Missouri

The Sooners return home this Saturday for the first conference game of the season. After a huge road win last week, we will look to avoid a letdown this week at home. I think this is an easier game to avoid letting down in due to the fact that Mizzou beat us last season in our first (and only) week as BCS #1 ranked. It was obviously the only game Mizzou was interested in as they subsequently lost a few they shouldn't have and didn't even win the, now obsolete Big 12 North. This is precisely why they never won any Big 12 championships. Circling one middle of the season game as your biggest game of the year sets you up to not give a shit about the others. Anyway, they've been talking shit all week and appear to have a swagger coming into a house where they've not won since 1966. 1966. 

Missouri is probably a little better than they're given credit for ranking-wise (read: unranked). They lost a close one on the road in OT to the only real opponent they've played. Untested as they are this season, they return some pretty nice players, particularly on defense. According to Venables, their front four is tougher than FSU, which may be lip service but even if it is, mentioning that with a straight face says they are fairly legit at the least. Running the ball will be tough, and keeping the heat off the imminently flappable Lonnie will be key to avoiding turnovers and controlling the ball. 

Offensively, Mizzou has a QB that appears to be EJ Manuel with more speed. Not exactly what we would love to face, but he's unproven and appears prone to making some mistakes. He did however, have his best game on the road at ASU which shows he's at least capable of making plays in tough situations. At RB they start a 3rd stringer that is playing due to injuries. He did however, rack up 260+ yards in the first half last week...against FCS opponent Western Illinois. So, I'm not sure how much that means, probably little. 

I think we will be ready, I think our defense should be able to slow them down quite a bit, and I think our offense will be clicking much better than it was last week. All of that, plus the home field advantage will prove too much for Mizzou. As much as the company line is "it's just another game" etc., I think payback is more on the players and coaches minds than they are letting on. I'm pumped, it's another primetime game on national TV and we will come to play.

Offense

After the first two games of the season, we've displayed a pretty balance attack. Lonnie looked average last week which was sadly better than most expected. This is probably why everyone is acting like he played so great. Exceeding expectations always helps. With that said, it's hard to not want to pick a WR as the offensive player of the game. I think I nailed it (patting back) with the Stills pick last week, he saved us really. And the week prior, Broyles dominated. Couple that with the fact that the Missouri secondary appears to be the weakest part of their otherwise solid defense makes one of those two a solid choice. While, I do think one, and maybe both of the receivers will have big games, I'm going with an RB for my pick. I think Dom Whaley once again feeds off the home crowd and comes up big tonight. I love his running style. It's such a great mix of elusiveness, power, speed and has shown a nice ability to break tackles. I think he gets close to 100 yards, but 2 scores give him my player of the game tonight.

Defense

Last week the D looked good, Javon Harris and Tom Wort battled each other to become the first ever most valuable player and least valuable player simultaneously in the same game. Mitch sent me this text during the game which summed it up pretty well "Love Javon Harris. Next series might hate him. PS I might have a heart attack." Not sure how any of this leads to my pick, but I thought it was worth mentioning. While the squad in general doesn't want to mention pay back from last season, one player did. The gist of his comment was that though it might seem strange, he was looking ahead to this game even last week prior to FSU. Though I'm glad I didn't know that last week, it makes me have a chub knowing it now. Further provoking me to full on hard is that the player was Tony Motherfuckin' Jefferson. I think he comes to play, racks up some big tackles and forces a turnover of some fashion.

As for the final score, I think we will struggle a bit at times defensively, not sure why I think this but a hunch I guess. That coupled with  their solid defense prevents a rout. However, I think we turn it on enough that it's not as close as it was last week (I fucking hope not anyway). I think the Sooners win this one 34-17. 

It's payback time, and I for one can't fucking wait.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner