Open Post | Tuesday, September 3rd
Posted on: September 3, 2019
Sooners Defeat Houston 49-31 | JY’s Post Game Thoughts
– JY
*** Simply put it was about what I expected. The defense played very hard, and with effort we haven’t seen from a Sooner defense in a few moons.
*** While there weren’t any trademark takeaways for the defense they did put a ton of pressure on D’Eriq king. They made a very very good Houston offense work for everything they got.
*** With last year or the years previous, this may have been an upset. For a good stretch of the 1st half, I started to wonder if Houston would get anything going.
*** How about Jalen Hurts? Without him tonight the game looks a lot different.
*** Running for almost 200 yards and throwing for 300 plus, to say he was anything less than spectacular wouldn’t be true.
*** The offensive line allowed too much penetration and has some things to work on.
*** Any time you graduate the talent that is now in the NFL on the o line, there’s going to be a learning curve.
*** Bedenbaugh will get the guys going and get things cleaned up, it will take a few games and a lot of film study so guys can see what happened.
*** Nothing is as valuable as experience though, and while the stat line shows a dominant rushing attack, there were too many tackles for losses.
*** A lot of what’s going on up front is getting used to angles and game speed, so I don’t believe it’s cause for alarm. The guys will get it and have four more games before Texas.
*** Kenneth Murray is an absolute man child. To this point, I haven’t been his biggest fan, but his improvement this year is evident.
*** He was all over the field tonight and made a few wow plays where his speed was on full display.
*** It wouldn’t shock me by the end of the year to see him in the conversations for all American and/or Butkus.
*** Ronnie Perkins was the Sooners best d lineman tonight I thought. He’s just a really talented player who’s only going to get better.
*** The 4th down stop was a big deal, and if you don’t have the one drive where there’s multiple missed tackles, it’s more of a 49-17 or 49-24 final.
*** Sutherland hopefully will settle down and make some kicks. With his two misses, it’s 55 for the Sooners.
*** Overall it was a good game. Jalen Hurts said it was a bit sloppy at times but it wasn’t consistent enough. I think he’s dead on.
*** The ceiling for this team is very very high, and the with Hurts’ leadership we will see improvement.
Seth McGowan Eager to get to Norman
– CJ Vogel
Glad to be back on the OU side! Long time, no see.
I was in attendance this past week for the Mesquite Poteet and Denton Ryan game to kickoff the 2019 Texas HS Football season.
For starters, Oklahoma RB commit Seth McGowan did not suit up from what I was told was a “non-football” reason. Though, Seth told me following the game that he will 100% be back on the field next week when Poteet takes on Waxahachie.
With season underway, McGowan is soaking up everything his senior season has to offer while maintaining a strong sense of anticipation to getting up to Norman for the beginning of his freshman season.
“There was a time in my life when I looked at the seniors who were my predecessors and never really comprehended how short of time I had here in high school,” McGowan said postgame. “I sacrificed a lot for this program and I am just ready for everything to come to fruition this year and just ball out.”
Prior to Oklahoma’s 49-31 victory over Houston in week one, McGowan spoke very highly of this year’s Sooners squad.
“There are a lot of things that OU has going on that people don’t really know about,” McGowan said. “But they are piecing things together and this is the most anticipated I have seen them for a long time and I am beyond excited.”
The recruiting process has just about concluded for the Oklahoma commit. “I shut everything completely down. I would never entertain any type of other recruitment or coaches or anything like that. I always told myself before I even started this process, that once I made my decision, that was going to be my final decision. That’s just the person I am once I commit to something.”
Having been committed for some time now, McGowan now gets to wear the shoes of a recruiter and has been doing his part in luring top talent to Norman.
“I got a lot of 2021 guys that are good friends of mine, Kendrick Blackshire, Camar (Wheaton) and some guys in my class.”
Ohio State WR commit Jaxon Smith-Njigba was another name McGowan listed. “I’m close with him and he’s definitely shown some interest.”
He added the two of them have talked about getting up to a game in Norman this season.
Seth had a great line about what it’s like at home games in Norman.
“I’ll tell any recruit, it’s something that is inexplicable until you witness it first hand. I feel like as soon as they get up there it’ll change their mind.”
Though McGowan didn’t play week one, it was another opportunity for him to see former Oklahoma commit Drew Sanders in person.
“I had a chance to catch him before (the game),” said McGowan. “I think he’s pretty set on Alabama.”
I love this kid. Seth is going to be an absolute stud for the Sooners in his career. Great get for coach Lincoln Riley.
Eyes of Riley | September 2nd – Trifecta
– Charlie S
Big game, big win, big atmosphere…big results on the recruiting trail.
The Sooners had been stuck in a holding pattern on the recruiting trail following a hot period in the early summer.
The BBQ came and went without a commit and then fall camp took over and football became the focus for Lincoln Riley and his staff.
That holding pattern came to a furious end as Lincoln Riley sent out three sets of ‘eyes’ which signify three verbal commits for OU.
From the sounds of it, OU made a BIG splash and all three commits are 2020 recruits.
The chance for OU to show out on the field, the game atmosphere, and the attention to details all played in the Sooners favor with the visitors and the weekend paid off.
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Trench Warfare…Oklahoma Vs. Houston
– JY
Early returns were very promising for the new Speed D the Sooners put out on the field last night. Neville Gallimore on the first 3rd down of the game was five yards deep in the backfield. Any time you can get quick pressure up the middle it’s hard on any quarterback.
Jon-Michael Terry looked a lot faster than I thought he’d be, and it’s a good thing since he was playing the role of a spy here. The effort and running to the football was soooo refreshing to see as the Sooners flushed King out of the pocket to his left. It really helps when you cover everyone and are able to get pressure with only a three man rush.
Someone else who looked amazingly fast was Kenneth Murray. He was all over the field blowing up plays and making tackles. Every player who isn’t in coverage is within about three steps of King as Terry and Murray take him down. This was a textbook 1st series by the defense, and while some may not be happy with the final score, there is reason to believe in this defense.
As the Sooners got the ball back, the re-tooled offensive line opened up a nice crease for Trey Sermon to get into. He looks a lot faster and more nimble this year. You can tell he’s growing up and becoming a man.
This is great play design by Coach Riley. It’s kind of a screen since Lamb and Calcaterra are blocking. The key here is that the pass has to be thrown at or behind the line of scrimmage for it to be legal. Otherwise, those guys would get whistled for offensive pass interference.
Before Houston got anything positive going, the 1st quarter was almost over. The Sooners are in man here, and they just let King break contain. He’ll be about the most dynamic playmaker you’ll see at quarterback on the Sooners’ schedule this year. It’s so tough to play press-man against a guy like him as offensively you just run everybody off, and then let your quarterback go. This was just a bust by the d line letting him get out.
DeShaun White came in on a nice delay blitz to get pressure on King. Again everybody’s covered, and when you can get pressure up the middle, it makes it tough on a qb. Marcus Stripling is to the bottom of the screen #33 keeping contain.
It was good to see defenders getting “unblocked” last night. As King tries to scramble, you have Redmond(who quietly had a really good game), Murray and Gallimore all converging on him. Stripling is spinning off of that double team to help his teammates get the 2nd sack of the night.
Ever heard of that saying “meet you at the quarterback”? Well, that’s exactly what Redmond and Perkins do here. Jalen beat his man off of the line with a quick swim, and the center & tackle try to come and help out but he’s just too quick. Meanwhile, Houston tried to block Perkins with a tight end and that didn’t work out too well.
The Sooners cause a fumble off of three man pressure with Murray as a spy. I thought the defense was going to get their 1st takeaway of the season here, but Houston was able to recover it. Something that stood out to me last night was, even after a big play by Houston the Sooners were able to rebound mentally, refocus and get a couple of stops. The last few years, once the defense gave up a play, they usually let an offense go down the field on em.
This is either a called give or a bad read. Marquis Hayes doesn’t get enough on his kickout block, and even if he does, on the give this play is dead in the water. The backside defensive end crashed hard, and had Hurts pulled it, there’s nothing but green grass outside.
A lot of Coach Riley’s brilliance is in subtle changes, and knowing when to switch things up. The Sooners opened the game with a td to Jeremiah Hall in the flat, and knowing that Houston would be looking for that, Hall goes to the flat with Brayden Willis blocking (blue arrow).
At the last second Willis releases, and all the defenders are looking to Hall in the flat. It brings Willis open straight down the seam, while the O line is having a beat down up on the yard marker.
This was another nice wrinkle. Since Oklahoma throws a lot of screens and runs a lot of rpo’s (run-pass options), the linebackers have to react out to the flat. Jalen does a great job selling it to the right. If Tyrese Robinson is able to block that guy on the 12 yard line, I bet Hurts scores here.
Tyrese misses him, and Sermon has to pick him up. If Robinson makes that block, Sermon climbs up to the safety and Hurts walks into the end zone. Little things like this are the things the O line needs to clean up. They played pretty well, but there are definitely some things to work on.
There is a ton of young talent on defense. Stripling is here and needs to commit to getting down inside. He has to learn and trust that Murray is going to keep contain outside and do his job. If Stripling makes King go outside, he’ll run right into Murray and it’s another stop for the Sooners on 3rd down. King was able to get up underneath him and scramble out to midfield.
The defense was only a play or two away from pitching a 1st half shutout. The play i outlined above and this one were a couple of opportunities that the Sooners missed. The Sooners get extremely quick pressure forcing a quick throw outside. Tre Brown has to break down and just get this guy on the ground or wait for help to arrive.
If he makes this play, it’s 2nd and 15. Literally to this point in the game, the defense was playing really really well. A missed tackle here or there and it’s points on the board.
This is a QB draw all the way. Both tackles are giving up the outside to encourage those ends to get upfield and take themselves out of the play. NONE of the receivers are turning around for the ball, and Tyrese Robinson is releasing downfield to try to block for Jalen. While this looked like quick pressure, it was a very well executed draw play that Hurts was able to turn into about a 40 yard gain.
The Sooners just have an embarassment of riches at wide receiver. Rambo takes a quick slant for a first down. Most players are going to get caught by one of the two players I pointed at with the two arrows.
Almost ALL players get caught by one of these other two players, but Rambo is just unbelievably fast. This was just a 5 yard slant that he took to the house with Hollywood Brownesque speed. Another guy who looked really fast in the slot was Nick Basquine. As the o line settles in and Hurts gets more comfortable, the big plays will roll in like waves.
This was just a really well-blocked play for Kennedy Brooks and a big gain. It’s just a hat on a hat, and Brooks is heading south. He’s so smooth that it never looks like he’s flustered or even playing hard. The Houston defense was very aggressive and tried to force the issue. They tried to attack the young o line and make some negative plays, and they had some success. It’s good that the young bucks had to face this kind of initial test.
Exhibit B. A stroll by Kennedy Brooks down Jenkins Ave.
Another subtlety that has to be hell on defenders is a play like this. Hurts completely sold the run, with Calcaterra and Sermon leading out to protect him on the bootleg.
At the last minute, he just rises up and hits Rambo for a nice gain. You can see all of the Houston defenders who came up to support the run and now are having not so fresh feelings.
Once Riley turned Jalen loose and let him keep it a few times on the zone read, he made a lot of right reads. Houston, trying to force the issue, crashes on the back, and then it’s just an easy pull for Hurts, and another huge gain in the run game. Defenses are going to have to respect him on the backside run game, and don’t think for a minute that Riley doesn’t mix in some passes off of the keeps.
Overall I have to say the guys played pretty well. Sure there are things that need to be cleaned up, but it’s the first real game action for four starters on the o line, and several defenders.
The mistakes that were made defensively were boneheaded at times, but aren’t for lack of athleticism or effort. Coach Grinch has his guys going the right way, and if Kenneth Murray keeps up his play he’ll be an all-american.
If the Sooners can have Perkins keep getting better and Redmond really come on, then they could have a very salty defense by the time they get to the Cotton Bowl in October.
Coach B will have the guys straightened out in the next five weeks I think. It could be a good year! Boomer!
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