Open Post | Weekend, September 30th – October 2nd

Nothing in That Game Changes My…
– Super K – Posted on: September 28, 2022

I’m currently out of the country and did not get to see the game live. I did watch a replay of most of the game.

And nothing in that game changes my opinion on this team or the record (or at least approximate record) they can achieve.

My original prediction for the team was 11-1 thinking perhaps an early loss to a team like TCU. I thought the combination of TCU’s offensive talent and the fact that the game was early on, could give the Sooners problems.

Maybe I’m not seeing what others are but I didn’t see a horrible game for the Sooners on Saturday. Perhaps it was because I went into knowing OU lost and knowing how upset everyone was that my expectations of how bad it was made it appear less bad.

But what I saw were a lot of the things that make you excited about this OU team when they’re playing well and I didn’t see anything consistently bad that would make me overly concerned.

Sometimes Brent called the wrong front against what KSU happened to do on a particular play, sometimes a ref missed a call (these Big 12 refs are suddenly missing a lot of calls for Texas and OU hmmm), sometimes it was a false start, sometimes it was an errant throw, sometimes it was a bad block on the edge, sometimes it was a missed tackle, sometimes it was a special teams mistakes and sometimes it was just a great call or play by KSU.

And it seemed like when everything went right, the one thing that went wrong happened at the exact time it needed to in order to help KSU ultimately win.

I just don’t see the big cause for concern.

In the first few weeks, some were overly concerned about the OL and the team. I wasn’t. Then they blasted Nebraska and a bunch of folks were beating their chests, but I didn’t think that game meant as much as folks thought.

And now, not trying to be contrarian, but I just don’t think that KSU loss was as bad as many thought – at least in terms of what it said about this team.

I still worry about TCU but if the Sooners can win this one, I’m sticking with my 11-1 prediction. If they lose – depending on how they lose – I’ll go 10-2.

I still like what I see from this team in terms of potential and still feel good about them making it to the Big 12 championship.

I know predictions are tough and with a new staff it’s even harder but nothing really caused me great concern in watching that KSU game.

I’d say the biggest issue is that while OU does have more talent, there aren’t a lot of absolutely elite guys so you can’t afford to have up and down games when another team is playing lights out.

Georgia struggled this past weekend with Kent State but when you have that kind of talent, you can struggle while the other team plays well and still win.

OU’s talent superiority over other teams isn’t there just yet. It’ll grow though with development as the season goes on.

Again, for now, I continue to like the trajectory of this team.

The good teams are going to get better and that’s what you want to see.  Even if the Sooners were to drop one more this upcoming weekend, the important thing is seeing them grow.

If they become who I think they can be and they are that consistently and do so soon, here in the next week or two, in my opinion, they can win out.

Bottom line here is nothing about that game changed my opinion of them.

Flame away!


Quick Hitter | Jordan Mukes Redshirt
– Charlie S – Posted on: September 28, 2022

A couple members in the community were asking about Sooners sophomore DB Jordan Mukes and if he would be redshirting and if he was, how was he taking it.

Spoke to a source earlier this morning who is familiar with the situation.

***Source confirmed that the plan is for Mukes to take a redshirt this year.

***Was told that initially, as one would expect, Mukes was not thrilled with the idea, but he has since adjusted to the plan and has been a great team guy.

***Source said that the new staff did not want to ‘waste a year as the previous staff did’ (I think that is a great move).

***Was told that a more permanent move to ‘Cheetah’ has been discussed and Jordan is running scout team and thriving.


Thoughts on Hicks
– Charlie S – Posted on: September 28, 2022

Look, I’m not going to throw a kid and his decision under the bus on social media or trash talk what went down. Just not going to do it, it’s not my style.

All I will say is if it looks like a skunk and smells like a skunk…chances are it is a skunk.

OU got sprayed. They had a kid committed and he flipped/verballed elsewhere.

Not the first time it will happen, nor the last, still stinks though.

While we did have OU as the team that was going to win out here today, at this point, Super K’s words HERE could not ring more true…

‘***But as things go in this NIL world, the Sooners are facing very aggressive “NIL” offers from the TAMU side. It’s just a reality right now. If it weren’t for that, I’d give the Sooners a clearer path to victory and I still think they can win this one.

***But this “NIL” stuff is what makes things a bit less predictable because it’s hard to know what role that will ultimately play.’

What I will say is that OU just needs to roll up its sleeves and get back to work.

The Sooners knew they had Hicks in the boat. Period.

Until they didn’t.

With that in mind, they seemingly walked back from Amauri Washington who committed to Oregon earlier in the cycle, they have slow played Kayden McDonald to this point, and never went full in on Markis Deal.

I would expect all those things to change and see OU ramp up their efforts with all three of the guys mentioned above as well as push for Johnny Bowens who visited this week.

OU was counting on a recruit who wound up picking another school. It happens.

Yeah it sucks that the Sooners lost out on a verbal commitment from DJ Hicks, but this is just today. It is a long way till national signing day.

I’m going to preach a little patience here as while they may not land DJ Hicks, the Sooners will land some additional linemen and have a very good class when the ink meets the paper.


Resetting the Scene | Peyton Bowen
– Charlie S – Posted on: September 28, 2022

Just spoke with a source in regard to Sooners ’23 DB target, current Notre Dame commit Peyton Bowen.

You all know the particulars, Bowen is teammates with OU QB Commit Jackson Arnold, he has visited Norman on multiple occasions, and many, including me, expect him to flip his commitment from Notre to either OU or Texas A&M.

After speaking to the source, and following what happened today with David Hicks who told Oklahoma he was ‘in’, I thought it would be a good time to reset the scene with Bowen.

***First, I want to make it clear that throughout my coverage of Bowen, I have always held the belief that if he flipped from Notre Dame, it would be to OU. There are just too many reasons that OU makes sense including location, familiarity, teammates and friends going to OU and the new OU staff’s ability to develop players and get kids to the league.

***Initially I never bought into the A&M narrative. After having CJ out there multiple times, having conversations with Bowen, and in speaking with sources, I always believed A&M was running a distant third in the equation. I held that belief right up until about 2 weeks ago when sources told us here at TFB that Texas A&M was coming in hard with ‘NIL’ offers. I reported that HERE.

‘Just wanted to give you all a heads up on the latest we are hearing on ’23 safety Peyton Bowen.

Bowen is currently committed to Notre Dame but as you know he has taken multiple visits to OU and has been entertaining overtures from both OU and Texas A&M.

Bowen is teammates with Sooners QB commit Jackson Arnold at Denton Guyer and our sources have long believed that if Bowen were to flip, which we believe is likely, it would be to OU.

Bowen is scheduled to be in College Station this evening for their game against Miami.

As you know, Super K spoke about the reinvigorated ‘NIL deals’ that A&M HERE has resumed wielding for recruits and that cannot be dismissed from some sudden sourced info on the Bowen situation. K wrote the following in regard to DJ Hicks, but we believe it pertains to the Bowen situation currently as well:

‘***But as things go in this NIL world, the Sooners are facing very aggressive “NIL” offers from the TAMU side. It’s just a reality right now. If it weren’t for that, I’d give the Sooners a clearer path to victory and I still think they can win this one.

***But this “NIL” stuff is what makes things a bit less predictable because it’s hard to know what role that will ultimately play.’

I never really bought the A&M angle in the Bowen equation, but right now, it is something to keep an eye on.

We continue to hear that the “NIL” pitch is strong and is resonating.

Again, if all things were equal, this would end up with Bowen flipping from Notre Dame to the Sooners, but right now, some things are not equal and that adds a different element to the equation.

Based on what we’ve heard from our sources, TAMU does need to show Bowen some life on the field. If they beat Miami tonight, that win coupled with the “NIL” stuff could swing things in TAMU’s direction.’


***One week later, after speaking with a source and knowing that Bowen planned on making his way to Norman for the Kansas State game, I had a much brighter outlook on the situation and I reported that HERE.

‘Spoke to a source last night in regard to Sooners ’23 DB target and current Notre Dame commit Peyton Bowen.

While Bowen is ‘committed’ to Notre Dame, this recruitment still feels more like an OU vs Texas A&M battle than anything else.

***As you know, last week, Bowen visited the Texas A&M vs Miami game and heading into the visit, we got some info that took me a bit by surprise as I had not been buying the A&M angle at all. Source told us that Texas A&M had really ramped up their ‘NIL’ offer and they were making an aggressive move. Source HERE indicated that if Aggie put on a good performance, it may swing things with Bowen their way.

I am here to tell you that…the source I spoke to last night is not buying that at all.

In fact, the source I spoke with last night doubled down on the belief I held prior to last week that Texas A&M is likely the 3rd wheel in this equation and the decision is still likely coming down to sticking with ND or flipping to OU and they lean heavily towards it working out in OU’s favor.

Source said ‘I wouldn’t be surprised to see an announcement shortly after DJ Hicks makes his announcement’.’


***I reached out to the source tonight to specifically ask about the last line where they mentioned that they would not be surprised to see an announcement shortly after DJ Hicks makes his announcement.

Source said “Yeah I don’t know what to tell you at this point. A&M just decided they wanted Hicks and they went out and did what was necessary to do to get him. I would not rule out anything with A&M now.”

They went on to say ‘As far as Bowen goes, I still think an announcement is coming soon but I cant rule out A&M any longer because you just don’t know what lengths they will go to. I know what he’s said to OU and people around OU, but man, seeing the script flipped like they did earlier today, I just don’t know’.

Source added ‘If nothing has changed, OU is in a good spot, a really good spot.’


So this is where we are at. I am being completely transparent with you all as I mentioned I would be when I said I would be combing through all the info we had gathered on Bowen.

I never bought Texas A&M being a major threat. Even when we reported the sourced info on the NIL, it still didn’t resonate with me, and then when I had another source come over the top and double down on Bowen to OU, I largely discarded the A&M threat.

I can no longer disregard that threat after what went down today. I know every situation is different, but sometimes the same old feeling creeps in.

So in resetting the Bowen recruitment, I have to have it at 50/50 at best should he indeed flip from Notre Dame, but the 50 percent for the Sooners is based largely on him fitting with OU in every category aside from astronomical ‘NIL’ deals.

After seeing Hicks, a kid who we never heard as being enamored with the ‘NIL’ deals get flipped 10-15 minutes before he announced and after he had already committed to OU…I cannot rule anything out with Bowen who has already had some Aggie ‘NIL’ overtures thrown his way.

I will continue to give you guys anything and everything we pick up on this one as the days go by, but as I mentioned above, there could be an announcement any time now and this is not one where I would wager any money on any of the potential outcomes.


The Path to the Top…
– Super K – Posted on: September 29, 2022

Isn’t a straight line.

I know most of you that are deep down the pessimism hole may want to skip this post. But those of you who are willing to consider a little perspective, let me offer this.

My father taught me that weak people are of the type that when things go well, they beat their chests and boast and when things don’t go well, they panic and become distraught. They live between these two unbecoming states – arrogance and hopelessness.

When you meet folks who have been successful for a long time, they’ve become strong enough and have learned enough to know not to get too high or too low.

Fans of fan bases who haven’t won much, don’t know how to handle winning so they rush the field. And they don’t how to have perspective in losing – they activate message board meltdown mode.

When coach Venables was asked about the KSU game before the KSU game he said, winning won’t mean anymore than winning one game. So, after that game, he said, it doesn’t mean more than losing one game. Losing is bitter but coach Venables is trying to teach his guys that you can’t let one bad play ruin the next play and you can’t let one loss ruin the season.

There is a lot of football left to play.

I want to briefly go back to the point I made yesterday. Essentially what I said was upon review of the game, it just wasn’t as bad as expected. While here overseas I had not seen the game but had received the text messages and whatnot about how bad it was.

In my post yesterday I said, in part (link):

But what I saw were a lot of the things that make you excited about this OU team when they’re playing well and I didn’t see anything consistently bad that would make me overly concerned.

Sometimes Brent called the wrong front against what KSU happened to do on a particular play, sometimes a ref missed a call (these Big 12 refs are suddenly missing a lot of calls for Texas and OU hmmm), sometimes it was a false start, sometimes it was an errant throw, sometimes it was a bad block on the edge, sometimes it was a missed tackle, sometimes it was a special teams mistakes and sometimes it was just a great call or play by KSU.

And it seemed like when everything went right, the one thing that went wrong happened at the exact time it needed to in order to help KSU ultimately win.

I just don’t see the big cause for concern.

Let’s take the first few series as guidance related to the above.

OU’s defense comes out in the first drive and gets KSU in 3rd down multiple times including two 3rd and longs. So, first, it’s not like the Sooners were getting absolutely carved up from the jump. The quarterback converted some of those plays with his legs and let’s be clear: normal quarterbacks are not going to sacrifice their body the way Martinez was. If they did, they wouldn’t last very long.

But fair play, he did and they end up executing to score.

In that process of giving up so many third downs, the Sooners defense was already on the field a lot. OU’s offense then comes and does them no favors. They were quickly sidelined and the D was back on the field.

This time, still on script, KSU’s plan is to attack with Deuce and in the pass game. Martinez made some nice throws into tight windows – something he normally doesn’t do. But Martinez himself admitted that he played his best game ever that night.

Now the narrative is, the defense is the same defense as last year – quitters. But I didn’t see that.

I saw the offense come out and again, right off the field. Now the defense has to go out there once again.

This time, they stuff KSU. And the offense on the third try, puts one in the end zone.

It’s time for the OU defense to bow up ever more and play complimentary football. Did they?

Absolutely. Three and out and gave the ball right back to the offense.

And you’re feeling the momentum shift towards OU. Ready for the Sooners to basically step on the gas.

But the Sooners can’t capitalize and it was, I believe, in this drive that Gabriel missed a wide open TD. However, what isn’t noted was the beautiful back shoulder ball he threw right before that to Mims and the officials missed what looked like a pretty clear grab that would’ve kept the Sooners on the field.

So KSU is going to seize momentum again, right? I mean, because the defense is just going to quit, right?

Nope. They serve KSU a third three and out in a row and give the ball right back to the offense.

Surely the offense will do their job and score. They absolutely do.

And the Sooners have all the momentum. It’s 14-14 and you can just feel like Sooners flexing.

But, as I side, every time there was an opportunity, something (usually a different thing each time) would derail OU. Special teams gives up a long play giving KSU great field position.

I’m not arguing that the Sooners should and need to play better all around. I’m simply asserting that the narratives that are coming out of this game don’t appear accurate to me.

I’ll adjust as appropriate but again, as now, I don’t see anything that is of great concern.

So I’ll continue to drink the Kool-Aid as there seems to be a lot to go around now that so many have written OU off.

The more important thing to note though is that my focus is less so on wins and losses and more so the structure of what is being built in Norman. If OU wins that game but the foundation of what he’s building in Norman isn’t sound, then it doesn’t matter. It’s a short term win but it will be a long term loss.

It’s exactly why Lincoln Riley was trending in the wrong direction and it seems he knew as he made two of the three changes to his staff we’d been advocating for.

Ultimately, I believe in what Brent is doing so unless I see glaring issues in the program, I remain bullish. But I know the price of a stock doesn’t go straight up and neither does a football team.

The same goes for recruiting.

The privilege of the Sooners heartbreak now is so different than it was under the previous staff.

OU has two defensive ends and defensive tackle in Brent’s first year the caliber of which OU hasn’t landed in the longest time.

