Some Thoughts On OU vs. West Virginia
Posted on: October 4, 2015
Image via Dallas News
Before we get started, I want to be clear this isn’t intended to be a bitch session after what should be considered a quality win. West Virginia is a talented football team and when they cut OU’s lead to just three points late in the third quarter, it really did feel like the game was up for grabs.
But to OU’s credit they quick struck back and then put their foot on WVU’s throat to close things out. Something that probably doesn’t happen with last year’s OU squad.
So while there are (and will always be) things to improve upon, that was a solid performance and win from the Sooners on Saturday.
OFFENSE
* Another quality outing from Baker Mayfield aside from that one really bad throw, of course. He continues to spread the ball around, as opposed to locking on to one particular receiver as we’ve seen from OU QBs past, which only makes this offense all the more difficult to defense.
Was a little worrisome to see Mayfield struggle to escape pressure like we’ve seen him do in previous game, though that had to be somewhat expected with the step up on competition.
* To that last point, I’m fully willing to concede JY knows more in his pinkie than I’ll ever know about o-line play. But I refuse to believe anyone can watch that WVU game, in addition to OU’s three previous contests, and convince me there aren’t problems.
How significant those problems are, I suppose, is open for interpretation, but if you’re trying to tell me there’s nothing to see here I’m gonna have to call you a sunshine pumper.
The run game continues to be the primary concern, at least in my opinion. OU 33 times for just 107 yards, which amounts to a paltry 3.2 yards per average. Granted that stat is somewhat deflated because of the sacks WVU recorded on Mayfield, but that far from erases the struggles OU had moving the ball on the ground.
And the aspect of this whole thing that confuses me the most is the continued insistence to run everything between the tackles. In my own ‘amateur’ opinion, the interior of OU’s o-line has played quite poorly thus far, so why you’d want to run almost everything behind them baffles me.
I don’t think you have to be a football savant to have watched Samaje Perine and know he needs running lanes to be truly successful. He’s just not the type of runner that is going to make a bunch of guys miss to get yards. Interestingly enough OU does have a guy like that in Joe Mixon, but other than that big TD run on Saturday even he has struggled behind this offensive line.
Would really like to see Riley use a little more creativity in trying to get the run game going. Hell, you don’t even really have to get all that creative. Just start running some stuff off tackle, go with a jet sweep here and there. What happened to Mixon in the Wildcat?
* Even with the touchdown, if we were sitting here this time last year talking about Sterling Shepard only recording 2 catches for 35 yards it’s unlikely we’d be basking in the glow of a quality win.
It’s a testament to the job Cale Gundy and Dennis Simmons have done in transforming this into a reliable and deep unit as compared to last year and, of course, the effort those guys have put in to become a consistent threat.
No clue where that Michiah Quick game came from, but if that was finally — and I say ‘finally’ somewhat tongue in cheek considering he’s still just a true sophomore — the light coming on then all the better, for both him and this OU offense. Great to see a senior like Durron Neal having a bit of a breakout season after struggling to really find a role in the offense his previous three years.
Was a little surprised at Jarvis Baxter’s absence after having been a fairly significant part of the game plan in weeks past. Admittedly, some of that can be explained in Quick’s emergence. Also not sure where Mark Andrews disappeared to after his first quarter touchdown grab — his only catch in the game, by the way — but I know I’m not alone in wishing Lincoln Riley could find a way to get him involved on a more consistent basis.
* Minor note that maybe only matters to me, but I found it incredibly refreshing to hear Riley admit during the postgame that he didn’t call a great second half.
DEFENSE
* Obviously the talk coming out of this one will be Jordan Thomas and for good reason. With Zack Sanchez struggling on the opposite side, Thomas had easily the best game of his still young OU career. As with any corner, he was the benefactor of a couple poor throws on the part of Skyler Howard but that’s all part of the game.
All that said, the comments immediately following the game about how he would have made a HUGE difference against Tulsa were as predictable as they are misplaced. But we don’t need to get into all that
* Feel like it’s being overlooked, but in my opinion Jordan Evans is turning into the athletic standout linebacker many believed he could be. That scoop and score Saturday is an easy thing to point to, but it’s much more than just that. He’s constantly around the ball and seems to lay at least one big hit every game.
* OU benefitted from West Virginia’s 50+ rush attempts in that it allowed them to get Eric Striker and Devante Bond on the field at the same time for a majority of the game, prior to Bond leaving with what he later termed a sprained ankle.
Unfortunately, that is a luxury OU likely won’t be afforded against teams like Baylor, TCU, and Texas Tech.
* And speaking of No. 19, that was just a vintage Striker performance on Saturday. He abused the WVU offensive tackles with his signature lightning-quick first step and rush off the edge.
* Not exactly breaking news, I realize, but Steven Parker is quickly developing into a star.
* Have yet to see anything official with regards to Charles Walker’s status after leaving the game late with some type of injury, but goes without saying I hope it’s not serious. He has arguably been OU’s best, or at the very least the most disruptive, defensive lineman thus far.
* Admittedly it got better as the game wore on, but it was a little concerning early at how little pressure OU’s front was generating on the quarterback. Especially considering, as mentioned above, that Striker and Bond were both on the field.
SPECIAL TEAMS
* At this point what can you really say about Austin Seibert? The kid has been incredible. For a true freshman to be doing what he’s doing and have that kind of consistency in both kicking AND punting is remarkable.
* Acknowledging that one nice Shepard return and apologies for the blatant recycling of my own material but:
I've lost the will to complain about OU's punt return team and whatever it is they're trying to accomplish.
— Jordan Esco (@Jordan_Esco) October 3, 2015
* Is there anyone on this OU team more due for a big play than Alex Ross?
OTHER
The refs. As we would later learn, the crew from this OU game — which were the same from last week’s controversial Texas/Ok State game and were amazingly awarded the biggest, most high-profile Big 12 game a week later — weren’t nearly as incompetent as those who were in Stillwater.
That said, however, even though there were an obscene number of flags thrown, if you’re truly objective how many of them were undeserved?
I don’t want to turn this into a thing about the refs, namely because (1) I’m not going to be “that guy” and (2) I really don’t care, nor did they have an impact on the outcome of the game.
If you want to bitch about the refs, I’m not going to stop you. The Big 12 refs are a joke, plain and simple. This is not up for debate.
This particular crew came in with a stigma and did little to change that on Saturday, but both OU and WVU made it pretty easy for them in a number of instances.
338 Comments
Regarding our Dline pressure on QB, it appeared to me that interior linemen had been instructed to go back to 2gapping to contain QB’s scrambling ability. I wasn’t happy about that & kept thinking how other QB’s could/would abuse that.
Our DB’s apparently held up pretty well in spite of that.
Certainly WV went all out to stuff the run, so understand the difficulty moving the ball on the ground yesterday, but I’m still sympathetic to Jordan’s ongoing concerns with the run game. Almost seems as if LR is less interested in run yardage than he is just keeping the defense in the box to allow big plays in the pass game. Maybe that’s smart. But would seem there’s a need to try to hit the edge more often and be more creative. How about a toss sweep once a game to Ross just to keep him from falling asleep on the bench?
Ross would be tackled in the backfield.
I dunno. I think a fake middle handoff would draw the TE down and allow him to get to the edge. He needs a few touches.
Some very good points. I hate to admit this but the oline is a work in progress right now. I thought they would be in sync. This could hurt us down the road if they don’t get the problem fixed. What happened to Farniok at guard, he was replaced with Alaverez? Did he get hurt or something?
It was nice to hear LR say he didn’t call a good second half. I thought he was conservative with the lead and as he will find out in this league he will have to keep his foot on the gas the whole game. Also, the one thing to baffles me more than anything is not utilizing Andrews more. Yesterday the middle of the field was again open most of the game and he is nowhere to be found. Just crazy.
It was good to see the defense play better. Still room for improvement. This team will not quit not matter what happens. I love how they continue to fight and claw whether they are leading or behind.
1. Run Game – I’d say it’s pretty obvious we’ve been vanilla in the run game, and why not? We’ve had enough success with it so far that we haven’t had to break out anything fancier. You’ll see that later in the season I’m sure. Also, I’m sure a lot of the time spent so far has been on the passing game. Had to get that up to speed. As it improves, and it has, we’ll likely add more to the running game.
2. Not sure I understand what you are saying about the refs. On one hand you say they are terrible, but on the other hand you make the point that out of everything they called yesterday, what calls weren’t correct? I really doubt, for the most part, the Big 12 refs are any better or worse than any refs from any other conference. They are going to miss some things, b/c there are probably 1-2 penalties that could be called on nearly every play in every game. I don’t have a huge problem with what I’ve seen out of the refs, other than I think they sometimes get a little too happy with the personal fouls and roughing the QB calls. Just wish some of that stuff was called a bit more consistently from game to game.
3. Overall I thought we played a pretty good game yesterday. We obviously have to clean up the penalties and turnovers, but other than that it wasn’t bad. I thought the offense came out a little too conservative in the 2nd half, and they lost momentum. I put that on Riley or Stoops. On D, overall a pretty good game, just wish we hadn’t given up those two long 3rd down conversions. Man it seems like our db’s struggle in zone coverage. Just have to keep getting better. My honest opinion at this point is that we are going to lose to Baylor (by 14-17), and we have other scary games like TT and TCU also. I don’t think our db’s are as good as some folks want to say they are. When I see a team like Houston shut down Tulsa, something has to be questioned. That isn’t a problem that can be fixed overnight. Just going to take better recruiting. I hope Jordan Thomas grows into the player we all seem to think Sanchez is. Parker is going to be a stud. Not sure about the safeties. Seems to me Byrd can play an entire game and I won’t even notice. He’d be fine in the SEC or the Big 10, not sure he should be starting in the Big 12 with these offenses. But even with the holes we still have, I like that the team is playing with confidence and passion. That was missing in recent seasons.
Beat texas!!!
Oh, and yes, the oline is struggling. Hopefully they’ll be improved by the end of the season.
Another question I wanted to ask, does it seem like other schools are able to get more out of young players than we do? Specifically I’m thinking of the WR spot. I think back to Cannon last year, and the freshman that scored 3-4 TD’s for TCU yesterday. They just always seemed more polished than our young guys.
I’ve heard that the Baylor system for WR’s is so simple that freshman can come in and learn it quickly since they repeat it over and over and over again. That was coming from a former coach. So take it FWIW.
You misspelled “texsa.”
Right now I was spell the Horns “Crap”.
This team is 4-0 and are managing to move the ball. I don’t see why running the ball has to be the prescribed method. We have a young OL. When OU has to get two, three yards for a first down, they do. They are balanced enough in their offensive attack that the defense really doesn’t know if OU will run or pass on short yardage.
Finally, for me, and this is how I approach a win, if this was the National Championship game, and OU won, would we really care how they won the game, what they did/didn’t do?
This is logical, but not sure if it is practical. Yes, if that was the national title game who cares? However, it’s not. We have to get to it and the committee apparently will be (supposedly) looking for style points since a number of teams will have the same record. We need to win a lot more games before getting to that title game where a 3-0 win would be enough.
A running game that is a threat will keep Bay/Tcu defense guessing and if it is good, will keep their offense on the sideline. Heck, Baylor’s back had 200 yards yesterday.
Also, totally agree with Perine needing a good Oline, as any RB does. But he needs it more than others in terms of escapability. Mixon & Brooks seem to be a much better option, at least in 1st half, to get ALOT more touches IMO. Mixon showed what he can do, his explosiveness. Jet sweeps, passes to Mixon in flat, etc…would like to see much more of those things. Surprised Lincoln insists on keeping it so vanilla. Seems to be bent on honoring Perine for what he’s done in past (which has been great) disregarding the condition of Oline of present.
Walker….have a bad feeling on his injury. When he was punching ground it led me to believe he knew what had happened & it wasn’t good. Hope I’m wrong
I like this team and appreciate all the wins. But for us to get better offensively we need to change the way we use Perine and Mixon. Perine needs to line up behind the QB to get a better read on blocking. That is where he excels. Mixon needs to be out in space and on the edges where he can shake and bake. I did like the quick hitter home run he peeled off, so that play is always worth a few tries too. We just need to use Mixon more early on in games and then Perine when we need power – IMHO.
Agree, hasn’t been a popular stance the last couple weeks, but I really think Mixon needs more touches. Perine is solid, just not explosive unless theres a clear lane. We might not see those until later in year.
He’s honoring Perine not for what he’s done in the past, but for what he does now in terms of being assignment sound without the ball. He’s by far the most consistent.
Probably wasn’t phrased the best, not honoring. Regardless, if we want to run the ball, it’s not working. Blocking I would agree
Yeah, I wasn’t picking on your choice of words, just saying, as I’m sure you know, that they select who’s in the game based upon protection, assignment soundness, and ball security. I think the comments they’ve made about Mixon are that he’s still learning, and they are cautious about putting him in on certain plays–more confidence in Perine. What follows, of course, is that he who is on the field gets the carries. Totally understand your point about explosiveness, though.
Some of those bad throws by the WVA QB were because of coverage. DBs leveraged guys out of their routs making them go deeper or shallower or cut late. I wish we had more full field views because I think Byrd and Thomas may have played their best game as a safety duo this season. Parker is the real deal. If the nickel back didn’t have to be such a Swiss Army knife type and a quick decision maker on his keys I would say he had to be in the field every down—- which in the big 12 he usually is.
“I wish we had more full field views ” How badly do you want it? 🙂 I think if you pay for the Soonersports package you get a few multiple views of the game, including the “all 22” camera. At least that’s the way they had it the past few seasons. I’ve not paid for it, but a couple of times they put it up free as a promo. Pretty cool.
I want that bad enough. Kids can alternate days when they get to eat .
I’m sure “operators are standing by to take your call”–:-)
(you might want to email them first just to be sure it’s still the “alternate view” that they promote.)
Ok, first and foremost, you can put lipstick on a pig……
Whether you want it to be or not, that was primarily a bitch session.
Second, I agree regarding the OL. It’s a real concern.
But part of our lack of running success was what WVU gave us not to mention that LB that was a true beast.
The line will grow up as the season moves forward, but how much is the question.
Finally, what in Zues’ butthole is a wedge penalty?
Been watching football over 50 years and thought I had seen it all, but that was a first for me.
Me as well. You can’t have three guys creating a wedge? Only two? Who knew?
Ummmm, two guys do. To form a wedge. That is called a line. Sheesh. Also wondering how many hundred times I have seen, excuse me, illegal wedges formed.
Let it go. It was only the ref crew’s second time to see an American Football game since they arrived in this country. They’ll get better. Plus I understand that as of last night they were given copies of the rule book to study.
I’ve seen it called once or twice over the years, but not often at all.
Another thought: I would like see Riley run the triple option when inside the ten. So many high schools don’t see it and it plays hell on defenses if just one guy forgoes his assignment. Run Perine in the FB read, and swing Mixon wide with Mayfield. Mayfield has the quickness to cut up fileld and the brass to hold it to,suck up the defense and then pitch it. Mixon can power his way up field if he has to go one on one with…. Dang near anyone.
Barry would say, “hell, yeah!”
I think it would work as a wrinkle inside the 10. Obviously, you need the line to fire out on those type of plays, a technique that isn’t used much. Perhaps you mean a veer look? Two backs with Mayfield? Mayfield could also hit Andrews or have Mead in there as bigger targets and run a pass off it as well.
Let me first say that I am very impressed by this teams ability to meet the challenges it has faced so far and be successful. That said, they have yet to be able to play well for two halfs both offensively and defensively. They will have to do that if they want to beat TCU and Baylor. I too am baffled about running up the middle instead of using pitch sweeps to get Mixon and even Brooks on the edge. I noticed that the swing pass is to the backs all the time either as primary or check down. And again, Andrews down the middle is always a good option. They need to use him more than just one or two times a game.
Baker has rarely used the swing passes so far. I posted during the game that we ought to get a little more creative with the running game. At least he ran Perine downhill a bit. Bedenbaugh needs to get to work on that OL.
Robert Boone said: “That said, they have yet to be able to play well for two halves both offensively and defensively. They will have to do that if they want to beat TCU and Baylor.”
Especially defensively. I know we’re going to have to score a bunch of points in each and I believe we can, but Mike is truly going to earn his pay scheming against those teams. (Which begs the question: why have the last two teams we’ve played picked on Sanchez?)
Neal is having a good year, minus the Tennessee game I would say great year. They have to find a way to get Andrews involved more. I think we were 2 for 11 on third down. He would have helped I think. Also meads drop was big early in the game, but he is young and I think they should have gone back to him.
On defense Jordan wade needs to play more. It seems like good things happen when he’s on the field. I thought the DL should have been walker, wade and tapper for a majority of the snaps especially after romars 2 personal fouls.
In regards to the OL, I think I will be on this island all alone but I’m going to keep bringing it up until something changes…Darlington does not belong out there. He’s a great kid and all but I want the best players on the field and farniok was not the issue yesterday. There were several plays (mostly run plays) where they would show the OL and I look up and see Darlington not blocking anyone until the whistle and no defenders near him. I know I’m knit picking but this is a change that must happen IMO, it would increase the size of our OL by 50 pounds which should not be overlooked.
And as far as the refs, I didn’t see any phantom calls. I think there were a couple calls both ways that should have been let go but were make up calls.
Good morning, Zack. That drop was not Mead’s fault. The pass was behind him.
I agree with using Andrews in the middle of the field. They could have taken advantage of that all game long. For that matter, any of the receivers could have worked the middle of the field.
As for WVU’s blitzes, I would not use Perine to block an LB. There was one play, Perine picked up the LB. coming up the middle I would have let Perine run right up the middle, right past the LB and dumped a pass to him. The middle of the field was totally vacated. Talk about making someone rethink their attack.
Yeah it was behind him a little but we all know sometimes the receiver has to make a play and that was one that could be made.
I was going to say I didn’t notice but one screen pass this week and we haven’t been running a running back screen to my knowledge. I think that could help the run game. Also Riley called some questionable plays, I’m glad he admitted a poor second half.
The qb draw on 3rd and about 13 was dumb IMO.
They need to find a legit lead blocker, it’s not working with flowers, perine is doing a better job picking up blocks in the run game.
Yeah, you’re right: sometimes the WR has to help the QB.
Even when he is running full speed and a DB hanging on him?
I put that one on Baker, just like the throws he made to Shep and Baxter in the last two games were out of reach.
Good morning, sir!
THIS. Perine has shown that he can lead block like a FB or H-back. This makes too much sense. Perine playing Flower’s position and keeping Mixon on the field. Ultimately, the OL needs to block better.
Like my daddy used to say:
“If it hit your hands, you shoulda caught it.”
I’m always teasing my son with that one. Now that he’s 14, he gives it back to me all the time.
Not to mention all the amazing catches we’ve seen Jeff make. I’m gonna chalk yesterday’s drop up to a complete lack of concentration.
which the coaches have mentioned as an issue with him indirectly and not so indirectly on several occasions.
Definitely need to utilize the middle more. I would like to see two backs in the backfield, nearly every play, especially against these teams that are going to blitz us so often. One black can stay and block, and the other can slip up the middle for a little hook route or something. After a few good catch a runs, the blitz would stop some.
Isn’t it jiu jitsu the form of martial arts that uses an opponent’s momentum against them?
As does Judo.
The heavier weight of the OL doesn’t automatically mean it will be better.
You saw what you saw, I saw Ty blocking his man on numerous occasions while a LB ran through the gap because he was engaged.
When we have five OLmen who can consistently block 6 or 7 coming from different angles we will have no worries.
Admittedly I’m looking for reasons to have this opinion.
If/when you watch the game again you will notice wvu attacking the gaps after the OL is engaged. In the case of an empty backfield they didn’t even try and hide their blitzes and covered all the gaps and edges to rush Baker.
You forgot something: /s
Wasn’t being sarcastic.
Then, I guess you didn’t forget something. LOL!
What good thing has happened to you this morning?
Buttermilk pancakes and oven fried bacon.
On my way.
…and…they’re gone.
But, but,….I’m at your door. LOL!
Only way I ever make my bacon! In the oven! It doesnt get all shriveled this way,and there is more bacon to enjoy!
Also, it doesn’t curl and comes out very crispy.
And its easier and less messy! lol. So many advantages to this. Glad to see I’m not the only one. 🙂
Absolutely, I let the grease congeal a little then peel the foil off with the grease and toss it. Been doing it for many moons.
I am terrified to cook bacon this way. My ex-fiance almost burned down the entire apartment building one time. I had to grab a pan full of bacon, grease, and fire out of the oven and take it outside to the parking lot to save lives.
Wow. Wonder what happened? Never had this sort of issue. Quick thinking by you though!
I guess the grease just got too hot or something.
Did you throw it on Sooner Ray’s tent? LOL!
Joking aside, that must have been terrifying.
It was definitely exciting.
There has to be much more to the story than that. You can’t just put it in the oven and go join your girl friend for concentrated horizontal hip thrusts.
I just remember her screaming my name (giggity) and I ran into the kitchen to see flames coming out of the stove and beginning to work their way up the wall. Without thinking I opened the door and grabbed the pan. Ran it out the door and threw it down in the parking lot. And then peed on it. I didn’t know how else to put it out at that point.
You are fortunate…I had a friend who had to recover from huge 3rd degree burns all over his leg when the grease splattered on him as he tried to carry it outside. in a similar situation. 🙁
EDIT: grease fire on the stove..no idea if bacon was involved 🙂
Luckily for me, the fire just singed my eyebrows and a little of the hair on the front of my head. It all grew back. I had black boogers for a month.
A grease fire that threatens lives is still a small price to pay for bacon.
Honestly, I don’t know what she did other than turn the oven on too high. I put the pan in a cold oven then turn it on to 350, never once have I had a problem and I never leave an unattended kitchen when the oven is on.
Well, she’s a dumbass, so…..
I cook mine at 415 for 15-20 minutes.
Been using 350 for about 20 minutes for years.
Were we the only two to notice this?
I would hope not.
Jordan, thanks for giving up your time on Sunday morning/Saturday evening to start this conversation. Bitching about the refs is a national pastime, but theses guys were an easy target. 55 yards in penalties in the first wvu drive? Sideline warning? They seemed to be equally bad on both sides, at least it’s not as bad as basketball. Hopefully it’s a different group in Dallas.
Don’t forget that “Illegal wedge formation” penalty after the only return Ross had.
Would still like to see OU go into an i-formation or more traditional power set for Perine. Let the big guy get going straight downhill, not east to west.
Need better run blocking for that to work.
Saw Flowers whiff on a couple of lead plays. He’s not at Rip’s level yet.
I saw him whiff on a blitz pickup as well.
Especially on the goal line. Challenge our OL to win the battle up front.
That’s what I’ve been begging for….
Yup, and you can still play action out of it, which it seems like Baker excels at.
Pretty sure Esco is that OUdisappointed guy.
Agreed, somewhat waranted but fairly negative recap
Can’t win for losing 🙂
Think your assessment is pretty spot as usual
Expect to be criticized if you say something negative, even if true.
Under defense I’d have included “Tackling” but I haven’t watched the entire game as yet.
The play before the 50 yd run by WVU’s QB…Sanchez whiffed on a hit like I’ve never seen before. It was embarrassing. I don’t know why players continue to go for the big hit instead of the sure tackle. It drives me insane.
Jordan, your constant complaining about our punt returns is as ignorant as it is boring. Shepard returned the ones that were returnable and fair caught the ones that weren’t. When Shepard does return the punt, he does a good job of getting upfield for positive yardage. Can’t even fathom what more you want or expect, other than just for something to whine about since you can’t really complain about Stoops or Kish “yet”. We have no better alternative. We tried Mixon and he was afraid to catch the ball, letting 2 of the 3 bounce in front of him.
Did you fail to see our return team not even try to block WVU or Tulsa . They are playing for the fair catch, so it isn’t exactly unwarranted bitching. It is however something that needs to be changed IMO. Also he fair caught the ones that were set up to be fair caught because of no effort to block a single body.
Actually, no I didn’t see the things you said you saw. So…you and I and Coach Stoops just disagree. I still have several concerns,but PRs is not even close to being one. Coach Stoops on his call-in show listed several areas that need to improve, but said he is pleased with Shepard and the punt return team.
Didn’t see that either.
I didn’t see it either, except on the occasions where they appropriately played “punt safe,” And I saw at least one return yesterday where Shep made something out of nothing, turning what should have been zero return into a nice gain.
Appreciate the feedback, as always.
I belive Shep is told to fair catch most punts before the kick. If you notice no one is peeling back to block. Linemen are just standing at the los.
Punt returns are still not a bright spot. We have a long history of fantastic punt returners. Sterling has improved, but I still think there may be a better guy who needs a chance to prove themselves.
The only really “fathom” call I saw was the roughing the passer call against WVA. The pass was still in the camera frame when the hit occurred. No way he could have pulled up to avoid the hit on Baker.
And the missed targeting call on Westbrook.
That one was bad. The DB even got up looking for a flag. He looked surprised when he didn’t see one.
It was probably the most blatant leading with the helmet and hitting another player in the helmet play i’ve seen since the rule was implemented.
Pretty much a textbook example of targeting.
Not to mention OU got away with the same exact play on the very next WVU possession.
I thought that one was pretty weak, as was the offensive PI call on them that went in OU’s favor.
agree. fthe PI call was ticky tacky at best.
With all the flags that were thrown, there were so many non calls that just really set me off. There were so many personal fouls away from the ball that could have very easily been called against both teams, but weren’t. The biggest non call, imo, was when Karl Joseph targeted Dede Westbrook.
Do yall find it interesting that almost every team we have played so far seem much more concerned about stopping our run game than the pass? I feel like I’m seeing lots of loaded fronts, more linebackers than DBs…and I find that interesting because our OL seems to be pretty bad at creating lanes for our backs. And Baker has lit up everyone so far except Tenn. If I’m incorrect here please let me know, but I feel like that’s what I’ve observed.
I think that’s SOP for most teams, including OU. Given a choice, the last thing they want you to do is get a run game going effectively. Especially if you have a stable of good backs. Also, there’s more chance fore mistakes in the pass game.
WV loaded the box and brought pressure all the damn time yesterday. It’s tough for 5 linemen to block 7-8 rushers. I’m not saying this OL is wonderful by any means. I think this game will show future opponents that they can’t just blitz all day unless they want Baker to eat them alive. The running lanes should start to open up, especially in the second halves.
Agreed. The OL picked up the blitzes rather well. I think I saw one play where Baker couldn’t get off a pass.
Well, there were two-three plays where Baker couldn’t throw it but it seemed that all the WRs were running longer routes. When a team blitzes like that a safety valve would be ideal.
Yeah. I think LR ignored the middle of the field. This would have been a good time to have double TE sets. That would have lured WVU into thinking you’re pass protecting, when the intent is to slip them out for quick, short passes.
Just speculation on my part, but I think the middle of the field stuff is where they are most concerned about the “linebacker in the window” confidence killing interception. I would expect them to bring more of that in as time goes on.
Could it have anything to do with Baker’s height, vs Lineman height?
I was talking to a friend last night wondering why we didn’t see to have a hot read when WVU went to cover 0? That could have been very useful several times yesterday.
I agree that WV made it tough for five or six to block seven or eight. But there are times when Ty and Nila are just plain beat one on one and blown off the line. With that said, the O Line has gotten better every week. And the pass to Sheppard for a TD was a thing of beauty. I’ve gone back and watched again, and on that play WV was bringing a full out blitz. Ty noticed it coming and changed the line call to cover the right side of the line. Baker saw it too and shifted right and found Sterling behind the secondary. That kind of communication along the line didn’t happen the first two weeks.
Jordan, agree on all points except one. If Bond and Striker aren’t on the field at the same time for most of the game against Baylor, then we will LOSE. We cannot play into Baylor’s hands by sitting back in coverage and rushing 3-4 guys only. Their offense is built on taking advantage of that defensive philosophy. They dinked it all down the field on the offensive left side against Julian Wilson for easy quick scores.
We can’t play with the mindset of surrendering the little plays to avoid the big play because they will exploit that all day long to the tune of 50+ points against us.We used that formula 3 of the last 4 years against them, and lost all 3 times we employed it. We must play with the mindset of not surrendering anything. Yeah, we might give up a big play on a blitz, like we did against Alabama. But we sacked McCarron more times than he’d been sacked all season and created a bunch of turnovers. We must disrupt them early and often, and not allow Russell to stand comfortably with time to wait for a receiver to come open.
Since they are as much a running threat as they are a passing threat., we need 5 players up front at all times. We are not talented enough on the DL to rush 3 DLs + Striker against them. We also aren’t talented enough in the secondary to hold coverage for extended periods either. Sanchez continues to be as much a liability as he is an asset.
I’m 100% w/ you in it being a necessity, but I’m just not sure they can get away w/ it the way Baylor spreads you out. Obv the strength of both those guys isn’t their ability to cover, so putting them in that situation would only play to the advantage of Baylor.
Again, I’m w/ you in that it needs to happen. But I just don’t believe that will be what Mike does.
Would LOVE to be proved wrong, tho.
With all due respect Jordan never said we would lose without them on the field he said it was a luxury we could not afford. People constantly twist their words when they said nothing close to it. Not jumping just pointing out.
I think what JB is saying is having them on field and not allowing them to do what they do best, despite the results, is something we should live with. If I’m correct, he’s saying that asking them to cover is not the way we should use them. But by all means put Striker and Bond on the field and let them attack the QB.
I was with you until the Sanchez comment. I happen to think he doesn’t get enough credit. On that TD, he tripped. He’s had how many plays over his career? That was his first time tripping: that’s unfortunate. He’s instinctive and he trusts himself and what he sees. Does he get beat sometimes, yes. But the way he plays is what you’ve just asked of the DL: go after it.
Sanchez was covering step for step with the fastest player that Holgersen has ever had. Over and over.
But, there is a reason teams choose to pick on the corner most fans think is our best. I don’t think they evaluate him wrong.
I agree. Sanchez seems to be up and down with his mind set and approach. He has all the talent. Just immature in my opinion.
I really don’t care if we get a couple of personal fouls on late QB hits. If you hit him late, make it count. I just want him hit and often so he gets a little rattled. I want the BU QB to feel like he got beat up the next day. Same with WRs, let them catch it but lay the wood when they do. I want alligator arms from the WRs.
So, just speculating here, but with Walker hurting, and with the season being already 5/6 weeks in (enough time to get the system down..), do we use Lampkin some this week to debut against Tejas?
I wouldn’t expect so. And fwiw, Walker says he’ll be fine.
https://twitter.com/c_walk97/status/650681607662104576
OUstanding news.
That’s the best hopeful news I’ve heard all day. Really seemed like it could be fairly serious based on his reaction.
K. Stills just caught a TD in this boring ass miami/jets game in London. But, Stills had a couple nice catches this drive, including the TD.
I hate the London games
If Miami scores here, they actually might have a chance… crazy with the way this game has gone.
Ivory racked up some points for my fantasy team. That’s all I care about.
I had to use Tannehill because of Luck being out…So I’m hoping for another TD. Hopefully to Landry! Sucks they just got interference on that last one! Cost me 11 pts!
There’s a pick for ya lol
Luckily this league doesnt count that against the QB! ha! But sure needed another TD. Damn. On a side note, I do have the Jets D going in another league, so that pick did help there!
Damn Ivory. I bench him, he blows up, play him, pedestrian. This has happened every week really.
Yeah, and they’re determined to put a franchise there.
