West Virginia

So far the Sooners have played three games, and so far they've managed to win all three. But aside from the western carolina cupcakes, it's been pretty consistently ugly. Nevertheless, no one looks at how much you win by, as long as you win. Let's hope the Sooners can manage to continue that trend today. Mostly, OU has been a pretty frustrating team to watch. They still give up way too much on third and fourth down and, uncharacteristically, they've struggled on offense. Spencer Rattler has been, umm, inconsistent. He makes way too many stupid decisions that either stall the offense or, worse, lead to turnovers. With the running attack OU has, the passing game should be pretty open. Yet Nebraska sat back in a soft pass defense all day and OU never really took advantage. West Virginia comes in today with a much better defense than Nebraska had, expect more of the same until OU proves they have an answer for it. 

Offense

Coming off of the worst scoring total in five years, OU has a lot to accomplish today. They need to prove that was an aberration and they need to prove that they can score regardless of the defense in front of them. West Virginia has one of the best defenses in the country, it will be tough sledding. My instinct is just to trust that Kennedy Brooks will do his thing and roll up big yards and a couple of TDs. Instead I'm going to outsmart myself and go with Jadon Haselwood. He's starting to show some chemistry with Rattler and I think today is the day he breaks out.

Defense

This is one of the stranger OU defenses I've seen. They looked like disinterested steaming turds against Tulane, they shut out Western Carolina and last week they gave up so many third downs yet held Nebraska to 16 points. I prefer "bend but don't break" to bend and break. But, how about we give neither bending nor breaking a try for a change. I'd love to be well acquainted with the Mountaineer punter before this is over. I'm going to mix it up a little and go with Delarrin Turner-Yell. He's not afraid to come up and tattoo a ball carrier and he's always around the play. I think he gets a pick today and leads the D.

Score

OU is somehow favored by 17.5. WVU just beat 15th ranked VaTech and boasts an experienced QB, a very good RB and that stout defense. This will be a big test for OU. I don't think they cover, and I don't think it's pretty, but 4-0 sounds awfully nice. OU ekes it out 31-30 with a late score.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner

Oklahoma Sooners versus West Virginia Mountaineers

Last week against Nebraska the defense proved its mettle and it was the offense that had fans pacing the floor. I'm pretty sure it was a top 3 prediction failure for yours truly. I predicted the Sooners would put up 63 and watched as Nebraska played a ball control game while Spencer Rattler looked like he was playing a playground game (in the poor decision making, fuck around sort of way. It was near worst case scenario as the Huskers played way above the heads while, fortunately from the Sooners, making more self inflicting errors than the Sooners).  The Sooners scored 23 and won 23-16.

 West Virginny comes to Norman today to take on the undefeated Sooners. The Mountaineers are fresh off an upset of Virginia Tech. Nebraska wound up being a good test. The Mountaineers absolutely are.

OFFENSE

It's hard to explain Spencer Rattler but it's almost as if his decision making is based off what throw he wants to make instead of just making the right throw on a given play. As if taking what is given to him is too boring. He needs to do everything with flair.

Pretending this to actually be the case, he needs to learn that by playing the system that he will drastically improve his value as a quarterback by taking the throws that are there as often as possible rather than constantly trying to do something gaudy. Hopefully there is enough on film at this point to be able to point out these obvious easier throws. He needs to bore the hell out of himself and make some smart throws today. I mean, I bet he could put a scare in the 80% completion percentage mark if he'd participate in my plan. He should be able to make easy throws that make the offense look like a 7 on 7 drill.

He's my OPOG because I really do want to see him show a command of the offense. 

DEFENSE

Statistically, this defense is everything we could hope for. There are areas that they can improve, sure, like tackling, but defenders (even and especially Pat Fields) seem to be in the right place to make a play more often than not. It could be that I'm high but I don't recall a completely busted defensive play to  date that resulted in a long touchdown. 

West Virginny seems to rely a lot on their run game. The Sooners have been very good at stopping the run. That's the difference today and so I'm going Perrion Winfrey for my DPOG. He's a beast and can ruin some running plans for sure if he balls out. Fumbles seem to be our jam, too, so let's have a portion or three of that. 

Also, I think there are a few guys who were banged up last week who will be back this week. Billy Bowman chief among them. That will help.

THE SCORE

This matchup is probably second on my list of Big 12 games that I'll miss when the Sooners move to the SEC. The states of Oklahoma and West Virginia are constantly battling for rating 49th or 50th (or 1st or 2nd) depending on the  statistic. There are few states we can say, "At least we don't live there" so I think there's some pride on the line in this one. 

Today, the Sooners get back above 40 on offense and the defense plays well enough to carry it under the lights, in PRIMETIME. I'm going Sooners 42, Mountaineers 24.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Nebraska

The Sooners welcome back an old rival today in the Nebraska Cornhuskers. This once storied, hard fought rival has all but withered and died since Nebraska left the Big 12 for the Big 10. Similarly, both teams have went on different trajectories since that time as well. Nebraska has faltered and fallen into steady mediocrity, never really contending for the National Title, nor the Big 10. OU has been nothing short of dominant in the Big 12, and while the National Title has proved elusive, they've made to the playoff multiple times as one of the top 4 teams in the country.  Scott Frost, an old OU nemesis as a player, leads the Huskers into Norman today as solid underdogs, in search of big road win and upset. 

I'm still not sure what OU is. They looked disinterested and underwhelming (as I mentioned last week) in barely beating an overmatched Tulane squad. Then last week absolutely lambasted Western Carolina by 76, covering the spread and then some. In other words, exactly what was expected. Today will certainly be more of a barometer than last week, though I'm not certain if Nebraska is better or worse than Tulane. 

Offense

After a wobbly, turnover laden game in week 1, Rattler had the dominant game everyone expected last week. In fact, you could name several players on the offense as MVP and not be wrong. I don't expect anything of that caliber this week. But, if guys do their jobs and take what is there, they should be able to put some points on a Nebraska defense that is a shell of the former vaunted Blackshirts. Today, I like Marvin Mims to have a big day. I think he stretches the defense and puts up big numbers with over 100+ receiving yards and 2 TDs. 

Defense

Pitching a shutout never hurts, and hopefully it means that week 1 was the wake-up call we hoped for. Adrian Martinez is solid, and he's the type of QB that gave OU trouble in the past as a solid runner that can throw it as well. The defense will have a solid challenge today. I like Isaiah Thomas to contain Martinez and the Nebraska RB's, and even produce a sack today. 

Score

The Sooners are favored by 22.5 today. I think Nebraska plays better than they have been and keeps this tighter than the Sooner faithful would like. Sooners manage to pull out the win today, 41-31.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner

Oklahoma Sooner versus Nebraska Cornhuskers

Welcome to the show, friends. It's week three for the Sooners and the Nebraska Cornhuskers are making a reluctant return to Norman in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Game of the Century. The Huskers tried to bail on this game on account of the fact they have been setting football back since they made the move to the Big 10. Alas, the Sooners wouldn't have it. 

The Sooners are coming off a win against FCS foe Western Carolina. It was a game the Sooners needed to look sharp in and managed to exceed those expectations. It was a testament to the Sooners for being interested (which makes me mad to even need to type it). 

The worst case scenario for the Sooners is that the Huskers manage to use the pomp and history of this one to rise to a level factors beyond what they have demonstrated in the last decade. A once a decade performance need not be seen this weekend in Norman.

OFFENSE

On offense today I'm looking for another step forward for Spencer Rattler wherein he needs to find that reliable second wideout. Marvin Mims is clearly his favorite target and, of course, why not. But after that it's flinging spaghetti at the wall. It's not a bad thing to have so many options but who is the safety blanket? I'm thinking it's some version of Brayden Willis, Theo Wease or Jaden Haselwood. Haselwood, in particular, seems ready to get more action. Also, while not a big target, Mario Williams seems keenly interested in showing what he can do. I'm going with him for my OPOG. Something tells me he's going to show out on national tv. 