Then, they find themselves in a top two for two other highly coveted DL including the number one ranked DL in the country. Since when has OU even had the privilege of suffering the heartbreak of missing out on guys of that caliber?

It’s been a while.

I know folks want to land those guys and this staff wants to land those guys and I believe they will. But some perspective is in order. Recruiting isn’t defined by an expectation that wouldn’t have been there in the first place if Brent and his staff were so good at recruiting.

I know the combination of things has hit hard lately and it’s especially stressful because it is a new staff and there are unknowns to the Sooner faithful.

So, I get the concerns. And they may end up being warranted but if they are, they’ll be addressed then. But right now, they might just be ghosts under the bed. Scary to think about but ultimately not real.

Let’s see what these next couple of games bring.


Know Your Opponent | TCU – 2022
– Charlie S – Posted on: September 29, 2022

Head Coach: Sonny Dykes | 1st Season

Defensive Coordinator: Joe Gillespie| 1st Season

Offensive Coordinator: Garrett Riley | 1st Season

This season: TCU is currently 3-0

The Horned Frogs opened their season with a 38-13 win over Colorado.

TCU then dismantled Tarleton (had to check if this was a real team) by a score of 59-17.

Last time out TCU won a close battle against SMU by a score of 42-34

Offense: This isn’t Gary Patterson’s TCU offense. New head coach Sonny Dykes has brought his preferred scheme to Fort Worth. Garrett Riley and TCU will run a true Air Raid that’s up-tempo and pass-heavy which is the polar opposite of what Patterson tried to employ late in his tenure. Throw in a mobile QB and adequate use of the run game along with their other skill personnel and you have what looks like a rather potent offense.

Key Players on Offense:

#15 QB Max Duggan – Duggan didn’t win the QB competition out of camp as former Sooner #2 Chandler Morris got the opening start against Colorado. An injury to Morris thrust Duggan back into the starting role and even though we have heard that Morris should be able to go this week, it appears Duggan will likely get the start. Through 2+ games Duggan has 47 completions on 61 attempts for a 77% completion percentage with 695 yards and 8 touchdowns with no interceptions thrown.

#33 RB Kendre Miller – Through the first three games Miller has 38 carries for 250 yards which is good for a 6.6 yard per carry average and 3 touchdowns. Miller is a load at 6′ 220 and he runs very aggressively. To this point, his longest run on the year is only 21 yards.

#1 WR Quentin Johnston – Johnston is perhaps the best all around WR in the Big 12. Johnston is long and tall at 6’4 and at 215 pounds he is strong enough to use his size advantage with great success. He currently has 8 receptions for 73 yards on the year and is always a threat to take over a game.

#4 Slot WR Taye Barber and #11 Derius Davis – Among the trees that is the TCU WR corps, Barber and Davis are the smaller guys who does all the work under the canopy. Barber (5’10) and Davis (5’9) are super quick twitch guys who can cause matchup nightmares for the OU linebackers and safeties. They are threats to break a big play anytime he touches the ball. Barber has 8 receptions on the year to this point for 101 yards and Davis has 7 receptions for 126 yards and 3 TD’s.

***So far Max Duggan has not resembled the turnover prone and indecisive Ma Duggan of years past. He is completing passes at an incredibly high rate and has yet to turn the ball over. Chandler Morris started the year at QB and while he may see some action against the Sooners, if I am Sonny Dykes, I stick with Duggan until he gives me reason not to. Both Duggan and Morris are mobile and can make plays with their legs, but this is not the KSU offense which will focus on the QB run game, but both can get loose and cause some issues.

***The quick tempo run and shoot can give defenses problems, particularly if there is a lack of pressure. TCU has speed in buckets to go along with some impressive height at the WR position. All of those guys have the ability to go up and take the ball aay from the defenders on contested catches and they also have the speed to take the top off the defense really quickly.

***The run game, at least through the first three games, has been really solid and it serves its purpose as a threat to keep the defense on it’s feet. Miller is a good back but the running attack is not one you expect to line up and beat you.

Offensive Line:

LT #77 Brandon Coleman RS JR
LG #79 Steve Avila RS SR
OC #56 Alan Ali RS SR
RG #53 John Lanz RS SR
RT # 74 Andrew Coker RS JR

The Horned Frogs have an experienced offensive line that ‘gets the job done’ in most cases. They have only allowed 3 sacks on the year, but in all fairness, they haven’t been challenged by a defense that rushes the passer very well. I expect the Sooners to have some success against this group, particularly against Coker who struggles a bit in pass protection. but they are a decent line, just not on KSU’s level right now.

Overall: Y’all have seen this offense before, it is your basic Air Raid. TCU will come out throwing the ball all over the yard and the back end of the Sooners defense will really be tested through the air for the first time. In past years, Duggan has been a guy who has been a bit careless with the ball, but so far this year he has been really accurate and really good in regard to protecting the ball. TCU’s size at receiver could play a big role here and OU had better be on their game when it comes to tackling or there is potential for some big plays.

Defense: The Horned Frogs will run an entirely new system than what they did under Patterson. The aggressiveness of Patterson’s scheme has been scraped in favor of a 3-3-5 scheme under Gillespie which is more of a bend-don’t-break approach than Pattersons 4-2-5 attack style defense.

Key Players on Defense:

#28 S Millard ‘Nook’ Bradford – Bradford is a senior who grew up in the Patterson defense and he is a really physical guy who excels in run support and he is solid in coverage. Another in a long line of very good safeties in Fort Worth.

#98 DE Dylan Horton – Horton at 6’4 275 has good size and athleticism. He has shown a good ability to create pressures this year and he has one of the Frogs 5 sacks on the year.  He is credited with 9 QB pressures through 3 games.

#52 NT Damonic Williams – Williams, a freshman, is a big fella. He is listed at 6’2 320 but I believe that weight is understated, feel like he is closer to 340 or so. At any rate, he is going to be a physical handful for the interior of the OU offensive line and his strength and size could cause some issues for the OL when it comes to opening running lanes.

#6 LB Jamoi Hodge and #57 Johnny Hodges – The linebackers are an active duo and they fly around. They are good at shedding/missing blocks as they are very shifty. Jamoi Hodge is a very solid tackler and he always seems to be aorund the ball when good things happen for the TCU defense.

***TCU is ranked 68th in total defense, and thats not really great considering the opponents they have played. Yes, SMU is a solid offense, but Colorado and Tarleton…not so much.

***I think the Sooners will be able to have consistent success against the defense, particularly in the run game against the Frogs which will hopefully (expectedly) open up the pass game as well. OU will likely move the ball well between the 20’s against the bend but don’t break defense, and it will be all about capitalizing on their red zone opportunities.

***Through three games, the Frogs have recorded 4 interceptions and 5 sacks. They rely more on the opponent making a mistake rather than forcing the mistake to this point. Again, the Sooners should be able to exploit the run game and find success, particularly across the middle, early on in the passing game.

Overall:

***As you know, TCU is a darkhorse in conference play for Super K. He has been very high on them and their offense certainly does create some issues for the OU defense.

***I believe the OU offense will also be a huge test for the Forgs and this one could be a rather high scoring affair if the OU defense struggles again this week.

***For the Sooners to have success defensively, I believe they HAVE to find a way to get pressure on Duggan while maintaining their gap integrity and assignments as they don’t want to give him the opportuinity to improvise. Things could get dicey when that happens.

***Tackling, tackling, tackling. The Sooners HAVE to improve their tackling from the showing against KSU.

***I expect the Sooners to come out offensively and establish the run game. I think it will be imperative for Lebby to stick with the run game as not only will sustained drieves give the OU defense a breather, the OU offensive line has an opportunity to wear out the TCU defense.

***This one could turn into a shootout if the OU defense is still out of synch but if the Sooners defense comes out firing, and employs solid tackling, I like their chances.


One on One’s | OU vs TCU – 2022
– Charlie S – Posted on: September 29, 2022

This week the Sooners take on the TCU Horned Frogs in Fort Worth!

For those of you who are joining us for the first time, this weekly piece will highlight two matchups in the upcoming game that are imperative for Oklahoma to win for them to be successful on the scoreboard when the clock hits 0:00.

Lots of uncertainty in Norman coming off a disappointing performance against Kansas State last week.

The Sooners will likely face a stiff test as the TCU offense can potentially be explosive.

The Frogs are off to a 3-0 start under new head coach Sonny Dykes and I am sure they are looking forward to the opportunity to test the Sooners.

Let’s take a look!


One on One Number One:

Sooners LB David Ugwoegbu vs TCU SWRs Taye Barber/Derius Davis

This is a mismatch from hell for the Sooners and you can bet Dykes and Riley will try to scheme for it whenever Ugwoegbu is on the field and they have an opportunity to isolate him on the slot guys.

My question is, will Venables and Roof give them much opportunity or will they roll with the extra DBs we saw against Nebraska and charge them with picking up the slot guys?

Ugwoegbu had a rough week against Kansas State, there is no denying it and one of his weaknesses is his choice of angles and lateral movement…which are areas that the TCU SWRs excel.

Ugwoegbu is going to play. TCU will dictate the matchup at times. How well Ugwoegbu can stick to his assignment in zone or when isolated could be a telling part of the story in regard to how the day goes for OU defensively.

The air raid can put a lot of stress on the linebackers and both Ugwoegbu and Stutsman will need to improve on last weeks performance or there could be some really ugly moments.

It will be important for Ugwoegbu to get off to a solid start in my opinion as the psyche could be a bit fragile. He knows he had a rough week against Kansas State and the last thing you need if you’re an OU supporter is TCU getting hot early and causing the defense to get in their own heads.


One on One Number Two:

OU center Andrew Raym vs TCU nose tackle Damonic Williams

Not gonna lie, I didn’t think Andrew Raym would be my largest concern about the OU offensive line four games into the 2022 season…but he is.

Raym still plays like he is a freshman at times. Sometimes he abandons all technique and just tries to bully people…that doesn’t work at this level.

Williams IS just a freshman, but he earned the starting job and has played pretty well early on. My concern is his size and strength. Williams actually has done a decent job of getting pressure from the nose and he has a quick first step to go with his considerable size (6’2 320+).

I would think the game plan for OU, at least to start the game, will be to establish the run and actually seek to have a little more say in time of possession as they would likely seek to keep the TCU offense on the sideline as much as possible.

Raym needs to get things clicking technique wise and he also needs to get better with his snaps. One of these times those high and wide right snaps are not going to be able to be corraled by Gabriel and it will cost OU.

This is a battle Raym SHOULD win on paper, but he really needs to lock in and focus as Williams is a handful.


Bonus One on One:

OU Defensive Mindset vs OU Defensive Mindset

This one is simple but it is perhaps the most important matchup of the day.

The Sooners had a poor showing last week. Nobody on the defensive side of the ball likely walked out of the film room this week and was pleased with their performance against Kansas State.

TCU presents a different type of challenge, one that is potentially more explosive than Kansas State.

We have been preaching patience within the community. The Sooners players need to be able to extend themselves that same grace when they have a bad play or bad series before they let things snowball and start getting in their heads and playing like they are walking on thin ice.

OU needs to find that mentality that is inside them that they displayed the first three weeks…the ability to bow their necks and make a play when they need to.

You cannot do that if you are hanging your head or lamenting the last play or the last series.

It felt like last week, the defense had that body language that screamed…’Oh no here we go again’ that was all too familiar from the past three seasons.

OU needs to play every snap like it is the first snap and the most important snap and let those poor plays, which are going to happen, be forgotten.

Here is a tool I suggest they give to Miguel Chavis to use during the game for when the defense makes a bad play or has a bad series…

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