Open Post | Wednesday, November 30th
Posted on: November 30, 2022
Quick Postgame | Texas Tech
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 26, 2022
Sooners fall to Texas Tech in overtime by a score of 51-48.
Gonna keep it really quick cause, well, nobody wants to hear it.
***OU went out and actively lost this game…again.
***The offense had some costly mistakes and penalties.
***The defense played their worst game of the season aside from the Texas debacle.
***OU had 672 yards of offense and lost.
***This game was an accurate depiction of the regular season in a nutshell. Too little too late…or too good to be true too early on.
***Complementary football eluded the Sooners all year long.
***Would have been nice to see the Sooners pull it out in the end as this is the exact type of game that they have been losing all year…but they couldn’t get out of their own way.
***I mean the called timeout on the blocked field goal at the end of regulation was really this season…every time something could go wrong, it would go wrong…and that happened way too frequently to be a coincidence throughout the year.
***I’ll get into specifics starting tomorrow at some point, but in general, the Baylor or West Virginia loss and the near OkState loss was on the offense…this one was more on the defense. Brent Venables defense.
***Hopefully, this was the low point for the Sooners program under Brent Venables, but this performance sure will leave a bad taste in the fanbases mouth to close out a very forgettable year.
***The most disturbing part of this game for me was when I was talking with K at halftime and trying to predict what would happen in the second half…and neither of us could make a prediction with any certainty because even after 11 and a half games…neither of us had any idea of who this team was.
***The 2022 season was a failure…it was a failure for a team with no identity on either side of the ball.
Knowing How to Win and Not Knowing How to Win
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 27, 2022
Last night the 2022 regular season for the Sooners came to an end.
Oklahoma finished with a 6-6 record.
Off the cuff, the record is easy to dissect.
OU thoroughly earned two losses (yes, every loss was earned, but let me stay on point)…TCU and Texas beat them straight up.
TCU took out Dillon Gabriel and OU got caught with their pants down for the remainder of that game and the following game against Texas because they had no offensive gameplan or capabilities without Gabriel.
The other four losses?
All one-score games which were all more likely to have been 10+ point wins for OU than losses at one point or another during the games.
Kansas State was a game where 4-5 plays changed the game from a convincing OU win, to a Kansas State win. West Virginia and Baylor were filled with offensive ineptness and terrible clock management.
The Texas Tech loss last night was a story of missed opportunities and a putrid defensive performance for Oklahoma in what could have been an OU rout.
Team 128 did not know how to win.
All one would have to do to gain an understanding of what I mean is look back to team 127.
The 2021 Sooner team, while very flawed in its own right, knew how to win.
OU ended the 2021 season with what was at that time a disappointing 10-2 record.
Six of those wins were one-score wins and the last loss most likely can be laid at the feet of a head coach who was checked out and halfway to Los Angeles.
Team 128 was 16 points away from having the same record as team 127.
I am not here to tell you ‘this team was close’.
I won’t say that because from the Texas loss on, no matter what the score of the game was, it never felt like OU was going to be the team that found a way to win.
It almost always felt like OU was going to be the team that found a way to lose.
The personnel was in place to make an appearance in the Big 12 title game despite the two-game period that Gabriel was not playing.
The program simply did not know how to win this year and in many cases, they were their own worst enemy.
The bigger issue is that there isn’t one thing that can be pinpointed as ‘the problem’. OU seemingly found new and creative ways to lose games and never found a way to win the gut-check games.
This offseason has to be a search for answers within the walls of the program.
Quick Hitter | Arkansas Safety Myles Slusher
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 27, 2022
Now that he has officially announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal, I can tell you that he does have some interest in Oklahoma.
I can also say that Oklahoma is aware of him and his interest in their program.
Slusher was a class of 2020 prospect out of Broken Arrow who never got the offer he was looking for from OU and he went on to have a pretty good couple of years at Arkansas.
As for the questions that will come in regard to his recent brush with the law, sources at Arkansas told CJ the incident wasn’t a big deal and the officer in question faced harsher blowback than Slusher did.
Will keep tabs on this one.
Sourced | Notes on the Defense
– Super K – Posted on: November 27, 2022
We will be dropping notes as we get them and I have a few below but want to mention this…
***Unlike many others, I’m personally bullish on the future of the defense. Yes, it’s taking longer than I expected but I’m seeing the flashes.
***Even yesterday, the zone spacing that we’ve been talking about since the beginning of the season, is getting better. How many times did Key Lawrence drop a pick? How many times did White drop a pick? This isn’t the old defense where hands were rarely on the football.
***The main points of frustration are the LB angles at times and the defensive line simply not having difference makers yet.
***The secondary is vastly improved and will only get better. The linebackers coming in and the younger guys are more athletic and the position in general has a lot of learning in this system. So, they will be vastly improved.
***The defensive line cupboard was left subpar by the previous staff. This staff is trying to resolve that.
***I know what the stats say about this defense. But I’ve got my own eyes and I personally see the potential.
***Having said that here’s a few related notes…
***Staff knows that some of their most athletic guys are the youngest guys. They should be ready to compete this spring.
***I do believe Woodi is likely to come back. He’s beginning to really turn into a shut down corner and having him back to lock down a side of the field can help out a lot.
***I do not expect CJ Coldon to come back. He’s had a great past few weeks.
***As you know, OU added the Notre Dame transfer DL. He’s quick guy but he isn’t the biggest guy. So, he’s more of a rotational guy.
***But the staff is making it their absolute priority to bring in portal defensive linemen (along with the HS guys). I’m told this is the biggest priority by far.
More Sourced Notes | Offensive Line
– Super K – Posted on: November 27, 2022
***I am told Wanya Morris is going to declare.
***Also, told it’s likely that Anton Harrison will, as well. I’d put that one at about 70/30 that he leaves.
Let the Madness Begin | Sourced
– Super K – Posted on: November 27, 2022
We’re about to enter one of the craziest times in college football. The transfer portal has only added to that.
I’ll have a lot to get to this week but let me start with this.
***There are a lot of coaching rumors we are fielding both in terms of changes on the OU staff to changes within the region that can impact OU.
***In terms of OU, I’ve already reported on a number of players staying and going. The general vibe I’m getting is that the players are still very much bought in so I don’t think you’re going to see many departures to the portal. The player’s perspective on this is very different than the fans.
***I am told that the staff met today and will continue to meet over the next few days as they look for players to add.
***As of right now, as I said, I expect Wanya, Harrison and Coldon to head to the league. Again, I do believe Woodi stays. I also think there is a pretty decent chance that Marvin stays.
***In terms of OU coaching staff changes, we’ll get into that a bit more tomorrow and into this week but there is an ongoing discussion about that amongst the administration and between the administration and BV.
***In terms of regional moves that could impact OU, there are a few – some of which I won’t mention just yet. But in terms of one of the big ones – TAMU – the word I’ve heard is at the very least, the staff is going to get gutted which likely sends a ton of guys to the portal and I’ve always heard rumors that Jimbo himself may be leaving.
***Again, things are about to get a little crazy and you all know how we deal with off-season stuff. We report what we can as either official reporting (solid) or rumor (hearing it but not corroborated) and then update as we hear more. We appreciate the fact that this board does a great job of us allowing the leeway to put things out that may or may not come to fruition. Most of you know that during this time there are a lot of moving parts so things change quickly but I know you’d rather be along for the ride.
Staff Changes | Sourced
– Super K – Posted on: November 28, 2022
***As of right now, I’m expecting at a minimum of two staff changes. And, that may very well be it.
***For the change on the offensive side of the ball, based on what we’ve been hearing for a while, I’m confident that will happen.
***For the other possible change, I’d say I’m fairly confident. The word yesterday seemed to be getting louder.
***The issue currently is that it doesn’t seem like the administration is reacting immediately to BV’s requests. I spoke with a source who indicated that Brent is ready to move on at least one change but it sounds like something is holding things up in the administration.
***What that is right now, I don’t know. It could very well be that administration is basically saying that given the outcome of the season, they’re going to do a deeper dive into what *they* believe is needed.
***In talking to folks there has been a lot of speculation about where the administration’s heads are at with how the season went. James is working on finding out more definitively. What I was told though, in no uncertain terms is that the administration doesn’t want to see a repeat performance of this year, next year. I was also told pretty directly that anyone who thinks any number of years in the future are guaranteed (past this first year of course) is wrong. In other words, it corroborates what I’ve been saying all season which is this needs to get fixed fast.
***So, this off-season is critical and I do believe the staff has been wanting to move quickly, especially on the changes on the offensive side of the ball.
***As Charlie has previously noted, there has been some communication with Ra’Shaad Samples but no offer has been extended just yet. Spoke to someone in Samples camp and was told that the interest in Texas State is real. Sounds like he is interviewing for the HC job there. Was also told he has a standing offer from ASU under the new HC there. And, that TAMU will be making a change and they are courting him, as well. Other than Texas State, I do think the Sooners can win out but until now, it doesn’t sound like the admin has made a final decision on where they want to go with this one and if they are done fully evaluating the program.
***This is the latest I’ve heard and as always, be patient. This kind of stuff can change very fast and again, with the season OU had, I sense there is going to be more oversight over what changes need to be made and what those changes will be.
Roster Turnover | Sourced Update
– Super K – Posted on: November 29, 2022
***Spoke with a source last night and I am now expecting some additional OU outgoing transfers.
***I heard a number of names, most of which were players that weren’t on the field much this past season and are going to be looking for a bigger role elsewhere. Most of the names I heard were in the secondary.
***That isn’t to say there won’t be some additional outgoing transfers at other positions but the bulk of the names coming up seem to be in the secondary.
***It does sounds like the staff is aware of this as sources indicate they’ve got their eyes on the portal for incoming possibilities. So, this feels more like a part of the roster turnover process.
Potential OL Portal Name to Know
– Charlie S – Posted on: November 29, 2022
I touched base with Miami (Ohio) offensive lineman Caleb Shaffer (6’5 323), who recently announced he would be entering the NCAA transfer portal and let me know he is interested in Oklahoma.
Shaffer is an interior guy and a multi-year starter (35 starts) with one year of eligibility remaining.
I can now confirm that OU has some interest there as well.
Will keep monitoring this one as OU will be looking for some experienced pieces to add to the room.