In other news on offense, Eric Grey looked great last week but he still needs to be used as changeup to Kennedy Brooks. Brooks is the running equivalent of a quick slant in Sooner offenses of yore. You're going to get positive yards every time and more often than not you'll get more than that. Sometimes much more! I think Brooks gets 15-20 carries today.

DEFENSE

Earlier this week, Alex Grinch called out by name most of the returning players from last year and not in a good way. So I am expecting someone among that bunch to come out with fire lit. I'll say it's David Ugwoegbu (Originally spelled Ogboegbo by me before looking it up).  He's my DPOG today and will so earn it by keeping a good eye on Husker quarterback Adrian Martinez.

Martinez seems to be the entire Husker offense so as he goes, they go. 

Keep an eye on this dude named Danny Stutsman. I may doom him to redshirt by mere utterance of his name, but he's a freshman linebacker who is second on the team in tackles thus far and out of his ten, eight are solo. He looks like a guy who Alex Grinch needs to find a way to get on the field more. 

SCORE

The Huskers are hot trash and have been for nigh on a decade now.  The fans need to enjoy the pomp and circumstance of this one but the Sooners need to TCB (take care of business). Tulane is legit probably better than Nebraska. I think the Sooner D takes a big step today and makes life miserable for Martinez and the Sooner offense looks trim and efficient on their way to putting up about 56 on the 50th anniversary of the big game.

I like the Sooners big. 56-24. Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner.

Oklahoma Sooners versus Western Carolina Catamounts

Hello Sooner fans and welcome to week 2 where the Sooners find themselves 1-0. As I write this, Ohio State has lost to Oregon. So, while the win against Tulane was an underwhelming and lackluster performance from the Sooners, I'd still rather be 1-0. Nobody will remember that close contest in three weeks.

Speaking of uninspired, how about that Western Carolina matchup. The Catamounts are 50 point underdogs and so help me if the Sooners don't beat it. 

OFFENSE

The Sooner offense comes into this one needing to find a rhythm and the offensive line has to take a sizeable step forward, double post-haste. Apparently Center Andrew Raym only played a handful of snaps last week and is getting the start today. Hopefully that will help the running game which I would love to see move the ball at will. 

Spencer Rattler needs to put up something gaudy today to keep himself on track. I'd love to see some fire out of him. Sometimes he seems bored or nonchalant and he's the guy who can keep the offense playing with an edge. Gabe Brkic being the Big 12 player of the week is like a Willy Mays Hays basket catch. 

Kennedy Brooks is my OPOG. Keep him healthy today and sit him after he gets his 150 in three quarters. The objective of this one needs to be getting the line some confidence and KB's sea legs fully underneath him. My backup choice for OPOG would be Marvin Mims who could easily go for 200 receiving yards himself. 

DEFENSE

I've attempted to rewatch the Tulane game and the D didn't seem that bad in the first half. It seems like the whole team took the second half off along with Sooner nation. These gentlemen need to play 60 and be able to get off the field on third and medium-long and fourth down. 

Today is a chance to play a shit ton of people and start figuring out who wants to be out there early and often. For my DPOG I'll go Isiah Thomas. He stood out to me last week and I'm riding the hot hand. 

THE SCORE

If the Sooners can feign interest for 60 minutes today they should be able to win 63-10. The worst nightmare would be injuries and/or a rash of penalties. This is nothing more than a tuneup and should be treated as such. I think they can turn last week into a positive because Lord knows they couldn't walk away from that without having plenty to improve upon. Let's see it today. TCB and be crisp.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner.

Western Carolina

 Last week might have broken a record. The oft-mentioned record for most precipitous fall of my expectations, hopes and dreams of a solid Sooners team on both sides of the ball. It was at a nadir about half way through the first quarter. Then the second quarter happened and by half time my pucker factor was nearly zero. And yet, that was only the beginning. The defense did very OU things all the way through the game, namely maintaining their unprecedented ability to never get off of the fucking field with a key stop. But, the particularly maddening part is that the offense was unable to punch it in the end zone with several second quarter opportunities. Then, put up a staggeringly shitty performance in the second half. It turns out that an inability to score coupled with an inability to stop the other team is a 3 michelin star recipe for shitting the bed and blowing a lead, no matter how comfortable it might've seemed. 

