Big day Sooner Nation, nay, HUGE day. Stoops gets the chance to play spoiler for the first time in a BCS game that I can think of off hand. Will the lack of pressure and/or expectations provide enough motivation to not just expect to win by putting on the uniform? Will all of the slights, all of the foregone conclusion speak create a big enough chip on the collective shoulder of Sooner football? Did UCF provide a wake up call for all of the "goliaths" out there? I am skeptical.
The Sooners come in with almost no one giving them chance. The best we can muster from anyone who pretends to know what they're talking about is "they'll play Alabama tougher than people think". That's great, keep that shit coming. I'm sure Bobby's pregame speech will include something about how if we play hard, maintain our assignments, hit 'em in the mouth early, and play Sooner football, we'll keep this thing within 28 points. Or not. Look, I love the "nobody believes in us" card. I'm glad to finally be the ones playing it as well. That said, Alabama is really fucking good. They're better in nearly (if not all of them) every phase of the game. I don't have a great feeling. More accurately I feel like we're going to get stomped on the scrotum.
Sooner nation is riding high after an improbable road win in Bedlam. Against an OSU team we didn't have much business beating. Against an OSU team that is nowhere nearly as good as Alabama. Today is going to take our best game, not of the season, but of the last decade. People seem to forget our offense has been anemic all season. This is the best D we will face. Alabama is hard. End of story.
Offense
People continue to point to the Auburn game as an indicator that Alabama is soft against the run. Hey, we run the ball pretty well, we've got a good chance here. I hope that is true, I'm sure Alabama has heard similar things. I do think that if we go into this thinking Student Body Left, Student Body Right, we're fucked. Yes, I think we need to play ball control, that is essential. The running game is our bread and butter and it will have to be awesome today for us to have a chance. However, if we can't make a few big plays, convert a few long third downs, and keep them honest with the passing game, we're fucked. So, I'm going on a limb here and picking Jalen Saunders. He's been our most electric player the last few weeks. I think he does some explosive things and makes a couple of huge plays.
Defense
This is where things get (even more) dicey. So many guys absolutely have to play well for us to win. We need strong play up front, Chaz "Ass" Tapper et al need to be dominant. On the back end, Aaron "Motherfuckin" Colvin needs to lock down half of the field so safeties can make plays and Gas Rag is as un-Gas Rag as possible. In the middle Frank Shannon has to fly around and bust heads anywhere in the middle of the field. Eric Striker needs to be his hair-on-fire self and have his facemask in McCarron's ass early and often. With all of these guys essential to our success, I still think one guy steps above the others. Dominique Alexander is that guy. I think he's in the backfield, he's a blanket in coverage and he even forces a turnover. America, meet Dominique Alexander.
Score
Oh Billy. Billy-Billy-Billy-Billy-Billy. It's time for Stoops to take the velvet sleeve off of the putter. I'm not going to pretend I feel good about this. They are the better team. Slighted underdogs or not, we have a slim chance of winning this. We'll need big plays, we'll need to get our defense off the field on 3rd down, and we'll need to win the turnover battle (handily, I suspect). I'm not saying those things can't or won't happen, I just think it's a long shot. With all of that doom and gloom in mind, I slowly and proudly extend both of my middle fingers in no particular direction. I think we do what it takes to restore some much-needed respect to our program. Sooners find a way to pull off the stunner, 27-23. Now lets beat the shit out of these rotten fucks.
Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner.
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