Open Post | Weekend, November 8th – 10th
Posted on: November 8, 2024
Sunday Brunch | Show Me
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 3, 2024
As I sit down to write this piece, I cannot help but think back to last year (and every year prior) and how we fans of a Big 12 program at the time would poke fun at all the SEC teams for scheduling games in November against teams like “The Little Sisters for the Poor” and “East Coast University for Nuns.”
I get it now.
Like, I completely get it.
The SEC schedule is brutal, and I am not just talking about OU’s SEC schedule which happens to be among the toughest. I am talking about every team’s SEC schedule…this league can beat you down and hold you under.
Just yesterday, one of the last-place teams in the SEC (South Carolina) came out and whooped Texas A&M who came into the game undefeated in SEC play. You had bottom dweller Florida push Georgia into the 4th quarter despite not having their top two QBs available for the second half. Kentucky pushed Tennessee and Ole Miss, who OU did a very good job against defensively, went out and blasted Arkansas who lost their QB in the process. It is a grind.
So yesterday the Sooners got their breather ahead of a brutal final conference stretch which has them facing Missouri, Alabama, and LSU. Coming into the season, we knew that the closing stretch would be stout, but I don’t think that anyone could predict that the Missouri game could pose to be such a pivotal moment in not only Brent Venables’s tenure as a head coach but OU’s trajectory as a program overall.
This is a big game for Oklahoma. Earlier this season I wrote that the Auburn game was a ‘must-win’. I believed that then, and I still believe it now, particularly when we look at how the rest of the year has gone.
However, when everything starts to come into focus, this coming game against Missouri…I think this could be the biggest game of Brent Venables’s career as a head coach at the University of Oklahoma. The funny thing is, I don’t even know if I call this a ‘must win’ as much as I would call it a ‘must show up’ because the odds are still stacked against OU heading into this weekend. OU cannot afford to go in there and lay an egg as they did against South Carolina when they gave away the game in the first 5 minutes.
Yesterday against Maine, the Sooners came out flat on both sides of the ball against Maine…and I get it. I completely get it. I don’t have to like it…but I get it.
The Sooners have become so used to facing teams that have NFL talent all over the place that they knew they were going to win yesterday’s contest and sometimes it is difficult to get the juices flowing when you know you are going to win the game. Despite struggling offensively throughout the SEC schedule, OU knew they were vastly more talented than Maine and based on how they have performed defensively, they knew they could stop Maine from moving the ball basically with their second string and third string.
The game against Maine was a much-needed mental break which was much needed in a season where every conference game you play is an absolute battle. The team got to go out, show off, have some fun, and not have the pressure of the present on them on every single snap. Once the Sooners settled in and realized the game had started, they did exactly what they were supposed to do against Maine. The dominated the game in the trenches and they made chunk plays offensively and shut down the Maine offense defensively for the most part.
Hopefully they gained a little bit of confidence and found a little bit of joy from playing the game of football yesterday because that is not something that can be found on a week-to-week basis when you are playing in the SEC. They simply cannot afford to show up late.
The SEC can humble you really quickly, no matter what your record was coming into any particular game. I can now completely understand the philosophy behind scheduling a cupcake in November.
The Sooners have to show up against Missouri. They do not have any mulligans left and they have no room for error. OU now knows even if they take 5 minutes off and are not playing up to their capabilities, they are going to get smacked in the face and they may get hit so hard, they may not be able to recover.
OU played a better game against one of the top teams in the conference in Ole Miss than they did against one of the bottom teams in the conference in South Carolina. This league holds no prejudice…it doesn’t matter if your blood is red, yellow, blue or green…it will step up and slap you silly.
Next week’s game against Missouri is a ‘must show up’ for OU. It could be the start of a solid finish to a lost season, or it could be a prelude to an epically bad first season in the SEC and the second losing season in the three-year Venables error. Two weeks ago we saw OU dominate the first half against one of the best teams in the conference. Three weeks ago we saw one of the bottom teams in the conference blitz the Sooners in the first five minutes on their homefield…OU needs to show up against Missouri.
Once they show up…the game then becomes a ‘must win’. But you have to start simply by showing up.
Recruiting Quick Hitter | New Offer
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 2, 2024
The Sooners extended an in state offer to ’25 defensive tackle Cash Jacobsen who was on an unofficial visit today.
Jacobsen (6’5 265) out of Jenks, holds over a dozen offers and just picked up an offer from USC earlier this week along with offers from Boise and Tulsa this week as well.
He already picked up offers earlier in the month from Oklahoma State and San Diego State as well as an offer from Texas Tech in late September.
Spoke briefly to a source who said they feel that OU is going to be difficult to beat and they added “I don’t think this one will take all that much time”.
To get ahead of one of the first questions in next week’s chat, I will offer this:
Answer: Cash Jacobsen
Question: Next commit (probably from Lincoln Hawk).
Position Group Progress Report | ’24 Game 9: Maine
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 4, 2024
Checking out how the position groups performed in the Sooners win against Maine. OU was a huge favorite and they covered the 35 point spread easily.
This will be the ninth progress report of the season. I will include the previous week’s ranking at the top of each position group’s report in all subsequent progress reports!
Let’s see how things shook out against Maine.
QB: 4* (Last week: Low 4*)
If there is one play that sums up what Jackson Arnold can be when everything is clicking, it is the 90 yard touchdown pass to JJ Hester.
Arnold sat in the pocket at the snap of the ball and he initially got no help from his receivers who just could not beat their guys off the snap. Around decided it was time to create with his feet as he rolled out to his right, 5 yards deep into the endzone. JJ Hester got behind his man and as Arnold rolled out, he quite effortlessly flipped the ball 50 yards on the move off his back foot in the air to hit Hester in stride at the 45 and it was off to the races (was a slow race) for Hester to the endzone.
Arnold finished the day 15-21 for 224 yards with 2 touchdowns and no turnovers. He also added 9 rushes for 45 yards and one touchdown. He was quite composed, very accurate, and very patient.
RB: 5* (Last week: Low 4*)
Jovantae Barnes has been the best Sooners skill position player aside from Jackson Arnold for the last few weeks and on Saturday, he had one of those games that you wish on the guys who have been busting their asses in losing efforts.
Barnes had 18 carries for 203 yards which included 3 touchdowns on the ground. He averaged 11.3 yards per carry and busted a 74 yard run for a career long.
Taylor Tatum had 9 carries for 45 yards and 1 touchdown and Sam Franklin added 6 carries for 26 yards.
One of the most fun parts of the game for OU fans was getting to see true freshman Xavier Robinson do his thing as he displayed his speed and power on 6 carries for 29 yards and 1 touchdown and one swing pass catch and carry for 46 electrifying yards.
Really nice day for the running back room which followed an impressive outing from the previous week against Ole Miss.
WR: 2* (Last week: Nebula)
Jackson Arnold had a really solid day almost despite his wide receiver corps.
Too many bobbles, too many drops, not enough one on one wins off the line…pretty much rinse and repeat from week to week with no real signs of growth and development despite the improved running game and QB play.
Yes, JJ Hester caught a 90 yard touchdown pass, the longest in the illustrious history of the Sooners on Owen Field…yet, even that looked janky as it took forever for one wide receiver to finally beat his man. Jackson Arnold will rarely be able to buy that much time over the final three games against SEC defenses.
But, it is what it is. We did see the bench get emptied and 5 true wide receivers caught passes in the game, but once again, true freshman walk on Jacob Jordan was the most consistent and dependable wide receiver on the day. I’m very concerned about the lack of development from this group as OU heads to Missouri as one thing the Tigers do have is sticky DBs who are long and speedy.
TE: 2* (Last week: Black hole)
Eh.
They were there.
Felt good for Kaden Helms to get on the stat sheet with his first TD reception of his career.
Didn’t see all that many missed blocks, thats about the best thing I can say about the tight end group.
OL: 4* (Last week: 2*)
Left side the best side to start the game? Kinda wild to say that as last week the left side got chewed up by Ole Miss while the right side was where OU made their money against Ole Miss but yeah…against Maine, this was the case.
Logan Howland looked so much more confident in pass protection and he basically shut down the pass rush on Jackson Arnold’s blind side along with Heath Ozaeta. It was really nice to see the two second-year players go out and find some success and it will go a long way toward their development. I am not saying they will find the same level of success against the 3 remaining SEC teams on the schedule, but we saw a sneak peek of what they can be eventually.
The right side was kinda gross early on as Spencer Brown at right tackle gave up some pressure and Febechi Nwaiwu still looked slow even though the opponent was Maine. One thing is clear, OU needs Mike Tarquin or Jake Taylor back at the very least because not only are both of them better than Brown, but they work well with Febechi. Tarquin and Febechi were very good together against Ole Miss…Brown and Febechi were not very good against Maine.
Was good to see EPL and Isaiah Autry Dent get a bunch of reps and the speed and intensity difference between EPL and the rest of the OU guards is immediately apparent. Have to wonder if we will see more of him down the closing stretch.
DT: 4* (Last week: High 4*)
David Stone is the story of the game for me. Kid came out and took more snaps than any other interior defensive lineman and he recorded his first sack.
The rest of the interior defensive linemen did a fine job and they helped to shut down the Maine rushing attack, but something about Stone taking the most snaps really was encouraging and exciting.
Davon Sears added a sack so two of the Sooners three sacks came from the interior of the defensive line.
Jayden Jackson, Damonic Williams, DaJon Terry, and Gracen Halton all got some run but they were able to have a bit of a breather as the game went on.
EDGE: 2* (Last week: Low 3*)
No Ethan Downs and it showed? That shouldn’t be the case with the amount of talent OU has in that room. Early in the game the OU EDGEs looked like they didn’t even know what it meant to set an edge let alone accomplish doing so.
Yeah, they flashed as the game went on from time to time, but I was really most encouraged by what Taylor Wein was able to show when he was in.
Looked like PJ reaggravated the ankle injury a bit so he will be one to keep an eye on, but at this point, you have to hope Ethan Downs returns (he should) for the Missouri game.
Was really nice to see Danny Okoye flash and I have to believe he gets at least some spot duty here over the last three weeks as you just cannot teach that burst.
LB: High 3* (Last week: High 3*)
They were good. Nothing to really write home about, but they were good.
Thought Stutsman took control of the defense after the embarrassing first series and the other guy I really noticed from time to time was Jaren Kanak.
Thought Kobie McKinzie was his normal physical self and Dasan McCullough is really looking comfortable when he is out there, which is really nice to see.
CB: 3* (Last week: 1*)
This is Eli Bowen’s room.
Who would have ever guessed we would be able to say that with confidence at the beginning of the season. I know we (TFB and the community) were not among those who believed Bowen was just ‘an offer to the brother’ and we had sources tell us they really liked and were very impressed with him early on…but man alive, this kid just goes out and delivers week in and week out and, AND…he appears to be getting better each week.
Thought Jacobe Johnson got a lot of needed reps and while he was in coverage on that one long pass, that’s one of those things where good plays happen for the other team sometimes.
After that, we got to see a lot of other guys take some reps including Devon Jordan and Jeremiah Newcombe.
S: 4* (Last week: 3*)
RSJ flipped the ‘on’ switch this week and made a couple really impactful plays including a strip and recovery for the Sooners forced turnover on the day.
Billy Bowman was solid but really didn’t have to do too much in coverage as there were some bad throws that negated some good position by him.
Jayden Hardy, Reggie Powers and Michael Boganowski came in and made their presence felt. I Thought Powersi was great and you really want to count that interception for him as it felt like he got jobbed by a really poor call.
ST: 4* (Last week: 3*)
I thought Peyton Bowen broke one…until he didn’t. But it was still a really nice return and you can see he is a weapon with the ball in his hands. Have to think it is coming.
Elzinga only had one punt, and it wasn’t good, but we can give him a pass for how good he has been for OU this year.
Schmit was 8-8 on extra points and did fine with his kickoffs.
Potential NIL Changes Coming
– Super K – Posted on: November 5, 2024
Some of you have probably started to hear the folks talk about “revenue sharing” on the college football horizon.
I had a conversation with a coach who is pretty plugged in on these matters. And he told me that it appears some changes to NIL are coming.
Here is essentially what he said they believe is going to happen.
***First, the television deals for each conference will include a percentage for the players that will be allocated at each coaching staff’s discretion…
***So let’s say you’re an ACC school and you’ve got 15 million dollars in revenue sharing and you want to give your quarterback 14 million and split the final one million between the other 104 (scholarships are going up to 105 from 85), that’s your prerogative.
***Additionally, I was told that the amounts will differ from conference to conference because they are expected to be contingent on the TV deals. So, we should expect the SEC schools to have more money to play with.
***In terms of NIL not coming from the school, the word is there will be a very strict oversight committee that has to approve any NIL deal received by a player that is over 600 USD…
***The expectation is that in order to distinguish between inducement payments (which is what we are seeing now) and bona fide NIL deals, the NCAA will work to determine fair market values.
***If this works then, in theory, it should solve a lot of the issues and should put a school like OU on will great footing.
***The key of course will be how well a program allocates its funds. You’re going to have to be really good at properly identifying the talent you need. So…
***Your rival school might be paying one million dollars for a small fast receiver who can stretch the field. But a good personnel department might notice that a particular player at some other school does a really good job of pressing said receiver at the line and causing them issues.
***So, you might be able to pay a pawn 100K to take your rival’s one million dollar queen off the board.
***Anyhow, this is the gist of what I’ve heard is on the way for the summer of 2025.
Redshirt Tracker | 2024 Class | Updated November 5th
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 5, 2024
Taking a look at the updated redshirt status for the class of ’24 at Oklahoma.
A player is allowed to participate in four games without losing their opportunity to redshirt.
Players who play 4 games during the regular season will also be allowed to participate in the bowl game without losing their ability to redshirt.
***Earlier today at his press conference, when asked about the status of true freshmen OL Eddy Pierre-Louis, RB Xavier Robinson, and EDGE Danny Okoye, Brent Venables made it clear that the intention is to redshirt those guys.
I would imagine that holds true for all the rest of the scholarship freshmen who have yet to redshirt.
***True freshman walk-on wide receiver Jacob Jordan is not listed, but he has played in 3 games and it is clear that he will not redshirt this season as he is expected to continue to be part of the offensive plan going forward.
Offense
QB Michael Hawkins Jr. – No Redshirt
QB Brendan Zurbrugg – No game played
RB Xavier Robinson – 2 games played
RB Taylor Tatum – No Redshirt
WR Ivan Carreon – No Redshirt
WR KJ Daniels – No games played
WR Zion Kearney – No Redshirt
WR Zion Ragins – No Redshirt
TE Davon Mitchell – No games played
C Josh Aisosa – No games played
OG Daniel Akinkunmi – 2 games played
OT Isaiah Autry-Dent – 1 game played
OG Eugene Brooks – 3 games played
OG Eddy Pierre-Louis – 2 games played
Defense
DT Jayden Jackson – No Redshirt
DT David Stone – No Redshirt
DE Wyatt Gilmore – 1 game played
DE Danny Okoye – 2 games played
DE Nigel Smith – 1 game played
LB James Nesta – 1 game played
CB Eli Bowen – No Redshirt
CB Devon Jordan – No Redshirt
CB Jeremiah Newcombe – 3 games played
S Michael Boganowski – No Redshirt
S Jaydan Hardy – No Redshirt
S Mykel Patterson-McDonald – No games played
S Reggie Powers – No Redshirt
No Excuses
– Super K – Posted on: November 6, 2024
If Missouri is without Brady Cook this weekend, there should be no excuses.
An injury to a QB when the difference between the starting QB and the back up is this big, is the worst kind of injury a team can suffer.
This Missouri team lost to Alabama 34-0. That’s a sad performance against a first year coach who, yes has talent but also lost a lot of it to the portal.
This game is for a bowl game and more importantly for OU to get valuable winter practice time.
You’re in year three, you’re playing an inferior program that may be trotting out a pedestrian quarterback…win the game.
One On One – Only One | Missouri
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 7, 2024
The Sooners head to Missouri this week to take on the Tigers.
Usually, I post the One on One’s after I put up the ‘Know Your Opponent’ each week, but as I am prepping the ‘Know Your Opponent’ info, the only real impactful One on One matchup jumped out to me…
One on One Number One
The Oklahoma Defense vs Missouri QB Drew Pyne
The Tigers will likely roll out backup quarterback Drew Pyne.
Pyne is not very mobile and he is not nearly as accurate as Missouri’s starting QB Brady Cook. He doesn’t have good arm strength and his abilities more closely resemble those of Davis Beville than Spencer Rattler.
The goal for Mizzou will be to make the game easier for Pyne and the goal for the Sooners will be to force Pyne to have an active roll in the offense by shutting down the run game.
Pyne had three interceptions against Alabama last week in 12 passing attempts.
The Sooners should come into the game with a rather simple plan of attack…run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense.
Effectively running the ball moves the chains and opens up play action. The Tigers, with Pyne at the helm, desperately need to have that aspect going for them and I truly do not know if that would even be enough to put them in a position offensively to score as Pyne had a quarter of his passes picked off last week, but the Sooners goal should be to shut off the run game and make Pyne beat them.
There is no reason for the Sooners to not come out and dominate the game defensively as they really are facing a completely one dimensional offense if Pyne does indeed start at quarterback for the Tigers.
This is a must show up and a must win game for OU…they cannot let a guy like Drew Pyne be the guy who beats them. The Sooners defense cannot afford to start the game sluggishly as they did last week and their goal should be to hold Missouri to a single-digit offensive scoring output on the day, if not completely shutting them out.
Know Your Opponent | Missouri – 2024
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 7, 2024
Head Coach – Eliah Drinkwitz (5th season)
Offensive Coordinator – Kirby Moore (2nd season)
Defensive Coordinator – Corey Batoon (1st season)
The Tigers are 6-2 on the season.
Missouri has wins over Murray State (51-0), Buffalo (31-0), BC (27-21), Vanderbilt (OT: 30-27), UMass (45-3), and Auburn (21-17).
They have suffered their losses to Texas A&M (10-41) and Alabama (0-34).
They are averaging 15 points per game vs SEC opponents.
On Offense…
Drinkwitz and Moore want their offense to be balanced. This years version of the offense, even when Brady Cook is playing, has been a little less explosive than previous seasons as the vertical game has not been quite as explosive. Missouri wants to be like Tennessee and Ole Miss when things are going well, but right now, they are throwing a lot more short and quick passes to try to get the run game and vertical game flowing. Cook is a running threat, but Drew Pyne, the backup QB who is likely to start, is pretty much a statue.
QB #12 Brady Cook OR #6 Drew Pyne
RB #8 Nate Noel OR #9 Marcus Carroll
TE #87 Brett Norfleet
***Couple of important ‘ORs’ on this section of the depth chart at both QB and RB as both Cook and Noel are listed as ‘questionable’. Cook with multiple injuries (ankle and wrist) and Noel with a bad back.
***Drew Pyne is who I believe will be playing QB for the Tigers and he is flat-out terrible. Can’t throw, can’t run, can’t improvise…if he does indeed start, OU has no business allowing him any type of success.
***Even without Noel, the run game is still pretty solid for Missouri, but it’s not anything particularly special. They are ranked 55th in the country in rushing and average 4.6 yards per carry.
– Norfleet is a nice TE, a big target who has 16 receptions on the season with one touchdown.
WR #1 Theo Wease Jr.
WR #0 Joshua Manning
WR #3 Luther Burden III
– This is the best part of the Tiger offense as they have a really nice wide receiver room led by one of the best receivers in the country in one-time Sooner commit Luther Burden.
Burden and former Sooner Theo Wease lead the team in receptions with 40 and 37 catches, respectively. However, they have combined to score just 5 touchdowns, so they have not had a big season when it comes to scoring.
– Manning shares the slot with injured receiver Mookie Cooper and he has 10 catches of his own.
LT #52 Marcus Bryant
#75 Mitchell Walters OR LG #70 Cayden Green
C #55 Connor Tollison
RG #74 Cam’Ron Johnson
RT #79 Armand Membou
– This is a solid but not spectacular offensive line. Former Sooner Cayden Green is a guy OU fans will want to focus on, but there is a chance he won’t see much action as Mitchell Walters supplanted him at left guard against Alabama.
– Membou is their best OL overall as he is good in both pass pro and run blocking. I like the way he plays. Marcus Bryant is ok, a bit penalty prone and he can be had by some speed moves. Look for R Mason Thomas to find some success here.
– The Sooners defensive strength (interior defensive line) will once again have the opportunity to find some success against the interior of the Tiger’s offensive line as Tollison is a solid center, but he is a bit limited athletically and the guard play has been uneven.
On defense…
While Cory Batoon is new at defensive coordinator, the Missouri scheme remains the same. The Tigers will work primarily out of a 4-2-5 set and that has led them to have the 13th-ranked defense when it comes to ‘Total Defense’. Now… that ranking is a bit deceiving in my opinion as they have played a schedule littered with cupcakes and more methodical offenses than many teams in the country. One thing missing this year from the Tiger defense is a ton of sacks. They have 18 on the year, which is not terrible, but it also is not near where they want to be.
DE #9 Zion Young
NT #5 Kristiaan Williams
DT #7 Chris McClellan
JK(EDGE) #15 Johnny Walker Jr.
– The Tigers get a lot of their pressures and sacks from their ‘Joker’ position as Walker has recorded 4 sacks and his backup, #52 Jahkai Lang has gotten credit for 3 sacks of his own.
– Chris McClellan, a name you are all familiar with, has 2.5 sacks of his own and actually has been quite solid for the Tigers as he has played a lot of snaps and been pretty consistent. Kinda surprised by that actually. He leads all DL on the team with 30 tackles… that’s a lot for an IDL.
– Zion Young on the other EDGE tends to get a lot of pressures on the QB and the Tiger’s EDGEs will be a problem for the Sooners offensive tackles which could lead to some sacks.
MLB #11 Corey Flagg Jr.
WLB #14 Triston Newson
– Flagg has worked his way into a starting role throughout the season as he has started to take more snaps than the incumbent #30 Chuck Hicks, and he leads the linebackers in tackles with 43. He also has a pick to his credit.
– Newson is solid, but not spectacular.
CB #2 Toriano Pride Jr.
SS #1 Marvin Burks Jr.
FS #28 Joseph Charleston
CB #12 Dreyden Norwood,
ST (NB) #13 Daylan Carnell
– I like this secondary on paper, but they really don’t seem to be able to put it together on the field. They are not bad, but for all the length, size, and speed, they have only forced 4 interceptions among the defensive backs.
– Burks is a very good safety and he leads the team in tackles with 47
– Carnell at nickel is probably their best cover guy as he has 5 passes defended and he has really nice size (6’2) and speed.
Overall thoughts…
***Easy peasy narrative here…
***OU needs to run the damn ball and stop the run.
***If they can accomplish both of those goals, chances are very high that they will win the ballgame.
***One thing I expect to see is the Sooners give up some sacks. The Tigers have good EDGE players and the OU tackles are not great at this juncture. Expect OU to have a lot of quick throws and dump-offs in the passing game, but chances are very high that they will give up a handful of sacks as they look to take some chances in the vertical game. It will be imperative for OU to take care of the ball in these instances.
***On the flip side, I would not expect to see the Sooners go crazy in terms of dialing up the pressure with extra men on defense, particularly if Pyne is in fact the QB. I think the Sooners will maintain discipline in defending the run and take their chances in coverage against Pyne while trying to turn the ball over. Alabama only had one sack against Missouri last week in their route while picking off three passes from Pyne.
***Tackling well will go a long way towards success for OU. Last week against Bama, Luther Burden had 3 catches for a total of 3 yards. As I mentioned above, Missouri is struggling with their vertical game and they are gonna throw a lot of quick passes…OU has to be sound when it comes to tackling.
***Bottom line…this is not a game OU should lose. Their defense has been their calling card and should the defense come out and play a solid game, the Sooners should be in a position to win the game. There is no reason for OU to allow a team quarterbacked by Drew Pyne (or a hobbled/unhealthy Brady Cook) to outscore them.
