Oklahoma Sooner vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

 Happy Saturday, Sooner fans from rainy OKC. The Sooners take on the Gamecocks in Columbia, SC today, fresh off their stinging defeat to the reviled Texas Longhorns. This one could be make or break for the Sooners as 6-1 heading into the gauntlet feels much better than 5-2. Before the season, 100 out of 100 Sooner fans would take 6-1 with Ole Miss coming to town.

Last week what once was maybe suspected was definitely confirmed. The OU offensive line is the weakest unit on this football team. Their inability to create a pocket or play with the physicality required to create a push has resulted in a weak rushing attack and has likely led to a 1:1 TD to INT ratio for a quarterback who already has reckless tendencies. This is not winning football.

OFFENSE

This one relies on John Mateer. He has to have a bounceback game. He has to make smart decisions with the ball. When you are already fighting for every inch, you can't be giving the other team miles firing 8 yard laser beams that bounce off receivers. And you damn sure can't heave prayers in the end zone going into half time when you are in field goal range. 

I don't necessarily pin the INT going into half against the Longhorns on Mateer. It was a moronic decision, yes, but equally stupid was the coaching decision to have the offense on the field in first place. Kick the fucking field goal. Get some points where you can going into half. 

One of the hallmarks of the BV era is end of half ineptitude. It's a real problem that's been documented in this space very often.

Anyhow, John Mateer is my OPOG.

DEFENSE

This group, with the exception of not being able to get off the field in the third quarter last week, played pretty well and showed some pride.

Today, they have to get some turnovers. There's no way around the fact that they need to do all they can to give the offense some kind of advantage. Turnovers that result in a short field is the dream come true.

For DPOG I'll go with Eli Bowen. Hopefully Lanorris Sellers can be pressured into making a dumb throw or two and someone in the back, like EB, can take advantage.

THE SCORE

I'm not optimistic. South Carolina, at home, in a disappointing season, can really use a boost so they'll be highly motivated. They  know from last year they can beat us so we'll be confident.

Today it's about how do the Sooners react after last week. They need to show some pride, grit and character. The offensive line should take what they saw last week on tape very personal. They have to hear the criticism. Show some fucking pride. 

If they rise to the challenge they can obviously beat SC. I think they can go 24-17. Let's get this one before it starts getting for real, for real.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner. 

South Carolina

 This is going to be an exceptionally poor effort from me today as I’m away on vacation. That game last week completely fucking sucked. The boys better get back on track or we’re looking at yet another lost season. Here we go. 

Offense

I’m gonna go Deion Burks. Why? Your guess is as good as mine  

Defense

Kip Lewis? Sure  

Score

I don’t know much about SC beyond their record  I hope we can bounce back and TCB. Sooners win it 27-21.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner 

Oklahoma Sooners vs. texas Longhorns

It's hate week, Sooner fans. The perennially overrated texas Longhorns come limping into the Cotton Bowl today after having been ranked the preseason number 1 team in college football, now unranked, and fresh off a loss to the Florida Gators last week in Gainesville. They are led by the poster child for being overrated, Arch Manning. The talking heads seem to think the Longhorns are going to lock it in and that every humiliating performace from Manning is the one that will light the fire to get him to turn the corner. Maybe they are who they are. Maybe they are coming to regret the deal with the devil they made to get Arch on campus. They are stuck. And today they are fucked.

The Sooners, on the other hand, are flying high. They also have a lot of motivation. Beyond the rivalry, they got smacked last year by the Horns and this Sooners defense must be licking its chops at the opportunity to rush this very average un-texas-like offensive line and the woefully average Arch. 

And oh, by the way, it looks like John Mateer will be giving it a go, which in and of itself, will boost the spirits of Sooner Nation. I am very surprised he's going to give it a shot. I figured the Ole Miss game in two weeks would be a more reasonable target date. Alas, this apparent Alpha doesn't want to miss this one as he understands this is why you come to Oklahoma. This is big time college football.

OFFENSE

The obvious key is Mateer. Is he truly able to give something close to 100%? We've talked about the Sooners running game being key, and it is, but in this one, the odds of victory go up exponentially with Mateer. Mikey Hawkins isn't Him. With Hawkins, the Sooners are stressed to depend on the defense and special teams to hang on and, more likely, have to come up with special play to have any chance at victory. With a healthy Mateer, you have an offense that can play keep away or get up a score or two and then leverage big plays in other areas to provide some cushion.

This will be the best defense Mateer has faced, ate least since Michigan. He has to take care of the football. Hopefully the surgery has improved JM's touch.  

The Tory Blaylock/Jaydn Ott combo doesn't have to be lethal, but they need to be respected and they need to be effective enough that the Sooners don't have to put Mateer in overly risky situations from a re-injury standpoint.

Mateer is my OPOG as long as he plays. Isaiah Sategna III is my backup. Anytime something wild happens on the field this year, it's this guy who's in the camera frame. 