Suffice to say, I was disgusted with the debacle we saw last week. And though I had certainly been drinking the proverbial kool-aid that this might be the Sooners year to compete for a national title, I've since spit it out and started chugging my patented doomsday grog. They have, presumably, one week to get their shit sorted on defense, stop throwing ridiculously bad interceptions, and get the ball in the end zone. The season isn't lost by any stretch, but it will be in short order if dramatic improvements aren't made on both sides of the ball. 

Who is Western Carolina you ask? I surmise they are in North, or possibly even South Carolina. If I had to guess, on the western aspect of the appropriate state. 

Offense

Spencer Rattler did not look all that great last week. The talent was never in question, and I was happy to see him tuck the ball and get some yardage with his legs last week. But these horrid interceptions that plagued him early last year will cost this team big games unless they are corrected. Today seems like a good opportunity to do that. While Kennedy Brooks was a beast last week, and I expect more of the same today, I'm going to go with Rattler for my OPG today. I think he rights the ship and cleans up the mistakes.

Defense

My god that was painful to watch. I appreciate the turnovers, those were huge and in the end, the reason the Sooners won. But it would be nice be able to generate pressure without blitzing, and even nicer to not leave WRs completely uncovered on obvious passing downs. I'm not completely demoralized by this defense yet, but I'm damn close. I really liked what I saw out of Perrion Winfrey at the end of last year. He's a big man and I like him to get a couple of sacks today.

Score

OU is favored by 50.5 today! After last week, I can't imagine doing enough of a 180 to cover that monster spread. But, I still think it's a drubbing. I'll take OU today 52-10. Let's get the bus back on the express route. 

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner.

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Tulane Green Wave

Welcome back, Sooner fans. The world seems to be going to hell in a hand basket* as I type this but football is moving forward. Football will always be there. Speaking of forward, forward and upward is the trajectory of our Sooners and, if you can believe it, expectations and hype are higher than any year in recent memory. The Sooners take on the Tulane Green Wave in week 1.  Spencer Rattler is the early odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. The Sooner D, fresh off an ass beat of Florida in the Cotton Bowl, look as though they may not give up even a first down, much less a point all season. This in spite of notable departures at key positions in Country Music and PRCA Champion Ronnie Perkins and defensive backs Tre Brown and Tre Norwood.

Alas, the hype is much deserved. Spencer Rattler is back and should make a noticeable leap, the mere thought of which is kind of bananas. And he's surrounded, as per usual, with dynamic playmakers like Marvin Mims and Kennedy Brooks (who should be in incredible shape after a year off). It is with regret I do have to mention that dumbassery has negatively impacted this side of the ball with Trejan Bridges, Seth McGowan and Mikey Henderson all running afoul of the law and Marcus Major flunking his classes. All of these guys would have seen the field a lot. So it goes. 

OFFENSE

The Spencer Rattler leap is going to be fun to watch. The key to it happening is going to be making sure he doesn't get into any lulls where he's trying to do too much too fast. He needs rhythm. The addition of Mario Williams at wide receiver should help.

I'm also keenly interested in the running back group. They are thin and led by Kennedy Brooks. He took last year off because of Covid. Eric Gray is his backup and comes from Tennessee. Then there's.. nobody. I imagine Jeremiah Hall is going to get a lot of action. I'm not saying he's Rhamondre 2.0 but if you asked Rhamondre to play TE he could do it and he would look like Jeremiah Hall. That's trouble if utilized correctly.

For my OPOG I'm going Spencer. It's opening day. He's the Heisman front runner. Let's do this. 

DEFENSE

Expectations are sky high for this group which is a nice change. There are key pieces to replace in the secondary but it looks like the DJ Grahams and Woodi Washingtons of the world are ready to step up at defensive back.

