Weekend Open Post | July 26th – 28th
Posted on: July 26, 2024
Season Deep Dive
– JY – Posted on: July 19, 2024
This time of year sucks. There’s no way around it, and I’m not going to sugar coat it. We still have 6 weeks or so until the Sooners tee it up against Temple, and those 6 weeks cant go by fast enough. I’ve said many times before, that I’m a self-proclaimed Sooner Football junkie, so man-cub and I will scroll through you-tube to watch old games, highlights and many of the podcasts out there to see if there are any nuggets about the good guys we haven’t heard before. I’m not ashamed to admit that I subscribe to other boards and like to read their stuff as well. In my opinion looking at writing styles can help me get better and some of them out there have good stuff. As for the not so good stuff out there, there are a ton of “experts” who have the Sooners losing to Tennessee, Auburn, Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama and LSU. That just pisses me off. I dig into details for a living each day, so I wanted to do a deep dive into the Sooners schedule and see if the mighty SEC is really all that mighty, or they just view the rest of us as peasants. I imagine that it’s somewhere in between, but I wanted to dig into it and find out.
1. vs. Tennessee. 2023 9-4. Won their bowl game against Iowa 35-0.
- Losses:
- @Florida 29-16
- @Alabama 34-20
- @Missouri 36-7
- Georgia 38-10
- Wins: Virginia, Austin Peay, UTSA, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Kentucky, UConn, Vanderbilt, Iowa.
A couple of things stand out to me about Tennessee. The only ranked win they had was against Iowa in the bowl game. I love what the hawkeyes are about, but they have no offense. It’s painful to watch. The other thing is that Tennessee struggled on the road. They only had four road games and lost three of em, with the lone road win against Kentucky 33-27. The pundits act like the Vols are a juggernaut offensively, and they aren’t. Joe Milton only broke 300 yards passing one time last year, and that was against Vanderbilt.
My take: Given the Vols struggles on the road, Sooner Nation loading for bear for the SEC home opener and the guys will no doubt be ready to play. I have this one as a win for the Sooners.
2. @Auburn. 2023 6-7. Lost their bowl game to Maryland 31-13.
- Losses:
- @Texas A&M 27-10
- Georgia 27-20
- @LSU 48-18
- Ole Miss 28-21
- New Mexico State 31-10
- Alabama 27-24
- Maryland 31-13
- Wins: UMass, Cal, Samford, Missisippi State, Vanderbilt, Arkansas
It’s clear that teams have a hard time playing in Jordan-Hare. Against my better judgement I dated a girl who went to Auburn right out of college years ago, and she was bat-shit when it came to her Tigers. I could never convince her how strange that their chant is War-Eagle, but they’re the tigers. My argument was that they should have just been the eagles. Evidently that’s a touchy subject. Long story short, the only environment like Jordan-Hare that most of us as Sooner fans have experienced regularly was Texas A&M when they were a part of the Big XII. Like Texas A&M, they’re a different team on the road, but when they get you at home it’s a tough out. They lost to Georgia, Alabama and Ole Miss at home by an average of 8 points.
My take: This game will say a lot about how mature the Sooners are as a team. Both teams in my opinion will be 4-0 coming into the matchup, so no doubt that place is gonna be rockin. They always play good defense and have great athletes. Barring turnovers and catastrophic injuries, I expect the Sooners to load up and stop their running game. Historically they’ve struggled with QB play outside of Cam Newton. I think the Sooners win a close one to go to 5-0
3. Texas. 2023 12-2. Lost their playoff bowl game to Washington 37-31.
- Losses:
- Oklahoma 34-30
- Washington 37-31
- Wins: Rice, Alabama, Wyoming, Baylor, Kansas, Houston, BYU, K State, TCU, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State
Undoubtedly Texas is the media darling program each and every offseason. I wonder how much of that is to get people to tune in and click on articles since they have a huge fanbase. They’re “Back” every year, and people always act like they’re the second coming of Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. Before the 2005 Rose Bowl, their national championships were 63, 69 and 70. Don’t get me wrong, they’re a very good program with a ton of resources. I’m biased of course about my perception of them. As K puts it, they’re a bunch of Tea Sips. In last year’s Red River Shootout, the Sooners dominated that game until Lebby started getting conservative. The Longhorns couldn’t match the Sooner’s physicality, and I expect that to continue this year. The Sooners are better defensively, and they’re more talented at the offensive skill positions. I think the Offensive line for 2024 for the Sooners is a push vs 2023 to start with. Like the skill positions, I believe the Sooners have more a more talented group along the offensive line, but how quickly do they gel, and how well do they play under fire? Given Coach Bedenbaugh’s track record of developing good units, I’d expect the Sooners to be better than last year by the time the Shootout rolls around. I like the Sooners in this one if Jackson Arnold can protect the football.
4. South Carolina 2023 5-7. No bowl game
- Losses:
- North Carolina 31-17
- @ Georgia 24-14
- @ Tennessee 41-20
- Florida 41-39
- @ Missouri 34-12
- @ Texas A&M 30-17
- Clemson 16-7
- Wins: Furman, Missisippi State, Jacksonville State, Vanderbilt, Kentucky
The Gamecocks come into Norman a week after the Texas game. Just my opinion, but I think the Sooners will be 6-0 at this point to start the game. There’s always a headscratcher in the season for whatever reason, and off the cuff it seems like this could be that Iowa State, Texas Tech or K-State game where they come in and give the Sooners fits. I like the Sooners to win, but I don’t feel good about it. Again it will come down to how mature the team is.
5. Ole Miss 2023 11-2. Beat Penn State 38-25 in the Peach Bowl
- Losses
- @ Alabama 24-10
- @ Georgia 52-17
- Wins: Mercer, Tulane, Georgia Tech, LSU, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, UL Monroe, Missisippi State, Penn State
Ole Miss only played 5 road games last year, losing two of them to Georgia & Alabama. Their three ranked wins were 37-20 over then #24 Tulane, 55-49 over then #13 LSU & finally 38-25 over #10 Penn State in the Peach Bowl. I expect Ole Miss to be somewhere between 7-0 to 5-2 going into this thing. Their only tough game leading up to this will be @ LSU two weeks before the Sooners roll into town. This one makes me nervous. It will be a big game. The Sooners could be in the same boat, where they could both be undefeated going into this. To this point in the season, I think that Jaxson Dart will be the 2nd best QB the Sooners will have faced to this point in the season, with #1 being Quinn Ewers. Ole Miss hit the portal hard in the offseason to upgrade their defense. Offensively they look to be very good, and will match up well with anyone they play. This one will come down to who’s the healthiest at the time, and who turns over the ball more. I just don’t have a good feeling about this game as I sit here. I’ll lean as a toss-up to a loss.
6. Missouri 2023 11-2. Beat Ohio State 14-3 in the Cotton Bowl
- Losses
- LSU 49-39
- @ Georgia 30-21
- Wins: South Dakota, Middle Tennessee, #15 K-State, Memphis #24 Kentucky, #13 Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas & #7 Ohio State
Mizzou Had a few nice wins last year when you really look at it against some decent teams. They looked solid against Georgia, and made them a little uncomfortable in early November in Athens. In my opinion, the heart and soul of their team, running back Cody Schrader, has since moved onto the NFL, but the cupboard is far from bare. Everybody’s all american receiver Luther Burden is the headliner for the tigers along with Sooner transfers Theo Wease & Cayden Green. They brought in a new defensive coordinator and are renovating the north end of the stadium above the big M made out of rocks. Sam Walton’s daughter and her family are huge donor’s to the program now that NIL is legal. Much like Oregon with all of the Nike Money, Wal-Mart money is nothing to sniff at. They’ll be an annoyance for years to come if they have success like they did last year. All that being said, I think that the Sooners have this one circled on their schedule. The guys and the coaches no doubt will be pissed that Green left for Columbia, and no doubt will come to Missouri loaded for bear. I got the Sooners winning this one.
7. Alabama 2023. 11-2. Lost in overtime to eventual National Champion Michigan 27-20 in the Rose Bowl Semifinal.
- Losses
- Texas 34-24
- Michigan 27-20
- Wins: Middle Tennesee, South Florida, Ole Miss, Missisippi State, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Tennessee, LSU, Kentucky, Chattanooga, Auburn & Georgia in the SEC Championship
What can you say about the Tide that hasn’t already been said. This will be a clash of the blue bloods the Saturday before thanksgiving. Their schedule is tough as well facing off against Wisconsin, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mizzou, LSU, Oklahoma and Auburn. It could be a game for the ages if somehow both teams arrive to game 11 undefeated. It could happen, but I’m not sure it will. Alabama is supremely talented all over the field. If they have a weakness this year it’s in the secondary. I’ve never been too crazy about Jalen Milroe as a qb, so how much he’s grown will say a lot about their success. Gone is arguably the greatest coach of all time, Nick Saban, and in comes Kalen DeBoer over from Washington. Normal JY damns the torpedoes and predicts a Sooner win here, but I’m not sure . My gut feeling says the Sooners lose a close one here.
8. LSU 2023 10-3 Beat Wisconsin in the Reliaquest Bowl 35-31
- Losses
- Florida State 45-24
- @ Ole Miss 55-49
- @ Alabama 42-28
- Wins: Grambling, Missisippi State, Arkansas, Missouri, Auburn, Army, Florida, Georgia State, Texas A&M, Wisconsin
From a high level view, LSU looks like a paper tiger, no pun intended. Gone is their Heisman winning QB, and when you really look at their schedule last year their only ranked win was @ Missouri. Florida State dominated them in the opening game and the tigers were actually up against Bama until the middle of the 3rd quarter. Then the Tide scored three unanswered TD’s to put the Tigers away. LSU by everyone’s standards will have one of the top two offensive lines this season along with Georgia in the SEC. Playing most likely a night game in Baton Rouge will be awesome to see. I’m to old to go down there and navigate all of the drunk Cajuns, but they’ll be ready for us no doubt. They’ll likely have a couple of losses by then and it could be a game where both teams are vying for a CFP spot. I’ve got the Sooners beating LSU in Baton Rouge in a close one.
