The Football Brainiacs

Image via greenwichtime.com

For whatever reasons, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of talk about this OU bowl game versus Clemson. To me, however, there are a number of compelling aspects to this particular matchup. Of course, you have the Brent Venables angle of a guy facing a program he coached for previously for the better part of 11 years. And the way his tenure ended at OU could be deemed as somewhat controversial, no matter what either side says to the media.

Excluding that obvious storyline, however, I’d like to add some other things I’m looking forward to in this year’s edition of the Russell Athletic Bowl.

* OU’s offense vs. Clemson defense – Sure, this kind of goes under the whole ‘Venables vs. Stoops Bros.’ narrative, but when you start to look at the numbers, this is a pretty compelling storyline.

Clemson ranks No. 1 in the country in total defense, while Oklahoma ranks No. 19 in total offense and No. 10 in scoring offense. Which is actually kind of shocking when you consider the amount of pressure being thrown at Josh Heupel from many an OU fan. And those stats just scratch the surface of things.

Clemson ranks No. 6 in the country in rushing defense, only giving up a paltry 98 yards a game. In contrast, OU ranks No. 8 in rushing offense, averaging nearly 269 yards per game on the ground. Now, that said, I don’t think Clemson has faced an offensive line that run blocks as well as what they can expect to see from Oklahoma on Monday. Nor has Clemson faced a running back this year that is on the level of Samaje Perine.

* Obviously, I think OU can and will run the ball. However, in my mind the difference maker in this game will have to be Trevor Knight. Despite many thoughts to the contrary, if you go back and look at the numbers, I believe Knight has actually played pretty well this year.

The thing with Knight, like many on here have stated, is consistency. Or, more to the point, his lack of exactly that, at least at times. He’ll have a great stat line, but make that one HUGE mistake that potentially costs OU the game. It’s no excuse, but he  is still just a redshirt sophomore. And it’s worth repeating, Knight is 11-3 as a starter at OU.

That seems lost on a lot of fans and, to some degree, I don’t blame them. Had he not thrown two costly interceptions against TCU and K-State, his record as a starter looks even better and fans aren’t clamoring for Baker Mayfield.

Having said all of that, the lingering question for me is how will OU use Knight after his injury scare against Baylor that forced him to miss the final three games. From what I’ve seen this year, OU has to have some sort of quarterback run game to help them to move the ball consistently. When OU runs the QB, they put up points.

But the obvious question is whether or not Knight can hold up? Maybe it’s his frame. Maybe he just needs to learn how to avoid, or when necessary absorb, hits better. Maybe it’s just plain ol’ bad luck. Maybe it’s some combination of all of the above. Regardless, through his first two years as a starter he clearly hasn’t been able to do what is necessary to stay healthy.

2015 is another conversation for another time. But as far as getting a win in this bowl game, a healthy Trevor Knight, who can make plays with his legs, is clearly the best option on the table. If he’s not able to make plays outside the pocket, however, it could be a long day.

Venables knows the tendencies of Josh Heupel and an OU offense. And the same applies for Heupel and a Venables led defense. On paper at least, the game seems to hinge on who wins this particular chess match. My biggest question is whether we see Sugar Bowl Josh Heupel or the Heupel we’ve seen at times struggle to establish and maintain a definitive offensive identity for this OU program.

When he establishes an identity early, any identity, and, most importantly, sticks to said identity, OU generally comes away with excellent offensive continuity and, as Bob Stoops likes to say, executes in a great way.

Let’s hope Sugar Bowl Josh Heupel made the trip down to Orlando.