The Football Brainiacs

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* Attack the edges – I’d like to see this start to become a bigger part of the offense. Some here may disagree, but I feel like during his time as a play-caller Heupel has shown a propensity of running the ball up the middle. At times, regardless of whether it’s working or not. And yes, I know the point is to wear them down so that even if it’s not necessarily working early, eventually you wear them down and in the 3rd & 4th quarters is where it pays off.

Now in a perfect world — or at least my perfect world — this would involve Trevor Knight forcing the defense to respect the zone read by pulling it back out of the RBs belly and keeping it once in a while. Because it’s abundantly clear teams are not respecting that now and simply crashing down on the back, leaving that edge with a lot of green grass Knight should could be taking advantage of were he allowed to.

But my motivation for wanting this is also a bit of planning ahead for the following week in Dallas. Mainly because I think OU is going to have a very difficult time running the ball up the middle against Texas’ Malcom Brown.

* Trevor Knight – To the point above, I’ve seen some speculate that for some reason they believe this will be the game Stoops & Heupel actually open it up and let him run the ball. I sense this is something we’re going to hear before every game when/if they every let him do it, because no one seems to have an actual reason why they think this will be the game, i.e. they’re just trying to guess right.

Sticking with Knight, will he able to avoid turning the ball over against a defense you know is going to try and confuse him with their looks pre-snap. We all know Gary Patterson is a defensive mastermind and that Heupel can get into a rut at times calling pass after pass after pass. On pure talent, OU should absolutely win this game. But as with every game, turnovers can easily be the deciding factor. So if Knight and/or OU are turning it over, TCU could make this a much closer game than it probably should be.

* Eric Striker – Based on what I’ve been able to see from this new version of the TCU offense, OU may have to make a concerted effort to allow Striker opportunities to get after Boykin. Everything TCU does in this new scheme is designed to get a LB, like Striker, matched up on a WR in space. And for all his talents, that is not a match-up OU should want to repeatedly seem him in Saturday afternoon.

* Steven Parker – With the four & five wide sets TCU extensively employs, this could be a game we see much more of the talented true freshman than we have in recent weeks. After some early playing time in key situations, Parker really hasn’t seen the field that much these past couple games. So it would be nice to get him back out there as this TCU offense really plays to two of his strengths: covering in space and tackling.

* Tackling – In fact, let us stay on that last point. Any time you play a team that runs a spread offense like this, let alone one with a mobile threat at QB like Trevone Boykin, consistently wrapping up and not allowing cheap YAC is always going to be a major key in the game. This isn’t necessarily something I believe the OU defense has struggled with (though there might be an exception or two), but this is the type of game and offense where missing a tackle here or there that extends a drive can wind up making a big difference.

* Blake Bell – No reason to believe it based on the similar lack of involvement this year — despite repeated assurances that wouldn’t be the case — from the TE position as we’ve seen in years past, but I just kind of have a gut feel says  Bell is going to have a big game. And by ‘big game’ I don’t necessarily mean 10 catches for 100+ yards and 3 TDs. More so something like a key third down conversion or two, hopefully at least one TD catch, or maybe they even get crazy and run some kind of trick play. I don’t know, like I said, it’s just a hunch. And I’m sure I will be wrong.

* Ahmad Thomas & Zack Sanchez – For two different reasons; coverage & health/tackling. We’ve seen Thomas struggle at times covering in space. Well, he’s going to be asked to do that in this game, a lot. If he’s any kind of liability, TCU will obviously look to exploit it for as long as they’re allowed to. I’m not saying Thomas will struggle, he may very well wind up having the game of his life. I’m just saying it’s something to keep an eye on.

And at this point you don’t need any type of reminder for me regarding either of the points above when it comes to Sanchez. But until we see otherwise, it’s going to be something people continue to worry about/harp on.

* Jordan Phillips – Maybe it was just me, but I didn’t think Phillips looked his normal dominant self against West Virginia. Admittedly, that’s somewhat of an uneducated opinion on my part as I’ve yet to go back and watch his play specifically. I just felt like in other games, even if he’s not making a tackle you can’t help but notice his presence in the middle of that line being the disruptive force we know him to be. So maybe I’m being overly critical regarding the WVU game. And, if so, I’d gladly welcome anyone to tell me to shut up because I don’t know what I’m talking about.

All that said, if Phillips can be said disruptive force, it can throw a wrench into pretty much everything TCU will be looking to do offensively in this game. Phillips’ ability to get pressure up the middle and collapse the pocket creates a bevy of opportunities for the guys around him and helps to close some of the run lanes Boykin would normally be able to take advantage of even if the initial pass play breaks down.

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What will you be watching for Saturday afternoon?