Tulsa

 Welcome back loyal reader(s). For the second year in a row, the Sooners started off looking like a juggernaut and followed that up by falling back to earth in disappointing fashion. So far, the Sooners have managed to stave off a bad loss, but let's be real, SMU is not a great football team. The sort of effort OU displayed last week would have them destroyed versus a better opponent. I've minced words somewhat and tried to look at the situation through the most optimistic lens I could conjure up, but the reality is Dylan Gabriel sucks. His arm is shit and he has zero ability to go through a progression. If his first option isn't there he either forces the throw anyway or tries to run. This seems like it would make a defensive game plan exceedingly easy to come up with. It's a matter of time of before Jackson Arnold takes the starting role, I only worry that it will take a couple of losses before this happens. And on that note, I truly hate the Arnold "belldozer" look that OU ran seeminly 25 times without any success last week. What a joke.

Defensively it wasn't much better. The front four has zero ability to get any pressure on the QB. Mind you this is coming against a presumably mediocre SMU offensive line. Even with the blitz they seldom "got home". Give any FBS QB unlimited time to throw and he is going to pick you apart. Fact. The middle of the defense appears to be the strongest unit with Stutsman and Kanek both looking very solid. The DBs are difficult to assess due to the aforementioned complete lack of pressure. No one can expect them to cover for 30 seconds on every snap, it just isn't possible. Suffice to say that the warts that popped up against Arkansas State became more evident last week and will only continue to do so unless major corrections are made. My fear is that the talent isn't there to make those corrections.

Offense

On the positive side of things, the skill positions appear to be pretty solid on offense. Aside from Gabriel, the WRs and RBs all seems to have capable players and plenty of depth. The TE position would be the one spot where it seems they might be a little understaffed. Stogner is solid but certainly hasn't shown to be a difference maker at this point. One of the most pleasant surprises has been Tawee Walker. The fact that he is getting reps over big time recruits says a lot. That he is clearly out playing those guys says even more. With that in mind I'm going with him to be my OPG. He is not razzle dazzle by any means, but he is solid in all facets of the offense and always seems to get positive yards when given the ball.

Defense

So far this has been the Danny Stutsman show. Dude is a menace out there. He is so high energy and always seems to be around the ball. On a medicore unit with few (if any) stars he is a definite bright spot. Until proven otherwise, he is my DPG.

Score

Tulsa does not appear to be a good football team. They got completely dismantled by #8 Washington last week. There is the in-state rivalry aspect, but let's be real that is one-sided in the sense that the Sooners don't give a shit about Tulsa. The line is -28 for OU. I expect this game to be frustrating in all of the worst ways of underperforming. Tulsa will likely play their best game of the season and OU will oblige. But Tulsa is just too undertalented to make this a close game. Sooners win 41-17. 

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner