The Football Brainiacs

Hopefully this image, via nflmocks.com, of the back of Tyler Lockett’s jersey is not something OU’s DBs see repeatedly on Saturday.

* Offensive AND Defensive game plans – Captain Obvious, right? First, let’s address the offense. As much as you are probably expecting it to be, this isn’t just another excuse to bash on Josh Heupel. But for me this is the game where we find out if this offense and/or the person most responsible for calling it are salvageable.

I’m very much of the opinion that if you come out and run a majority the same crap stuff you’ve put on film these first six weeks, against a Bill Snyder team that had two weeks to prepare, then you’re going to lose this game. And for all intents and purposes a second loss effectively ends your season. There will be no Big 12 title. There will be no CFB playoff. And whatever goodwill may be remaining from the Sugar Bowl will be ancient history.

That doesn’t mean the expectation should be for them to have completely overhauled their offensive approach in the span of less than a week. No one is suggesting that. But if you continue to trot out there with the same ol’ stuff that hasn’t been working, then I’m just not sure they’ll ever “get it.”

As for the defense, K addressed some of the issues this week and I’m much less worried about this side of the ball. Primarily because in my educated opinion Mike just needs to get back to what he does best, much like K suggested. It seems to me like in these past two games the defensive scheme has been WAY too passive. Allowing the opposing offense to dictate what OU is going to do defensively rather than vice versa. We saw that happen two years ago — rushing three or four and dropping everyone else back into a soft zone coverage — and it failed miserably. Get back to pressuring the quarterback and letting your play-makers make plays.

Personally, I’ve always been of the opinion I can live with getting beat here or there if you’re at least playing aggressively. If you’ve got your corners up in press coverage and the WR gets behind them for a big play, I can accept that. But if you’re going to play 7-10 yards off (like they do/have) and the WR is still somehow going to get behind the defense, well that I definitely have a problem with. Same thing with the blitz. If you’re secondary is struggling to cover, as they have been, the best thing you can do, in my opinion, to help them is get pressure on the quarterback. Not make less of an effort to do so and instead drop another guy or two into an already suspect coverage.

Basically what I’m saying is this game is going to show me a lot about what this staff plans to do the rest of the year. Maybe I’m putting too much of an emphasis on things, but you’re at the midway point of the season and what you’ve been doing has not been working. So it’s either time to change some things or we could be faced with the harsh reality of even more disappointment.

* Dimitri Flowers – I made an offhanded somewhat snarky comment earlier this week on Twitter about reminiscing about the good ol’ days of the Red/White game when everyone was raving about the Sooners true freshman and how big a role it appeared he might play in the offense this year. Only, his near complete disappearance from the offense in recent weeks isn’t really anything I’m in the mood to be joking about.

So if I’m channeling my optimistic side (yes, I do actually have one despite what many of you out there probably believe) and that Heupel isn’t just going to run the same stuff we’ve seen be ineffective the last two weeks, then my gut says Flowers will be a big part of the offensive shake up. He’s a talented, versatile player who OU/Heupel can line up in a variety of spots to give the defense different looks without having to substitute.

* Field position – And specifically whether or not OU will be able to take advantage of what I expect to be pretty good starting field position. Based on the assumption that K-State will not want to kickoff to the country’s leading kickoff return man, Alex Ross. So whether they pooch kick, squib it, or whatever, I don’t think it’s unrealistic to expect OU could be starting around their 35-40 yard line. The only fly in this ointment being generally when you’re fielding a kickoff it’s because the other team has just recently scored. So let’s hope this doesn’t play too large a role in the game.

And this is a two-way street with OU kicking to Lockett as well. Nick Hodgson has been nails on kickoffs this year, but Jed Barnett — though coming off arguably one of the best games of his OU career — has been known to struggle at home with those Oklahoma winds whipping through Memorial Stadium.

* Jake Waters – We all know going in Waters is the type of quarterback that typically gives an OU defense fits. And K-State relies on him to make plays with his legs, both in the run game and extending plays allowing Tyler Lockett to get behind defenses. If OU cannot keep him contained in the pocket, something we’ve seen them struggle with considerably these last two weeks against somewhat similarly “mobile” quarterbacks, then it could prove to be another long day for Mike Stoops and the defense.

* Tyler Lockett – I only waited this long to mention the most obvious threat in this game is because he’s the most obvious threat in this game. That, and there’s no Aaron Colvin anymore so I’m not sure how Mike Stoops will approach defending Lockett on Saturday. K-State will move him all over the field and OU will almost never assign a corner to follow him wherever he goes. They did so last year, even with an injured Colvin, only because (I presume) of the ridiculous first half Lockett had in that game.

Zack Sanchez will undoubtedly come into the game with a chip on his shoulder after the first half Lockett had last year, almost all of which came against Sanchez. But why wouldn’t Snyder try to move Lockett around and get him matched up on Julian Wilson? Or even in the slot likely matched up with an OU safety or…gulp…maybe even a LB (because OU almost never plays three true corners on the field at one time, like ever, for some reason unbeknownst to me).

I can’t imagine any possible way Lockett (in addition to Waters, of course) isn’t the primary focus of M.Stoops’ defensive gameplan, but I also would have never imagined OU rushing just three and/or four guys against a highly suspect Texas o-line and an inexperienced Tyrone Swoops. So……

* OU WRs – So we heard Jay Norvell imply we could see some different guys out there at receiver on Saturday after some disappointing play at the position in recent weeks. Now I’ve heard some speculate that even though he said that we won’t see much, if anything, really change. I don’t know why Norvell would say what he did, other that purely for motivational purposes, as he’s never really given me the impression of being disingenuous or using the media like that in the past.

I don’t know what to expect, but I (like many of you I’m sure) can see the struggles they’ve had at the position this season outside of anyone not named Sterling Shepard. What’s the harm in giving Michiah Quick an actual chance rather than 1-3 snaps a game? You’ve already burned his redshirt, might as well make it worth something. And, yeah, Jordan Smallwood had some issues with drops the one real chance he was given earlier in the year, but it’s not like that same issue hasn’t also been a problem for K.J. Young. Dannon Cavil, Jeffery Mead, or whoever. At this point what do you really have to lose?

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What will you be watching for Saturday morning afternoon?