The Sooners travel to the bustling burg of Ames, IA, today to take on the Cyclones. If you were unaware that OU lost its only regular season game of last season against Iowa State, simply peek through your blinds, there is likely a bi-plane over your house dragging a banner behind it saying as much. In short, even in Louisiana I've been beaten over the head with this detail. It was a perfect storm of a bench QB being much better than even his own coaches thought, and a (marginal) defense being completely unprepared for him. This season, it sounds like (un)Kempt(beaver) may not even play due to injury. Regardless, I don't think the element of surprise will rear its ugly head again.
Last week was a win, but if there is such a thing, it was the worst kind of win. The kind where your Heisman hopeful (read: dominant) RB goes down for the year "with a knee." The "experts" and even Lincoln Riley seem to have downplayed this injury quite a bit. I was talking with Mitch earlier this week and we both agree that replacing Rod is no easy task. Yes, there are other weapons on the offense and even in the backfield, but he's clearly the best back on the team. That's not a loss that goes unnoticed. The question today is how much will Trey Sermon step up and can Kyler Murray take the next step as a passer to relieve some of the pressure off of the run game. Couple that with the first road test of the year and this is no key party in terms of guaranteed success.
Offense
So far the offense has (shockingly) not missed a beat from last year. It's a different style, and we can credit wunderkind Lincoln Riley for putting his guys in a position to succeed. The ball has been spread around nicely, presumably making it difficult for defenses to take away one particular weapon. As I mentioned before, injury has done those defenses a favor in taking away a big one. But I think Riley will adapt and I'm going to go with Trey Sermon today. I think he's heard the doubters and moreover, I think Riley wants an "I told you so" statement that the running game is still strong. This plays well for Sermon's confidence and for future opponents to know that even without Rod they'd better be ready for a run game. Sermon goes for 100+ and 2 (that's right, 2) TDs today.
Defense
If I were writing this same crap 15 years ago, defense would've been the fun part to pick. This season, albeit against 2 (so far) questionable opponents, the defense has looked...has looked...halfway decent? There, the kiss of death, so far I've dealt it to two players, now why not the whole unit? Today will present a tougher test I think, and the road factor always makes it tough, particularly if they have success early. One guy I've liked so far is Curtis Bolton. He beat out all-world recruit Caleb Kelly and has played well so far. Basically, I just guaranteed that he's out with severe food poisoning or he's spontaneously combusted.
Score
While the Sooners have given plenty of reason for optimism in the first two games, this is on the road against a pretty tough opponent. Iowa State has a good coach and these conference games are always a challenge. I think revenge is on the minds of the players for last season however, and I think Riley learned from last year that every opponent has to be taken very seriously. The Sooners withstand a close first half against a fired-up Cyclone team and pull away late to take this one, 41-24.
Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner
Last week was a win, but if there is such a thing, it was the worst kind of win. The kind where your Heisman hopeful (read: dominant) RB goes down for the year "with a knee." The "experts" and even Lincoln Riley seem to have downplayed this injury quite a bit. I was talking with Mitch earlier this week and we both agree that replacing Rod is no easy task. Yes, there are other weapons on the offense and even in the backfield, but he's clearly the best back on the team. That's not a loss that goes unnoticed. The question today is how much will Trey Sermon step up and can Kyler Murray take the next step as a passer to relieve some of the pressure off of the run game. Couple that with the first road test of the year and this is no key party in terms of guaranteed success.
Offense
So far the offense has (shockingly) not missed a beat from last year. It's a different style, and we can credit wunderkind Lincoln Riley for putting his guys in a position to succeed. The ball has been spread around nicely, presumably making it difficult for defenses to take away one particular weapon. As I mentioned before, injury has done those defenses a favor in taking away a big one. But I think Riley will adapt and I'm going to go with Trey Sermon today. I think he's heard the doubters and moreover, I think Riley wants an "I told you so" statement that the running game is still strong. This plays well for Sermon's confidence and for future opponents to know that even without Rod they'd better be ready for a run game. Sermon goes for 100+ and 2 (that's right, 2) TDs today.
Defense
If I were writing this same crap 15 years ago, defense would've been the fun part to pick. This season, albeit against 2 (so far) questionable opponents, the defense has looked...has looked...halfway decent? There, the kiss of death, so far I've dealt it to two players, now why not the whole unit? Today will present a tougher test I think, and the road factor always makes it tough, particularly if they have success early. One guy I've liked so far is Curtis Bolton. He beat out all-world recruit Caleb Kelly and has played well so far. Basically, I just guaranteed that he's out with severe food poisoning or he's spontaneously combusted.
Score
While the Sooners have given plenty of reason for optimism in the first two games, this is on the road against a pretty tough opponent. Iowa State has a good coach and these conference games are always a challenge. I think revenge is on the minds of the players for last season however, and I think Riley learned from last year that every opponent has to be taken very seriously. The Sooners withstand a close first half against a fired-up Cyclone team and pull away late to take this one, 41-24.
Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner
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