Goodell is a joke.
Glad to see Miami using Stills more now. Seems to have played more this game than any this year..
They have wasted his talent up to this point.
Damn. Those unis looked so fresh on TV yesterday. I love love love that darker crimson look with an actual cream color.
Yea, I’ve always really liked these alternates, especially with the “history” that went into them. But the combos are cool, still represent OKLAHOMA well, and they look good! Nice change of pace uni that doesnt take us away from who we are.
Not sure why a lot of folks haven’t come around to them yet. Probably just a “matter of time” thing…
Agreed. There’s always going to be people who gripe about change. Usually doesn’t last very long though.
Yeah but they are actually a light khaki in person. They look MUCH better on TV.
Interesting. Maybe they put this into account when picking the color? TV sets?
I think that’s some of it. I think the “wood grain” affect on the tops actually darkens then on TV. I do think the intent was “cream” & Nike knows what they are doing. They had to be darker to get the affect on TV. You know the whole “washout” of skin tones etc
I wonder how much that factors any more with how good cameras and TV resolution is these days.
Ask news casters & stuff that still cake on the makeup & choose deeper hues of ties/shirts etc. It’s not about your TV set its about the lighting with the filming
It seemed to me that the more the game went on the darker the pants got. Could it be dirt and sweat had that effect?
Could be the sun finally came out. It was very very overcast at kickoff… I would say by halftime that it was a typical clear day
Cream is basically light khaki. I’ve seen them in person too and still loved them.
No. cream is not khaki. These are darker than even a stone (the light khaki at the gap for color reference). I’ve seen them on the mannequins the week they revealed them. The intent is cream, but they are not “off white”
Agree to disagree then. They look awesome to me.
You’re arguing with a woman about fabric colors?
That is EXACTLY what I was thinking. lmao!
Haha! Not all women are fashionable and not all men lack a style conscience either. Not implying anything, JJ. 🙂
/js
? exactly. But I promise, I’ll dig up some pictures of my kid sitting in front of the mannequins in his white box jersey & you’ll see my point
Everyone has their preferences 🙂 I do love the Oklahoma vs Sooners. And the jerseys do create a “larger” “tougher” upper body look. The bottoms are very pedestrian…and really by beef is with the cream. LOVE the all red together.
I was hoping to see the all red with the white helmet yesterday. To me, that would have been the best available combo.
At the rate we use them, it might take another 4 years to see that combo! lol
I freaking agree. The all reds are so much better!!! Have we even used white helmet? I don’t remember at WVU last year
White/red/white for the Baylor game last year.
Thanks!
I was a bit taken aback by the cream color as well, especially contrasted to the opponent’s white. I don’t remember OU ever having any cream color in the past that didn’t simply look white.
(Of course, as the final score became apparent, I liked them just fine. 🙂
🙂 good win
I prefer the regular unis, but if the players like these, I’m all for it.
I’m with you………like the regular, classic OU uniforms much better….
And which “classic” uniform are you referring too? lol
I really like the cream color much better than white.
All through the week all I read was how WVU would scheme for Samaje, all of them assuming we’d just tote the rock. It’s like they forgot we had a decent WRs (elite even, imho ), almost disrespecting them by leaving their DBs in islands and we made em pay.
Yep. I agree. And we act surprised that OU struggled to run the ball: smh.
I put up several graphics which illustrated that WVU’s DBs were not all they were made out to be. Maryland’s WRs just sucked.
That’s how WV plays defense all season. They blitz like crazy and trust their corners on an island. We just beat them, as SamSooner says, with WR wins.
The WVU defensive players were playing really dirty. Almost Baylor level. I have to give kudos to our guys because I would have been ejected had I been on the field.
It was very notable
OU moved to 9th in Coaches poll, not that it matters. But, my question is what effect does the polls off on the committee’s initial ranking?
None that I know of. I think the committee has their own criteria.
I remember one of the committee members saying that they glance at them for a second. But they have no weight whatsoever.
They say that, but I think they probably use it as some sort of comparison tool.
If I was on the committee, I wouldn’t look at the polls once.
I’m sure the coaches poll has a little sway with the committee, but I don’t know how much.
It matters more than it should. As does the “conventional wisdom” propagated by espn.
Has anyone made a highlight video yet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=4&v=H3GPnnFkvR8
I saw that one. I’m looking for HolaKyle or Hambone though.
HolaKyle lives in Ohio now, so he doesn’t really get all the OU games. I’m not sure about Hambone, but last I checked, there wasn’t one on his channel.
We get all of the games in Ohio, except the PPV games that I refuse to pay for.
My bad. I read where he said that working and living in Ohio was the reason he wasn’t making as many highlights as he used to. I guess I just assumed the availability was the issue.
We’d have to move if I couldn’t get the games. How are you Toats?
I’m great! I’m a little hoarse from yesterday, but I can deal with it! How’s things your way?
Peachy: OU won.
You know Holakyle???? tell him I said Hola!
LOL! I don’t know him personally. I’m just going on what I’ve seen on LandThieves and his YouTube page.
I did once. I got zero offers.
Jordan, thanks for always organizing thoughts so well. Here’s my counter though:
1. Offensive Line Play: I think it’s crucial to remember that this is an Air Raid offense. I would love to see our running game get going, but right now teams are doing the right thing. To defense this offense you have to take away the run first. If we get the run game going we’ll score 70 points. WVU put an immense amount of pressure on us and that’s why we averaged 25 yards per completion. They bet the house and lost over and over again.
2. Receiver play: I second your opinion about Mark Andrews. Even if he is only brought in when we get inside the 30 yard line. That dude is an absolute weapon down the middle of the field. If he’s playing flexed the safety can’t help over to stop the slant/fade option from the outside receiver. He is a weapon even when not used.
3. Jordan Evans: Lets not forget he was on the 6A champion 4×100 team his senior year. Dude is an ATH-A-LETE. When doing that little Linebacker montage he stuck out to me as a guy who is a literal run stuffer. Alexander gets to basically every play, but usually gets carried for a yard or two after contact. Evans however stuffs the ballcarrier in their tracks. He will be a Curtis Lofton type in the NFL IMO.
4. Can we please get out of this dumpster fire of a league? The refs, the commissioner, the disciplinary system, is a joke. Our style of play, fan base, alumni base, and history will be welcomed with open arms by every conference in the NCAA. Texas is a sinking ship, lets not re-arrange the deck furniture on the Titanic while its sinking.
For what it’s worth the computers really like us. Massey who was one of the computer polls in the old BCS creates a composite of all the polls out there, computer and human. As of right this moment, we are #1 overall. It may change by the end of the day as there are quite a few more polls he tracks but still kind of interesting.
That is awesome! I don’t buy it for a second, but it’s still pretty great!
The thing I like about the computer polls is that look at the result of every game. The AP poll seems to be based more on ratings and the coaches don’t have time to watch the game and so delegate to some flunky who doesn’t watch all the games either. Also with the computer polls you can figure out what their bias is and account for it. With the humans not so much.
I actually didnt think the computers were that bad… I always thought when they made a playoff, they’d still rank them with the BCS computers, and then pick the “top 8” or whatever they chose. Computers may have not been too good at number 1, but they were pretty good for a top 10.
Is there really any team in the country that you can point at and say, “That’s the best team in the country.” I haven’t seen one.
Maybe the Patriots?
nope Packers
Much prefer the Packers.
The interesting thing is that our average rating is 7.33, but that is the best out there right now. So we are an average of 7th in all the polls but that is better than anyone else. That goes along with what you are saying. It means there is a lot of variance between the polls. No clear answer to who is number one.
And, as useless as the CFP poll is, at least they have the right idea and wait until week 8 to release it.
Baylor.
lol
They still haven’t played anybody.
Nobody that can even spell defense up to this point.
As an update, most of the polls seem to be on their now and we are still number one.
Three Big 12s in the Coache’s Top 10, and only one from the sec. Oops, that’s not going to go over well. i’m sure the AP will correct this outrage.
Jordan : I can’t fault your comments or disagree with anything you wrote…OU is improved and will challenge OSU for 3rd place in the conference. Both Baylor & TCU remain the teams to catch, though…..
That’s true. We should be the third ranked team in the conference but I think if we split the two games against them we can still win the Big XII.
B.s the Sooners will beat TCU here in Norman and finish 12 and 1 and second in the conference loser.
I disagree with the sentiment that OSWho is anywhere near the top 3.
That was just Stephens way of veiling an insult. OSU is the 4th best team in the conference and even thats pushing it.
I think WVA and TTU both beat OSU this year.
BU is very good, going to be tough to win that one, TCU is going to be a cake walk – double no. 9 and we are going to waltz through that game. OSU, well for yours and OSUs sake, they need to bring that ref team from Texas game if they have to have a chance, their offense sucks. After BU, the only loss I see is Tech. Its in Lubbock and their offense is legit.
You are wrong the Texas Tech game is here in Norman.
Oh, forgot, thats right. In that case, I think that game should be fine too. So, ya, we are going to be top 2.
Osu better have their luck against KSt there also. If KSt kicker doesn’t kick off out of boumds, I don’t think they get in fg range.
This prediction is as meaningless as all the rest that you make. The most recent being we were going to be out-athleted by WVA by 2 tds. Lol.
yep, OU proved me wrong. It happens to a lot of people.
Your optimism is contagious. I think I’ll go shoot myself now.
As far as running between the tackles, that is exactly what we SHOULD be doing. Even if its not always successful it creates dilemmas for opposing defenses. While the air raid is designed to spread you out, our run game will force a certain number in the box. WV sold out to stop the run because our run game IS A THREAT! That opens up other opportunities. To say that our run game was a failure because we didn’t have a statistically great game on the ground ignores the fact that WV schemed all week to stop the run and then gave up over 300 yards through the air.
The refs…I think the biggest problem I had was that they missed obvious calls and kept throwing flags on ticky-tack crap…on both sides. Example: in the 2nd half we had a sack on Skyler Howard where he tossed the ball while he was in the dirt. It was ruled a sack, and there was nothing wrong with that part, since it was reviewed. But they completely missed the obvious face mask, which should’ve given WV the first down. On the other side, Karl Joseph should’ve been called for targeting in the first half. It might not have been an ejection-type foul, but it was clearly spearing with the crown of his helmet into the defenseless WR’s helmet.
And those are just 2 examples. It was like that all day long. I don’t mind a few missed calls, but when they’re insistent on calling so many penalties on little things, they shouldn’t be missing the blatantly obvious ones.
Targeting is mandatory ejection. If done in the first half, can play the next game. If done in the second half, can not play in the next game.
Yeah, but I thought they added a rule a year or two ago that ejection can be reviewed and reversed. Either way, it was definitely targeting.
I thought if done in the second half he missed the first half of the next game. Definitely could be wrong there.
I should have said that the penalty will be carried to the next game. I am not sure if it is for a half or for the entire next game.
What’s up with Hodgson’s kick offs. I’ve seen several games now where the opponents have done a better job of kicking off into and out of the end zone. I know there are far more big legs out there now, but I used to think we usually had the edge on that. Is my memory off or is he kicking more shorter kicks this year?
Have noticed the same thing. Most of his kicks are now only reaching 5-10 yd line. Wonder if he is told to kick it there in hopes of special team stopping them short of the 25, which is now the placement for downing in the endzone. Seems to be working.
He was #2 in the country in touch back % coming into last nights game.Seems normal to me.
do you have a link where I can track that statistic? EDIT: never mind, I found it.
Looks like he’s 29th after 4 games.
Cfb stats is,always the site I use.
Announcers said it last night at some point, maybe he dropped after yesterday.
He usually kicks it out but this past Saturday he had several a tad short. I thought it was a little odd too.
Once again, I’ll say that I think Boulware is making a mistake not putting Ross on the field more. I know many on here don’t agree, but I saw much improvement in Ross’s vision and ability to make cuts in traffic as the season progressed last year. I also noticed that in the Akron game his first run was around the end for 14 yards and on his second carry he identified the hole nicely and went up the middle for 5 yards. I didn’t see any missed blocks. JMH, but I would like to see him in the backfield for a few plays each game, just to see what he can do.
Additionally, I was very disappointed in Boulware’s choice of words when he said on the coaches’ show last week that Ross was given too much credit last year for his kickoff returns. I understand that he was referring to the blockers needing to perform better as compared to how well the blockers performed last year, but I thought it was an extremely poor way to express it.
I’m with you all the way. He needs a few totes.
Im with you too on this. Anyone who cant see that he was a completely different RB at the end of last year is blind. If Im not mistaken I believe that his YPC was the best of all the RBs including Perine. He should definitely at least get a shot.
Disagree completely. With this O-line and blocking scheme he would get swallowed up for a loss every time. Jet sweeps, sure, but he’s so slow of foot.
Slow of foot? He’s always the fastest player on the field, usually of both teams. I just don’t think he “feels” the pressure and runs into it rather than making people miss or outrunning it.
Believe he is saying that Ross is fast, but not quick. Is the least mobile in reference to movement other than straight ahead. Not trying to knock the guy, just stating it as I see it. Give him a straight line to run, not many are going to catch him.
Would agree with quickness as agile, as opposed to speed. When anyone asks who is the “fastest” on the team, it’s always Ross. He is not agile, but give him a lane, let him get up to speed and look out.
If we were an I Formation team, let him line up 8 yards deep and charge the hole that would be perfect for his running style. The shotgun zone read isn’t his cup of tea though.
Like him better than Brooks.
How can you rank Florida behind Bama? They just stomped a mud hole in the team that beat Bama. Doesn’t make any sense.
It never does.
bama lost a close game, scorewise, to ole miss and buried ga…….fla was way down the rankings before ole miss game
The funny thing is Bama gets credit for man-handling a #8 team. That number 8 team got the benefit of media bias and over-hype to achieve their status. Therefore, Bama is reaping the rewards of just how dumb everyone was to believe UGA was #8 to begin with. It’s a vicious cycle that all the SEC teams feed off of like a luxury. Except Vandy. Those poor guys don’t ever catch a break.
We’ve benefited in the past. We’ve been over ranked many times. That’s why I like the playoff committee not having a poll until late October. Let things develop and the truth to show itself. And I sure like us being lower to start. I hope this team doesn’t look more at that #10 then the upcoming wounded animal opponent in uterus.
I agree that we’ve benefited from being over ranked in the past. No doubts about that, and the records at the end of the season showed it. But, even when we were perched atop the whole thing, the conference, and even those few B12 teams right below us didn’t really get the hype spillover that all of the SEC teams are getting. Florida is now a “contender.” I understand that, but the constant reshuffling of those teams only re-enforces the misconception of how strong they are. It’s a vicious cycle, and that’s why I found it funny.
What you do is rank every team based on merit. Then you bump up every SEC team by 3 spots and bump up Alabama by 6 spots. Then you call that the consensus of every intelligent American.
This is why CFB is really a crock. The committee has its own criteria and it may not be better than the poles.
We need to run the ball better and do better at finishing tackles when we make first contact , their RBs kept on breaking some tackles
I tend to lean toward being unbiased when doing these hype videos, but in this case I’m going to make an exception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvc9LypHPUo&feature=youtu.be
Nice, I like it.
Well done Sir
Guess everyone saw Joseph knock Perine over like I have not seen before. Could he have done that if Sam still weighed 243? It was an impressive hit, but it looked like he refused to accept Perine’s props, which I thought was kind of classless.
Perine wasn’t expecting the hit, Joseph came from the side. It was a big hit, let him have it. Technically he shouldn’t (Joseph) have still been in the game after his hit on Westbrock.
Steven Parker had himself another great game. Too bad for him he lost that Int to penalty
The bottom line for me is this team is good but not any where near their potential yet.
I gotta tell you. I enjoyed that game. A lot. It got a little close for comfort for a bit but I never saw anything on our team that was like, oh damn, we are losing this! They kept coming out and playing hard. The character of this team has changed dramatically…I don’t even know that I can put it into words…I know it is still early in the season but I never felt like they got down. They just kept going out there and playing hard. They have “swagger” which I hate the term but it fits them and they have the IDGAF attitude. None of them are saying, well we are ranked this, and we are going to win a NC or B12 title, it is just, we are going to go out and prove to you what we can do. It is about proving it, not expecting it.
Now I must say, I think Stephen Dale’s brother or something was sitting next to me…well just down the row. The entire game he complained about EVERYTHING. Like I get it, it certainly was not the perfect game, but this game was yelling Lincoln Riley is an IDIOT! I was like, dude, WTF are you talking about. For one…he is 4 games into his OU career and while not every playcall has been perfect, he has done MUCH MUCH more with the offense than JH ever thought about doing. LR can atleast count…..
I give our offense a 7/10, they were consistent and showed quick strike capability and aside from the running game woes, it was a good day. They have seemed to get better and better every single game. And I think LR is not perfect but I am a fan thus far.
I give our defense a 8/10 and maybe higher but Sanchez hurt us bad….his tackling is horrible and there were a couple of times we could not drag down their running back. But this was a damn good game for them, hopefully they limit their penalties in the future.
And Special teams I give a 8/10 Ross had the one good return….but illegal wedge formation? UMMM OK? Punt returns need work….looks like the biggest lack of effort of any play OU has. But Seibert…good lord. That dude is only half human….at most….cause his leg is something else. Before the game I saw him kicking field goals from the 35 and he was sailing them up into the stands…..like 20 rows up in the south endzone…..for warm ups….
Bradford has just thrown his 3rd TD of second half (and game…) Eagles now lead redskins in the 4th… He is 7-13, 161 yards and 3 TD’s in second half. 1, was a 62 yard TD. and the one he just hit was 39yards. Go Sammy B!! GO!!
That’s awesome. So been waiting for him to finally break out and play like we know he can with the proper support.
Some great points here. The O line looked improved but still having some struggles. I am really wanting to see this potentially lethal backfield combination of Mixon/Perine utilized to maximum effectiveness, and for that to happen this O line still has some growing to do.
The part I’m probably most impressed with development-wise is the receiver corps. This offense really looks to have a plethora of weapons finally with Shep, Westbrook, Neal, Andrews, etc. That’s gotta have a lot to do with who is distributing the ball now. Mayfield not only is going through all his reads like he’s supposed to, his ability to scramble and string the play out has really been valuable in helping WR’s get open. Truly the potential for this entire offense is just so high if they can make the necessary improvements and develop more consistency. Good stuff.
In other news, after barely surviving both NIU and now Indiana, tOSU is still voted #1 in this week’s AP poll. What a joke
We cracked the top 10 so we join the SEC and Big 10 as conferences with an inside track on the CFP, IMO.
Because of the perspective that they are the “defending national champions.” Until they lose they’re #1. This doesn’t make sense because they aren’t defending anything. They already won it. This isn’t like boxing wherein if you lose you lose your belt. Ohio State doesn’t currently have a belt to lose.That was an award given to them for last year’s performance.
Totally agree. “Defending champion” is nonsense. OSU is not a boxer. Different team, different season, different schedule. But of course, were it not for OSU, they would just put Bama at the top spot all the time.
Vegas starts OU out at 13, really trying to get some money on that texsa side. 🙂
They are bubbling over with enthusiasm at BON.
http://www.burntorangenation.com/2015/10/4/9449581/oklahoma-sooners-top-25-coaches-poll
Lol, I’ve been reading some of their threads this morning.
Five comments on the first RRS thread. The silence is deafening.
A win against OU would give them a silver lining for there putrid season.
A loss against OU would be the nail to the coffin that drops Texas in a deep dark abyss of irrelevance which would lead to the inevitable end of the shortly lived Charlie strong era
I see the flaws in sanchez game just like everyone else, but what on earth did this guy do to this fan base. We hold a pretty darn good pass defense to 17 comp, 173 yards, 3 picks, and it seems that Sanchez gets all the attention for his “terrible” play throughout every message board. I get it. He takes risks, sometimes they don’t work. I get it, he weighs a buck seventy and struggles tackling. But who you guys got better to put over there?
Maybe I’m off base. Anyone have any thrown at/completions/yards stats on him for this game?
Wondering if K could do a little dirty work in his game this weekend?
Sanchez gets WAYYYYYY too much grief.
1. He’s the best we have.
2. He makes more plays than any other DB on the team.
3. He comes in head-down and without his arms, but we all have known that for years.
4. He’s a leader.
Need to get behind this guy, instead of the opposite.
And we would have lost to Texsa last year without Sanchez.
He’s flipped or clinched multiple big games in his short time here.
I can’t think of one we lost that u could point square at him. Most have been entire secondary collapses or pitiful offense or both.
Right. We all know he is not a lock down corner but he is average to above average in coverage and he is a phenomenal ball hawk. Overall, a very good player.
I can’t remember which quarter it was, but he made a great play down the sideline (WVU going towards north end zone), in front of the OU band. It appeared the WVU receiver had to lay out to catch the ball and Sanchez knocked the ball out of his hands the instant the receiver had the ball. It was a great play, and you could tell Holgo was trying to beat him deep on a streak but Sanchez ‘got dirty’ and stayed with the receiver the whole way.
I hate to see our secondary get beat, but dang, I sure like the risks he takes.
He has some tendencies depending on his emotion. Start of the game he is either tuned in where he just plays a big game, emotional (like this game) and has a rough start, or timid and really struggles. Usually it takes him making a big play for him to come out of those rough starts, unfortunately sometimes he never makes that play and has a rough game.
With me it’s just the fact that he is always referred to as our best and I don’t know who, or why that tag has been put on him. He is not in the elite category. He bites too often on the stop and go, he has poor tackling technique. I don’t fault him for what he is, I fault those who think he is something he isn’t .
He may not be elite, but I do believe he is still the best cover guy on the team.
Well, I think some of it stems from Sanchez’s comments that he considred himself the best corner in the league. So that’s gotta be backed up. But overall he has been pretty solid. He’s not very strong or powerful, so he does struggle a bit with tackling, but I still think he’s a big asset.
I think that Sanchez was over hyped early in his career. He’s a good player who I believe could be great. Sometimes he looks like he’s playing based on his reputation more then on actual effort. I think teams are seeing that on film and attacking him. I think they got his attention and his play has definitely picked up. Expectations were a bit too high for him. Just my opinion. We definitely need him.
“Before the game, I knew we would win by more than two TDs, but I didn’t want to say anything.”
I believe we are in a no win situation on perspective in the RRS. If we blow them out, that’s what you are supposed to do to a 1-4 team who is going full speed downhill. If it is a close victory, we will be seen as overrated, if we lose we are choklahoma. A no win situation, but I want to see us stomp a mud-hole in them, then stomp it dry.
I’ll catch crap for this…..
But I’m not very impressed with the new offense. I don’t hate it and it doesn’t infuriate me like his predecessor’s did, but I can’t honestly say I’m impressed. I thought Riley called a terrible 2nd half yesterday. They kept blitzing and blitzing and blitzing and he did nothing to make them pay for it. Seemed like the screen was there all day and he never called it once. Either it’s not in the playbook or he just didn’t call it, both of which are troubling to see.
In spite of his one run, it seems like Mixon has disappeared in this offense. Andrews has shown me something but it seems like he just can’t stay on the field for whatever reason. Baxter has disappeared entirely since Akron. I believe we have a lot of weapons but instead of emerging, they’re going in the opposite direction. Anybody else feel this way or am I crazy?
Not me. 🙂
LR himself said yesterday that he was conservative with his play calling in the second half. It almost looks like they are holding some stuff back because I haven’t seen anything new but the one play when Neal scored. I wonder if he has some tricks for ut this week.
WVU is MUCH better than Texas. I can’t imagine why you’d play conservative against WVU just to hold back some plays for a trash team like Texas.
Maybe it’s not for Texas.
My feeling is they felt the game was in control, got conservative, then had to turn it on again. I really think (hope) they are saving some candy for TCU, Baylor.
Maybe he thinks we have some tough games after texas that he is holding for. If the does, I am ok not going for style points, if they just win
I don’t disagree… But I think you might be a “little bit” overreacting.
I will 100% agree with the play call vs the blitz though. But like Hotrod33 said below, LR did call himself out.
I believe the OLine would make everything look better. I agree with you about some players disappearing. I think the emergence of quick held Baxter back against wv but I can’t explain why Andrews has been mia.
Last year’s OL on this year’s team would look pretty good. This year’s QB on last year’s team would look pretty good.
Unfortunately, we have to replace 20 year olds every year and try to make it work.
This line will be really good the next couple years, I suspect.
It is just not fair to judge them by the way last year’s OL played. Last year we had a 1,700 yard rusher AND gave up the fewest sacks in the country (9). Think about that…we had a 1,700 yard rusher AND gave up the fewest sacks in the country (9). That’s pretty salty, yet we lost 5 games.
I think this team will have a better record than last year, with an OL that is probably not as good.
I’m not wanting to be “that guy” either concerning the officiating. But the no call on the targeting was the worst no call I’ve seen in a long, long time (until the KState-lOSUr game). It was right in front of us and I cannot fathom how that was not called and the kid not ejected, especially when they called us for that bump on their QB after the whistle and the increased focus on player safety.
Ya. I’m not sure how many calls were good or bad, but that targeting “no-call” left me wondering.
Stoops just stated on his coaches show, that is one of the plays they are sending to the officials office to get their thoughts on it.
His head snap said it all … it was definitely targeting. I saw it from across the field.
TEXTBOOK targeting. I mean, put that gif in an e-book.
There’s definitely things that need to continue to be improved, but I take exception to the comment that “the interior offensive line played poorly”. That’s simply not true. In fact, the strength of this o-line is the interior (Darlington, Kasitati and Farniok…yes, Farniok, are the best part of the line so far this season). If I had to nitpick, I’d say that Alvarez is just as good as Farniok (and maybe better) at guard, but either way they play well together.
What you saw yesterday was 1) a solid defense the OU offense was playing, and 2) a team hellbent on stopping the run. They sent pressure almost every down, and rarely from the same place. Overall, the O-line did a damn good job of doing their job.
We are still a long way from being a great offensive line unit, but to hear some talk it sounds like we are terrible, which isn’t true. We’ll face better defensive fronts throughout the season, but we won’t see a better secondary or a better overall defense between now and the end of the year. 100+ rushing yards and 300+ passing yards against that defense is a very good outing. Can we be better? Of course! Were we bad? Nope.
We could’ve helped the Oline out by counter attacking those blitzes they brought every down and making them pay dearly for it but we didn’t and that raised a red flag with me. That was tough to watch. You can’t just hang your QB and your line out to dry like that all night long.
Indeed. I really get the turn-off when the analysis turns into bashing a unit that is actually doing well. You have to understand the opponent to understand the quality of a unit’s play. Thanks SK.
I just wish we could execute better on our blocking schemes. 7:39 in the 4th qtr perfect run play called for Mixon. Samajae whiffed on the LBer and Brown could not sustain his block on the end, who regained outside leverage and made the play. Neal and Westbrook had their assignments blocked enough to spring another big run for Mixon. I sure hope they get this fixed soon, it’s really keeping this offense from just exploding.
I think first of all most of the points that Jordan discussed were right on the mark. I’ll go outside the box as a guy that likes to watch the stats. The stats says that I was wrong about Baker early on. I looked at his freshman performance as “potential”, but wondered if he really had the “it” necessary to be successful at an elite level. The stats says he is the 5th best QB nationally in yards per attempt, and in QB rating with 10.2 and 178.5. He is 16th nationally in passing yards with 1382 yards. I am quite happy that I was wrong, another reason “those” guys are the coaches and not me. He seems to be the exact right guy to run the offense whose line is trying to find it’s identity. They are not yet a gelled cohesive unit. They are not protecting Baker as well as they probably will in November, so a scrambler, gunslinger, guy who can run and throw helps a line that is still maturing.
Did anyone see the Ducks unis last night. God awful! Looked like human hi-lighters.
Fishing lures can only dream of being that bright.
I’ve got some lures that are “dreaming” of being that bright.
These colors are going to attract a certain type of kid at times, but I think the quality of the program at the institution always wins out with time. The unis at OU have changed from time to time, even in my lifetime. I can remember watching the Wilkinson teams in the 60’s. The unis were different to even the regular game unis of today, but the common theme of the the uni has always been Oklahoma. What the hell does that “lure” say?
I feel it is a short term fix for a lack of tradition. Mid level schools must come up with something to catch the eye because that’s all they’ve got. The traditional power houses have minor changes every few years but always stick to their traditional look, as it should be.
My wife (not a football fan, but she sits in the room while I watch, or goes to the game with me, because she loves me) even liked the the alt uni that the team wore this week. She lifted her Dr. Pepper can and stated the resemblance even before the announcers did.
I don’t mind these alternates because they still represent the basic uniform. Now if they come out in sweatshirt gray and black or some other unrelated color combination, I wouldn’t care for it.
I kinda looked for a black uni after deal with the frat rats last spring. I was glad it didn’t happen, but I do think they still have a black T that they work out/practice in now.
ghey
Yeah, too bad Colorado couldn’t hang with them last night. My son was in the stands, and he said everyone at Folsom was really hopeful/expecting the upset. The Buffs will be back, and I hope they ravage that conference … move the center of mass further east.
Welllllll…I believe the Buffs will still field a football team, and I believe Colorado will remain a state. However, I find it hard to believe they will field a competitive team any time soon.
Doesn’t seem like they really care about athletics anymore.
There’s a ton of money going in to the university right now, and it’s only a matter of time when they see the fruits of their labor. They’ll be back, and probably sooner than you expect.
One guy no one mentions that this run game is seriously missing is Ripkowski
While Flowers is pretty good, he is no where near the blocker Ripkowski is.
We are missing the fullback that transferred out as well, Flange? Can’t remember his name.
No more calls, please. We have a winner.
Yes. I said something about Millard, but it goes for Ripkowski as well. Their guy very rarely, if ever, made the tackle. And whiffs were also an endangered species with either of those two in there. Flowers is ok, but so far he’s a bit of a victim of having to live up to the hype of stepping into some pretty big shoes. He’s not 2.0, …yet…
All this talk of the OL got me to thinking. I wonder how much Demarco misses the Dallas OL?
He’ll miss them more if his bank account starts to run low. 🙂
He took an extra $3M to play somewhere else.
I meant his current line isn’t going to help his next contract. Don’t see him being a leading rusher again anytime soon.
Combine that with Chip Kelly’s offensive scheme, he’ll be lucky to see 1K yards in Philly.
Not sure that these were discussed much in all the comments (I haven’t had time to read them), but …
1) OU really came out flat in the 3rd quarter. I don’t know why that happened, but it was very worrisome. I was row 58, Section 6, and you could just tell that the crowd wasn’t into the game (yet), and the team was kinda out of sync. Would love to see 4 quarters of hard nosed football from the team;
2) I don’t care how good we think this team is, 140 yards of penalties exposes a GLARING weakness. I believe we were already in the FBS Top 5 for most penalized before the game, and if we aren’t #1 after this game I’ll be surprised. One funny note though: During our 1st quarter penalty meltdown enabling WVU’s first score, they showed a close up of Mike in the booth … reading his lips, he yelled, “What The F—!!” It was too funny and totally embodied my feelings at the time … I’m still chuckling.
I think they clearly feed off of the crowd energy. Flat crowd = flat team.
Those penalties need to get cleaned up and in a hurry. You can’t gift TCU or Baylor a touchdown and expect to win.
Why is no one guestioning the end of the 1st half? We have 46 seconds left and all 3 time outs remaining and we run out the clock? We could have at least tried to get in field goal range! As quick as our offense was scoring and we run out the clock?