Greetings, Sooner fans. Our boys are 2-0 after a "little close for comfort" but spread beating win over SMU last week. SMU proved to be a worthy foe and it was nice test for the crimson and cream. This week, it's a "road game" for the Sooners as they travel up I-44 to face Tulsa. This is a road game in name only as the Sooner following in Tulsa is quite large and I'm sure many in OKC are happy to make a short little trip for this one.
Tulsa is led by for Sooner coach Kevin Wilson and he, by all accounts, inherits a Tulsa football team whose cupboard is as bare as a Venezuelan super market. Wilson also led one of the least potent offenses of the Bob Stoops era. This one should be a blowout.
OFFENSE
Frankly, I'm a bit flummoxed by Jeff Lebby's offensive philosophy. He LOVES to run the ball and will do so, apparently, until someone wiggles the wires plugged into the back of his neck. Hey, I love running the football. It's a nice flex to be able to do it at will. But it also exists to open up the passing game. In Jeff Lebby's world this often means play action with a check down to some short slant.
Now, what I'm confused about is if this is Jeff Lebby's world view or is it what peak Dillon Gabriel looks like? It is flabbergasting how few shots down the field the Sooners try. I'm inclined to blame Dillon Gabriel but then you think back to last year and how the Sooners used Gavin Freeman. Every time he was on the field they ran a jet sweep with him and rarely, if ever, deviated from it or used it to set up something else.
Last week, the Sooners brought in Jackson Arnold on 3rd or 4th and short. Every single time they ran Jackson Arnold. Fine, but why not use it to do something different? It never happened. It's predictable and that makes me think this is all Jeff Lebby.
Anyway, today I'd like to see some kind of evolution beyond running 19 times in a row and/or taking some shots off of play action. It would be blissful to see Dillon Gabriel go through some progression and take some chances.
Or, here's my pet theory, continue to use Jackson Arnold but keep him in as the "hot hand" and let him run the offense for a series at a time. Maybe he'll keep Gabriel on the sidelines without straight benching him.
My OPOG today is Gavin Sawchuk. He hasn't had much of a chance to get on the field much since he's been working his way back from injury but I think today he gets some touches and makes the most of it.
DEFENSE
These guys are playing well enough to get the job done. 11 total points through two games is stingy. Anything under 24 should be enough to win any game. This week they need to continue to find their playmakers and quit being their own worst nightmares.
SMU's best drives last week relied on the Sooners committing dumb penalties, including a sideline infraction in the middle of the damn play. You never see that and it's unconscionable. They have to clean it up today.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention how excited I am for the future of this defense. They are markedly improved across the board from last year. And they are very young. The linebackers are looking great.
Keep in mind last week that the Sooners were without Dasan McCullough (So) and they lost their starting CB Gentry Williams on the first drive. They might Penalties aside, they didn't miss a beat.
Today my DPOG is Kip Lewis. He's one of those young linebackers that is looking really good. He's super fast and had 9 tackles last week, second only to Danny Stutsman who had 17 fucking tackles. He's a machine.
SCORE
OU is a 28 point favorite and that seems about right. I don't have confidence the Sooners will cover. See above my doubts about Jeff Lebby's football intellect. He seems like he's happy to run the ball so long as the Sooners have the lead. I hope I'm wrong. I hate that kind of football. No amount of points can ever be enough if you're a Sooner fan. We just don't trust the D enough yet.
The Sooners will win comfortably, however, something like 42-17.
Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner
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