ever see.

With Taylor’s injury status still up in the air, the Sooners’ top-ranked defense is unsure which quarterback to prepare for. However, OU defensive back Reggie Powers III said Monday that it’s more about preparing for the scheme than a specific quarterback.

“We could still prepare like any other game and look at all the other games. We know what they're going to like and stuff like that,” Powers said. “So preparing for both QB's isn't really too serious because we can look at every game just like any other game, just preparing the same way. If they have the better QB in, we're going to prepare the same way because we know we have to stop them anyway.”

Though, the Sooners know Taylor is a lot to deal with for a defense.

Taylor has had three or more touchdowns in each of his five games so far this season and has diced up most of the Bulldogs’ opponents. If he can go Saturday, the Sooners will be prepared for his high-level talent.

"His ability to stretch the ball down the field, leading receivers, receivers getting past DBs a lot on film,” Powers said. “Just locked in on what we can focus on, our eyes and things like that. Also his ability to run, he's a hard guy to get down. Everybody needs to swarm the ball.”

Even if Taylor is a go or not, the Sooners are preparing to take on former OC Lebby’s offense for the first time.

Lebby spent 2022-23 as OU’s offensive coordinator — the last time the OU offense could score at-will — and is leading one of the best offenses as head coach of the Bulldogs.

With Taylor quarterbacking the Bulldogs, Mississippi State has the 20th-best scoring offense in the country. Nothing new for a Lebby-run offense that can move the ball in several different ways, either on the ground or through the air.

“They’ve been putting up numbers as a team, so us as a defense, we’re going to have to be really locked in,” said OU defensive back Omarion Robinson. “The back end, we’re just going to have to have good technique, man calls, so it’s every week playing in the SEC; it’s nothing new. They got a good team, good offense, good players. We’re going to be ready.”

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