The Football Brainiacs

Image via bigtex.com

I don’t expect anyone to really care necessarily, but if I’m honest this was considerably more difficult to put together than it has been in recent weeks. Coming in, Texas looks SO bad it feels like everything I’d point out as something to watch would just be glaringly obvious.

I mean it when I ask every week what you’ll be watching for, because I’m always interested to get the take from others. If for no other reason than to see if there’s some sort of angle regarding the game I’ve yet to consider. So I’m doubly curious this week to read what you all have to say, because I can’t help but feel like any of my points are all that original or unique.

* Early Momentum: 1-4 or not, this is still Dallas and it’s still OU. Texas is going to have some juice coming out of that illustrious tunnel. So the last thing OU wants to do in this game is give a desperate Texas team hope.

Whether it be a big play or, heaven forbid, an early lead, the Sooners need to withstand that inevitable initial wave Texas is (presumably) sure to open the game with. Do that, match it with your own, and this game could very well turn into the blowout so many of us are hoping to see. Don’t, and well the Horns may ultimately still not have enough right the sinking ship that is their season but why even bother having to find out.

I know the fear — at least on the part of some — going in is that OU comes out flat because they don’t take this Texas team seriously (despite the plethora of worthless and repetitive articles written this week reminding all of us that OU still really needs to take this Texas team seriously). And if several members of both this team and coaching staff had not experienced what they did back in 2013, then maybe I’d be a little more worried.

But I believe I saw a report this week that said Bob Stoops had already made this team watch that 2013 game multiple times as a reminder of what not to do on Saturday. And I’d be amazed if the OU players weren’t made aware of the quotes coming out of Austin this week about how a win in Dallas would ‘make everything right again’ or ‘turn the season around’ for the Longhorns.

So, yeah, there’s almost no way I see OU coming out flat for this game. Some type of mistake, potential turnover, or something like a busted coverage…those would really be my concerns with respect to giving Texas any kind of early momentum.

* LOS: In the previous two meetings between these hated rivals, it’s fair to say Texas has borderline — if not outright — dominated the line of scrimmage. OU barely managed to crack 100 yards on the ground in both contests, meanwhile UT put up 148 (2014) & 255 (2013) yards on the ground, respectively. The Sooners were fortunate to come out ahead depsite their struggles moving the ball on the ground last year, 2013 not so much.

And no one needs to be reminded of OU’s offensive line issues through four games this season. Following the loss of multiple starters, this 2015 unit has still yet to really gel. Not only have they struggled to run block, but this past week against West Virginia we saw Baker Mayfield under considerable duress in the pocket to the tune of four Mountaineer sacks and several other pressures.

Fortunately, Texas has their own struggles along the offensive line as well as, to a somewhat lesser extent, the defensive side of the ball. But the same could easily be said for the past two years, at least with respect to the o-line, and yet you just read above how little that appeared to matter when it came to actually lining up and playing football.

* Discipline: This is the pessimist in me — which is SO out of character, I know — but it would be just like Jerrod Heard to come into this game and have the performance of his life. I mean we just saw exactly that from Tyrone Swoopes in this game last year, so I feel like my paranoia isn’t completely irrational.

That said, it sure seems like despite his talent and considerable athleticism that Heard’s limitations play right into a Mike Stoops defense. If you can keep Heard in the pocket and make him one dimensional, barring some kind of fluke passing performance odds are it’s unlikely he’s going to beat you on a consistent basis with his arm. Especially with this Texas team lacking any true explosive play-makers at the skill positions (assuming, of course, that Daje Johnson does not play, which as of Wednesday was expected to be the case).

Therefore, one would presume the focus on OU’s part would be playing to their strengths in getting both Eric Striker and Devante Bond on the field at the same time, which has proved to be their most effective defensive alignment. There is, however, the question of Bond’s availability after leaving last week’s WVU game with a sprained ankle.

If Bond can’t go, the Sooners would turn to Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and/or P.L. Lindley which leads me back to my initial ‘bullet point’ above. Because if we’re operating under the assumption M.Stoops’ plan will be to contain Heard in the pocket, then discipline on the zone read/QB option stuff new Texas play-caller Jay Norvell is sure to run will be critical. You need look no further than Okoronkwo’s bust last week on a QB read play which led to a Skyler Howard 50-yard touchdown run. And while Howard certainly isn’t running around in cement shoes back there, his athleticism doesn’t even begin to compare with that of Heard.

* Wrinkles: I mentioned this last week for WVU and then came away feeling like we didn’t really see any. But I’m going with it again here because there is virtually no scenario I can envision that doesn’t involve Norvell coming into the Cotton Bowl and pulling out multiple things this OU staff has yet to see on film.

It’s funny because we, as fans, have heard for years how one or both of these programs annually “holds things back” just for this game. And while in previous years it may or may not have proved to be true at least as many times as it proved to be little more than bluster, at this point what to Norvell and Texas really have to lose?

* Special Teams: What’s the cliche? Special teams need to be special?

I guess this is somewhat in that same vein, but if only because my perception is since Stoops arrived (and I’m sure even well before that) so many of these games seem to have involved, at times even swung on, a big play (or two) on special teams.

Maybe this is the 2015 game Alex Ross finally breaks a big return (much like he did last year). Or maybe the impossible happens and Sterling Shepard returns a punt for a touchdown. Or maybe (hopefully not) something positive happens for Texas after a cavalcade — I guess in reality it’s only two but it just feels like more, plus it’s Texas so there is never any harm in piling on — of special teams errors that have befallen the Horns thus far.

Or maybe nothing important or exciting happens on special teams in this game and those unfortunate few of you who actually just read this never get back that 30 or so seconds of your lives. After all as some are always happy to remind me in the comments, what the hell do I know anyway. 🙂

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What will you be watching for Saturday afternoon?