How I see it is that the Sooners will go 10-2 next year with Losses @ Ole Miss and Bama at Home. I think that the Sooners match up well against anyone they play against. They’ll likely face the best defense in the conference each week right there in Norman. The more I look at the offensive line and hear about work habits of the guys this summer I’m excited to see them this fall. I think they’ll be pretty good. The homer in me wants the Sooners to go scorched earth and run the table. I’d love it and would love to shut up all of this SEC crap. Even with that I’m not sure that’s all that realistic. The Sooners have the talent to win any game they play, still there’s a lot of moving parts. New O-Coordinator, New D-Coordinator, New QB, 4 new OL starters. In rare instances the stars align and all those things can come together. I’d love to see it happen, but will they stay healthy? Will they play smart? I can’t wait for the season to get here.
Sourced | Sooners Very Comfortable with Cornerback Depth
– Charlie S – Posted on: July 23, 2024
Super K and I were comparing notes recently and one of the first topics both of us brought up was what we had heard from our sources in regard to the cornerback room.
***Sources tell us that OU really loves their depth at corner and the diversity in the room should shine this season in the SEC.
***Not only is a healthy Gentry Williams welcomed back, but sources continue to tell both K and me that the Sooners are very high on freshmen Eli Bown and Devon Jordan.
***Remember, when Brent’s defense was in high gear at Clemson, it featured a lockdown corner allowing the defense to focus its resources elsewhere.
***Gentry has the tools to be that guy and the length and experience from the rest of the room provide some different looks for OU to throw at opposing offenses.
***But the biggest thing that we keep hearing is how much deeper the room is than in previous years.
Recruiting Events This Week | Visitors of Note
– Charlie S – Posted on: July 24, 2024
The NCAA dead period is lifted for the last week of July before it goes back into effect on August 1st, and the Sooners will take advantage of the pause and host two recruiting events this week.
On Thursday, OU will host a group of ’26 and ’27 recruits for their ‘Sooners Under the Stars’ event.
On Friday Oklahoma will host another ‘Party at the Palace’ event which will consist mainly of the class of ’25 commits.
As you know, we don’t dive too deep into future classes until the current class is signed, sealed, and delivered, but these events are noteworthy nonetheless.
For the ‘Sooners under the Stars, OU will have all three of their current ’26 commits on campus.
QB Jadon O’Neal, RB Jonathan Hatton, and TE Ryder Mix will serve as ambassadors to the group of ’26 and ’27 recruits who will be on hand.
Some of the notable names who will be in attendance for the ‘Sooners Under the Stars’ event are:
ATH Brandon Arrington – La Mesa, CA
DL Tank Carrington – Las Vegas, NV
EDGE Titan Davis – Saint Louis, MO
S Markel Ford – Mesquite, TX
DL Deuce Geralds – Suwanee, GA
EDGE Hunter Higgins – Wichita, KS
OL Toa Katoa – Euless, TX
DB Xavier Lherisee – Melbourne, FL
OL Felix Ojo – Mansfield, TX
DL Tahj Overton – Owasso, OK
WR Jaylen Pile – Dallas, TX
OL Max Robinson – Derby, KS
There will be additional visitors, but I wanted to give you the flavor of a heavy DL and OL presence along with some of the bigger names who will be in attendance.
***As for the Party at the Palace event on Friday…this will be the usual ‘Family event’ which used to be the original ‘ChampUBBQ’ where OU commits and their families spend the day with the Sooners staff and players.
Typically, in years past, this event included commits and priority targets still on the board, this year all the visitors that I have confirmed are already committed to OU.
I have not heard of any uncommitted ’25 prospects who will be in attendance. I do have some feelers out on the remaining ’25 targets and will let you know if any confirm their attendance.
The Latest | Michael Fasusi
– Charlie S – Posted on: July 25, 2024
Just wanted to pass along a note I recently picked up from an independent source on Sooners priority OL target Michael Fasusi.
As you know, Super K previously reported that we believe OU is leading at this time. Back on July 9th, K wrote:
“Was essentially told there are two fronts where the Sooners have an edge on the competition (which is mostly Texas).
First, the appeal of Bedenbaugh as a developer.
Secondly, I am told the parents are conservative and much prefer Norman and the lifestyle at OU vs some of the bigger city campuses.”
Source I spoke with echoed those sentiments and was even more bullish on OU’s chances with Fasusi as they told me “I think he has already made his decision and it’s gonna take something big to move him off OU”.
In other words, we will all still be sitting here waiting on the other shoe to drop…and that shoe would come in the form of a massive NIL offer.
Source told me that OU has presented a more than generous NIL vision to the Fasusi camp but they also noted that it was their opinion that right now, the NIL equation is not running this recruitment.
I guess the question is, if he has already made his decision (which I cannot verify, but that is one source’s opinion), is there really an offer out there that would sway things at this time?
