The Football Brainiacs

About the Contributor: Seth McKinzie played quarterback at Missouri Southern State University before transferring and playing at Northeastern State University. McKinzie was a scholarship player at both schools. He completed a BA in Journalism at NSU and later received a MSE from Arkansas State. After college, he was a member of a 4A high school football staff in Arkansas and later coached 5A ball in Texas. McKinzie currently resides in Arkansas with his wife and two children.

Below are some post game thoughts.

–          Baker Mayfield was anything but composed. He was forced to leave the pocket a few times, but should have thrown the ball away. The sack he took on 1^st and Goal from the three yard line was a back breaker.

–          Anyone else catch the first half fourth down situation the Sooners faced when Ohio State called timeout? Something was “screwy” to their defensive coaches, either from a personnel or formation stand point, and they called timeout. I wonder if OU staff realizes they can use timeouts for that too?

–          I tweeted this last night but it’s worth repeating: Two NFL running backs and OU goes empty backfield on 3^rd and short. Mind boggling.

–          Staying on play calling/formations, OU would run for 10-20 yards on 1^st down only to then throw three straight passes and punt. Sure, if those passes are completed and the chains are moved no one cares…but they weren’t.

–          Speaking of that sack on 1^st and Goal, Flowers motions over to the short side of formation, Buckeyes adjust. Mayfield rolls that way. Should not be a surprise it was a failure from the snap.

–          JT Barrett threw four TD passes into the same area of the end zone and all but one could have/should have been intercepted or, at the very least, batted down.

–          I will never bag on an individual player, but is something wrong with a certain leg of a certain player?

–          Injuries are no good.

–          Turnovers are worse.

–          OU is soft. I sent a text to JY during the game and said as much. It was obvious early. It does no good to fly to the ball if you won’t bust a grape once you arrive. Go back and count the missed tackles. It will embarrass you.

–          Joe Mixon is unreal. He is the best running back on the team, and this is coming from someone who greatly admires Samaje Perine.

–          If OU would have won by a touchdown can you imagine how much weeping and gnashing of teeth at ESPN over the Mixon ball drop on the kickoff return?

–          The teams remaining on OU’s schedule, with the exception of Kansas and Iowa State, can exploit the weaknesses at corner. In my TFB re-vamped prediction, I stated the secondary for OU still being a question mark. It is not a question mark. It is a black hole. It was beyond poor.

–          I know you can not necessarily bring pressure on every single play but did you notice the success rate when Mike Stoops dialed up a blitz? Did you notice the absolute collapse when he sat back on his heels?

–          Mixon had nine carries. NINE. That is simply unacceptable. Ohio State was not necessarily just stuffing the run. When I was coaching our kids would always say “Let the Big Dogs eat”. Mixon is hungry. Feed him.

–          The offensive line did not perform too terribly, but let’s talk about the pick six. The entire line slide protects to the left (JY will probably speak more on this later) but Evans slides all the way inside to help the guard on the nose. He was uncovered and there was not a soul left to protect the edge. With that being said, perhaps there was a hot call in the event they came straight off the edge, but we are still talking about a down lineman, not a linebacker.

–          Also on the pick six, Mayfield is not that tall. If he were six-foot-five that ball is never batted. But, since he is not, he has to change his release point. Instead, he literally throws the ball from the top of his shoulder pad. The defender did not even need to leave his feet to deflect the pass.

–          OU’s corners play tight hipped and flat footed. Not a recipe for success.

–          Setting up punt returns is a good thing. Good things can happen when guys like Mixon are returning. The Sooners continue to baffle me with their “fair catch and be happy” mentality.

–          Remember when OU used to try and block punts?

–          I was in attendance at the TCU vs. Arkansas game two weeks ago. TCU can give OU fits in terms of how they will attack the secondary. Kenny Hill is athletic and dangerous although I do not think he is as effective as Ward and Barrett. I left feeling confident OU would defeat them in Ft. Worth. After last night’s beat down, I am not so sure.

–          Why would anyone, in their right mind, bet against Saban or Meyer? Seriously.

–          Brandon and I have both pointed this out, but there could be a silver lining with the recruits in attendance and last night’s performance. Want to play immediately? Sign with OU in February.

–          I like Emmanuel Beal. I like his explosiveness and he seems to be a bit nasty.

–          I think I can outrun the rest of OU’s linebackers.

–          The next two weeks will be interesting. There needs to be a ton of soul searching going on and not just in the locker room.

–          Not to sound like a smarmy jerk, but what I watched last night was pretty much exactly what I expected. There really are not any positive takeaways from a Sooner standpoint other than OU has likely already played their two toughest opponents.