Today I'm watching the linebackers and nickle spot. There is talk about how the 'backers are some of the best the coaches have ever assembled. Let's see it. I'm going Nik Bonitto, preseason All American, for DPOG. How nice is it to have a front seven that is full of playmakers? Also, interestingly the Sooners feel they have enough depth to use eight guys among the front four. 

As far as nickle goes, Billy Bowman is the guy to watch. Much ballyhooed out of high school, he was expected to see the field on either side of the ball and he's getting his first chance on D replacing departed knucklehead Brendan Radley Hiles. I think he might also be a kick returner. He's a serious athlete.

THE SCORE

It's a shame climate change has moved this game to Norman. That would have been a cool atmosphere in Nola. I don't think it affects the outcome much. I expect the Sooners to cruise with the second unit on offense getting some oohs and aahs in mop up time. If Caleb Williams gets to play that will be must see tv.

I'm going sooner 49, Green Wave 10

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner!

* When I speak of the world going to hell I mean specifically that this past week Hurricane Ida ravaged most of the eastern half of the United States, starting with Louisiana. The Sooners and Green Wave were scheduled to play in New Orleans and now the Sooners get an extra home game. 

Tulane

 Welcome back loyal reader(s)! It is the dawn of yet another season here at The Steamroller. It's been a pretty exciting off-season, which is a relative scale to say the least, and we are on the cusp of another college football season. Since we last were here, our beloved Sooners, and texas have made the decision to move to the SEC. Essentially creating one conference to dominate them all and leaving the rest of the college football landscape to lurk in the shadows. The Big 12, and any lingering remnants of the Big 8 (I'm an old bastard), will finally be extinguished. I'm torn on this because I'm nostalgic, but also realistically this is a good thing for OU. No matter, it will be fun. I digress, on to the season at hand...

OU finds themselves unexpectedly in the friendly confines of Owen Field today. As most (all?, because c'mon, no one reads this that I don't force to) of you know, my wife and I live in New Orleans. The city was hammered by Hurricane Ida last weekend, and large parts of the city still do not have electricity. It's a sad state, but New Orleans is resilient and this too shall pass. In the meantime, a football game at Tulane was not feasible. So, the Green Wave are making their way up to the Sooner State for the season opener. In spite of the fact that OU is surrounded by the most optimism in probably a decade, Tulane is not a pushover. Couple that with a very real rallying point of overcoming a natural disaster to play this game, I think the Sooners have their work cut out for them. 

Offense

The Sooners got some bad news this week when it was announced that potential break-out player, WR Theo Wease would miss "several weeks" with a leg injury. The only silver lining to that is that WR is probably where the Sooners have the most depth. Nevertheless, it's a big loss as Wease is no Judge Smails, i.e. a slouch. In spite of that, the Sooners offense appears to be "loaded." They return almost every major skill player except Rhamondre Stevenson. But, while his loss hurts, they get back Kennedy Brooks (last season opt-out) and raise you one Eric Gray (transfer from Tennessee). Not to mention, the presumptive Heisman favorite Spencer Rattler at QB. I'm fully a firm chub at the thought of this. While I think Rattler has a great game today, I'm picking Kennedy Brooks today. I think by the end of the season that Brooks is established as one of the top 5 backs in the country. He sets the bar today with 100+ rushing yards and a TD. 

Defense

This portion of the column has been such a shitshow the last decade or so that I often don't even bother. However, I think this year might be a little different. Are the Sooners going to be a top 5 defense? No, they are not. But, they don't have to be either. They simply have to be adequate. And I am very optimistic they might actually be adequate. I hope that wasn't the jinx to end them all. Today I like Nik Bonitto. Dude was a beast last year and I think he picks up where he left off and leads a quietly solid defense today.

Score 

The line has OU winning by 32. I love the Sooners and I am cautiously optimistic about the season from a Playoff perspective. But, Tulane has talent.  I like the Sooners to win, but I'm taking Tulane to cover city. OU wins 41-21. It's good to be back.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner