The Football Brainiacs

Image via AP (Sue Ogrocki)

When Kansas State Has the Ball

Kansas State will bring to Norman a more “old school” offensive style. There have already been a few pieces written that this will allow Mike Stoops to be more creative with his looks, stunts, etc. The thing that should make OU fans nervous is that Bill Snyder is, in my opinion, an excellent game planner, and perhaps a wizard with the ability to see the future. Ok, not really a wizard, but Snyder knows the Stoops brothers and will be prepared for a variety of looks and packages perhaps not seen on film so far in 2016. It always seems he has a plan for outnumbering defenses, hat-on-a-hat approaches, and just playing winning football. OU fans should never be at ease when playing the Wildcats.

With that doom and gloom out of the way, I do believe Mike Stoops can get a bit more “risky” against Kansas State. The Wildcats won’t be able to take advantage, at least consistently, of large zones of open space in the secondary. Look for more safety and corner blitzes.

With secondary blitzes must come assignment sound football, and with all the youth currently playing the defensive backfield, this can spell moments of trouble for OU.

I have been quite impressed with OU’s run defense for the most part of this season, sans the Ohio State game and the last Texas scoring drive on Saturday. The Sooners should have similar success against a Kansas State team that will run an offense more similar to what football teams ran 15-20 years ago. Kansas State does not have superior talent. Of course, the Wildcats don’t really ever have superior talent and just keep being a solid team and program.

One would think that some variations of formations will be used by K-State to confuse the youthful Sooners. Look for some shifts and motions used to create some nervous moments for Mike Stoops as his young guys point and shout who has who.

Keeping the above in mind…O/U on defensive timeouts: 2

O/U on timeouts used coming out of a TV timeout: 1

A friend and I were texting yesterday about the young guys who have played and have had moments of promise: Gallimore, Bledsoe, Sylvie, Kelly, Sunderland, J. Parker, etc. Throw in all the other true freshmen, redshirts, and such who have logged serious minutes and you would hope that the game experience would start to make a difference in the aforementioned potential confusion. Does that contradict what I said earlier? Yep. One of them has to give.

It seems to me that some of the younger guys have more of that sideline to sideline pursuit speed for which Sooner fans long.

If OU’s offense is clicking on all cylinders, will Kansas State be able to play keep up? No. Will OU’s defense give them opportunity? I do not think so. I don’t think it will be a shut up like last season, but as I mentioned earlier, expect to see a more aggressive, attacking style that takes some risks hoping for reward.

 

When OU Has the Ball

Which Joe Mixon will show up? The Mixon of the first few weeks or the Mixon from the Cotton Bowl? Star players have short memories.

On the same note, will Mark Andrews shake his case of the Yips he caught before last Saturday’s game? Raise your hand if you thought you would see two of the Sooners best players have games like last week and the end result be a win?

Has Lincoln Riley figured out a recipe for success? During the course of last week’s game I sent K and JY a text that simple said “Run. The. Ball.” It was obvious early, was very effective, and to Riley’s credit he stuck with it. Now, OU fans need to hope this is not the type of game where they are left scratching their heads as to “WHY??”.

I will write it every single week: Two NFL running backs.

Dahu Green has been a player many have been pining to see and he gave fans a glimpse last week. Look for him to slowly become more a part of the offense.

Can DeDe Westbrook have an encore performance? Some will say “not possible” and will use the fact that defenses will come up with coverages and looks to slow him down. Westbrook is a baller. He was overshadowed last season by a guy who wore #3, and I look for him to continue to put up big numbers.

The offensive line finally got a chance to do some old fashioned work and we see the end result. Granted, the Texas defense is not top-notch, but OU established their dominance at the line of scrimmage early last week. Look for that mindset to carry over into Saturday.

Admittedly, a quarterback usually has a favorite target. This is the guy he looks for first because, more often than not, the guy works his way open. While it seems Westbrook has become that guy for Baker Mayfield, fans have to like the fact there are receptions to go around, recently, among some of the other guys. A.D. Miller, Green, Andrews, Mykel Jones, Geno Lewis, and Co., are all getting their shots to get hands on the ball. That can only add up to a more effective offense as the season rolls along.

Speaking of quarterbacks…nothing builds the signal caller’s confidence in knowing he has the full quiver of the offense at his disposal. When the running game is working, you know the passing game will open up. When you play with a clear head, good things happen. Look for this to continue to show in Mayfield’s on-field performances.

OU fans will remember Flowers becoming a bigger part of the offense as the 2015 season went along. Big catches against Iowa State and Oklahoma State, just to name a couple, caught a few folks off guard and had some even asking why he had not been more of a focal point before. I think fans are about to see a bit more of Flowers, especially as some of the other receivers emerge as more threats than decoys. It is very demoralizing for a defense to have everyone covered only to see an H-Back slip out into the flats late, or fill a vacated linebacker zone. Flowers has skills and he will be utilized.

Back to other receivers emerging. Anyone just waiting for Mykel Jones to get an opportunity to catch the ball in space and do some “Mark Clayton-Style” push backs, side steps, and sprint to the end zone. Someone made the Mark Clayton comparison, I believe in the TFB comments, a few weeks ago and I think it was spot on.

At this point in the season, based on how the offense has played through five games, who is left on the schedule who can out score the Sooners? Sounds like a goofy question, but at this point it may be the true measuring stick for wins and losses. OU can definitely score points.