DEFENSE

We're running out of superlatives for this group. They are tops in the country in total defense. They will be motivated after having given up 35 last year against the Longhorns. And they are facing the homeless man's Jackson Arnold in Arch Manning. You think you've seen these guys fly to the football all year, just wait until you see them today.

Steve Sarkisian is a crafty little fucker, though, and I'm sure he'll have a scheme designed to take advantage of our speed and aggressiveness, likely in the form of quick strikes that get a texas WR in the open field against Courtland Guillory. That's what I would do anyhow. He's the closest thing to Gas Rag McGee (patent pending) that this defense has. I say that and believe that he'll be a stud in time. Offenses have to find someone to try to exploit, though. 

They will also have to try to establish some run game and the Sooners, as per usual, will sell out to stop that. It's a simple game, really, where the Longhorns will be in serious trouble if the Sooners can get pressure with four rushers. They've been doing it all season.

I'm tempted to pick someone for my DPOG besides David Stone. If pressed to do so, I'd say R Mason Thomas, a guy who shows up big in big moments. However, I'm committed to Stone and his ability to disrupt right up the gut. He demands double teams and then is able to beat them. That's like having an extra rusher right there. Huge. 

THE SCORE

OU is bringing it's most complete football team to Dallas since the early 2000's. Those games featured OU teams with a superior quarterback and a better defense. This team is both those things plus, as we saw last week, difference makers in special teams with Sategna and quality punting and kicking. 

With Mateer being hopefully OK, Hawkins being a sub-optimal solution if not, and Arch Manning on the other side, the Sooners have what it takes to gut one out if need be. If OU can force punts at close to the rate they have all season and Sategna can flip the field position, the Sooners have a kicker and defense that can win a knife fight.

The fact the Longhorns are favored shows the extent of texas bias amongst pollsters and prognosticators. The Sooners should win this one.

Sooners 20, Longhorns 17

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

texas

Once again my friend(s) the red river rivalry is upon us. The preseason top ranked longhorns have slid all the way out of the top 25 and our beloved Sooners have steadily inched up the polls to number 6. As has been true in so many disappointing seasons of the past, everything we are playing for is still in front of us and still in our hands. While today’s game won’t do as much to help should we win, it certainly could hurt to lose to an unranked team, even if it is texas. I would much prefer that texas was coming off of a win this week. I never like playing the team with something to prove. No doubt they are talented and with the rivalry this is almost always a coin flip anyway. 

Much has been made about arch manning being a bust. I’m of the opinion that he will still be a stud. HS to college is a big step and he has all of the skills. I think he simply needs more time before he figures it out. I’m hoping that “more time” includes this week. No doubt the D will be revved up and trying everything they can to make his day miserable. Let’s hope that he and R. Mason & Co., aka the dog pound, get acquainted with young arch early and often. 

Speaking of D, texas has one of the best ones in the country. What we can manage against them will tell the tale today I feel. Which brings us to the question that has pervaded the consciousness of all of Sooner for nation for the last (rubs eyes, thinks a minute) 2.5 weeks, will Mateer play? As of the time of “publishing”, he is listed as probable.  Which leads me to a second question I didn’t expect to be asking, will he be effective if he does play? 

Oh daddy, so much intrigue. I’m amped for this one. 

Offense

As I said before, this is the crux of it all in my opinion. Who steps up, who makes that big play to put points on the board? I’m going to defer fucking around and just say it, it’s Mateer. I think he plays, I think he plays well, I think he leads the Sooners to a W and I think he never pays for a drink on Oklahoma for the rest of his life. 

Defense

It’s an odd feeling to be excited about a Sooners defense. They’ve been very tough all season, especially up front. I think the front four/eight (it’s a deep unit) gets after Arch Manning all day and gets his pants a nice burnt orange on the inside. I like my man, R. Mason Thomas today to terrorize. 

Score

This is going to be a tough one and my picks are all predicated on a Mateer performance. If he is unable to play, this all goes out the window (we won’t even discuss that mess). I think texas comes to play, I think they have a lot to prove and really nothing to lose. That’s a dangerous club. But I think the D is stiff when it matters and I think Mateer gets enough done in the clutch. Sooners escape 31-27. 

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner 

Kent State vs. Oklahoma

The Sooners take on hapless Kent State on a gorgeous sunny day in Norman today. This will be the first game for the Sooners since learning that John Mateer suffered an injury in his throwing hand that required surgery in the Sooners victory against the Auburn Tigers.

Making the playoffs, much less winning a championship, requires more than a complete team. You have to avoid injuries and you have to have some luck. The Sooners have a good, mostly complete team. The timing of Mateer's injury seems to be lucky. The injury should take approximately four weeks to come back from. It seems plausible that he would try to come back on the aggressive side of a 4-6 week timetable. But for the Sooners, what a gift to have week 1 of the injury be on a bye week and week 2 against Kent State, at home, a chance to let Ben Arbuckle and Michael Hawkins, Jr. try to get some work in together before SEC begins, in earnest, with the Red River Rivalry coming up next week. 

The Sooners will be (spoiler alert!) undefeated going into Texas. Let's hedge and say Mateer does not make it back for that one or the matchup at South Carolina the week after. The Sooners will still be in terrific shape for the stretch run if they can go 2-1 without Mateer and get back home on October 25th sitting at 6-1 or 7-0 against Ole Miss. I'd love to see Mateer against Texas. But if Michael Hawkins can show some competence and poise while managing Ben Arbuckle's game plan, I'd be thrilled to see the return of a healthy Mateer at home against Ole Miss.

That's the mission at this point. 

OFFENSE

Speaking of Michael Hawkins, what we've seen in limited action thus far would indicate he is not John Mateer or even close. He's run-first and does not seem to keep his eyes downfield while scrambling. He's an athletic freak, but the magic of Mateer is his ability to keep both a play alive and his eyes downfield.

The key today will be for Hawkins to reign in his instinct to tuck and run. One would hope the Sooners O-Line can provide enough cushion to allow Hawkins time to work on going through his reads quickly, being decisive and running as a last resort. 

Secondarily, today really needs to be used to develop the running game. Every armchair quarterback who's watched the Sooners this year has lamented the lack of a consistent running attack outside of John Mateer. Rumor has it that Jayden Ott might see more action. One is also left to wonder, "Wither Taylor Tatum?". 

The key today though, and my OPOG, is Jaren Kanek. Kanek has been such a pleasant surprise and primary security blanket for Mateer. He will find himself playing on Sundays if he doesn't watch himself. If he and Mikey Hawkins can get on the same page, Kanek can go a long ways towards helping Hawkins get settled in. Kanek needs to hang onto the ball, but by and large he's sure handed, great after the catch and can get himself open a lot. He's brilliant at getting chunk plays when the Sooners need one. I think he'll be huge today. 

DEFENSE

Mateer gets a lot of credit for his part in making the Sooners one of this season's biggest positive surprises thus far. It's the Sooners defense, however, that is carrying the day. They're 3rd nationally in scoring defense and 2nd overall in total defense. 

Perhaps the weirdest statistic in college football this year is that the Sooners are tied for 128th in the FBS in turnover margin. They have yet to get one. They've had chances and you have to trust that they'll come and when they do it will be in bunches. 

Maybe it starts today. Eli Bowen is back and healthy and will get his first action of the season. He is probably the better of the Bowen's which is saying something. If he's fully healthy and the Sooners decide to get him a lot of snaps to work him back into playing action, then it's conceivable this defense just got better. 

For my DPOG I'm summoning my inner Natey, though,  and starting to really like what David Stone brings to the table. He is a menace. This defensive line is something else. I'm claiming my spot on the Stone Bandwagon until it looks like it's parked at a Mumbai station and I'm squeezed off by the crush of so many other Philistines.

THE SCORE

The Sooners will crush today. Kent State has played some ranked teams (Texas Tech and Florida State), but they are about to get feasted on, the extent to which they are not prepared to handle. I will be interested to hear how Kent State compares the Sooners overall to these other quality teams they have faced. Mind you, interested to hear is not to be confused with ambitious enough to actually look.

The Sooners are favored by 45.5 as of press time and the over/under is 53.5. I will take those odds and the over. 

Sooners 63, Kent State 7

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Kent State

 After an off week, filled with some truly terrible news, our Sooners return to the field this week to take on a 1-3 Kent State team. The awful news, of course, is that John Mateer had to have surgery on a broken throwing hand last week that appears will keep him off the field for at least a month. He is unquestionably our most indispensable player on the entire team. The good news, if there is any, is that he misses a bye week last week and an effective bye week this week against Kent State. Beyond that, things get dicey. I know nothing about Kent State but I'm fairly confident that the abortion of a QB that is Michael Hawkins can at least lead us to victory in that one. There is a lot to digest regarding Mateer's availability down the road, but we'll save that for the next week. As it is, not much to say here other than let's TCB, hopefully avoid further injury and get ready for Red River.

Offense

Hawkins was pretty terrible last year, just really overmatched basically at all times. The OC's were dreadful, sure, but he really didn't look capable of leading a team to victory vs a big time opponent. As such, I'm staying away from him and all WRs this week. I think the ground game "gets right" this week and pounds this one into submission. I like Tory Blaylock again. Dude is a stud.

Defense

I won't mince words, it's Kip Lewis this week. He flies all over the field and is generally just a badass. I like him to rack up tackles this week and maybe even force a turnover (remember those?). 

Score

The spread is something absurd like 49.5. I don't see the offense scoring anywhere near that amount so I think it'll be a tough cover. I like the Sooners to take this one 38-6. 

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner