OU vs. Baylor

It's been a hell of a couple weeks. Since we last wrote in this space the following events occurred in college football: The Penn State Child Rape scandal, Mizzou's Gary Pinkel got a DWI, a Syracuse basketball coach got accused of being a pederast and a plane crash killed OSU women's basketball coach Kurt Budke.

"WTF"

On the football field, the Sooners lost their Offensive wunderkind, Ryan Broyles. Undefeated Stanford got smoked by Oregon. The Cowboys went ahead and looked like ass against Iowa State and got beat. In so doing, Brandon Weeden bequeathed his Heisman hopes (not too sad about it but I wish OU could have done this for him) and the Cowboys threw a serious wrench in OU's title game chances.

We are in the next to final act of the college football season. Act 1 was leading ourselves to believe there were so many good teams we might see 4 go undefeated and all the BCS speculation that goes along with it. Act 2 had some of those unbeatables losing and people believing that the shakeout was complete. There was anticipation in knowing that the remaining contenders would simply play out the string before meeting to decide it all. We're now in Act 3 which is the most fun. All the experts look like assholes because teams keep losing. It's the "Oh shit what's gonna happen" portion of our season where everyone has to win and everyone needs everyone else to lose and then we'll wait and see what the judges deem the best matchup. All of a sudden we've gone from possibly having 4 undefeated's to determining who's the best 1 loss team. It happens every year.

That's college football.

And now our 1 loss Sooners find themselves in Waco, Texas to face those wacky Baptists of Baylor. Prior to the season I was fairly nervous about this one. Last year I felt the Sooners really dodged a bullet when they played a Robert Griffin III-free Bears team. RGIII is a badass. His numbers this year are PlayStation esque.  Through his first 6 games he had some ludicrous stat like more TD's than incompletions. Unheard of.

He's come down to earth since. The Bears have gone on to lose 3 but  RGIII is still on many Heisman watch lists. He is, without a doubt, the heart and soul of the Bears. The Baylor offense is prodigious and the Sooners will have their hands full.

On the other hand (or, OTOH in text speak) the Sooners offense find themselves in the unenviable position of having to redefine themselves mid-season. Gone is the safety blanket of Broyles and the ho-hum reliability of his 14 catch, 170 yard performances. This loss is huge and cannot be understated. Lonnie Jones's world just got shaken and that's bad. Me no rikey nervous Lonnie. Kenny Fuckin Shitbag Stills is a Number 1 receiver on most any other team but Sooner fans are fooling themselves if they think the loss of Broyles will be completely made up for.

There is good news. It looks like the Baylor defense is pretty shitty so praise Jehovah the Sooners have what appears to be a fine opportunity to work out the kinks of this newish offense before Bedlam.

OFFENSE

Obviously the key is how does Lonnie play without his bosom chum and safety blanket? Which Wide Receiver(s) step up? To what degree does the offense change?

I think Lonnie will be fine the next two weeks. Kenny Fuckin Shitbag is a badass as we all know. Jaz Hands Reynolds has come on "in a great way" this year. It looks like DeJuan Miller will get the first crack at being the new 3rd wheel. If DeJuan doesn't work out there's always Trey Franks and Kameel Jackson.

My head tells me to pick a RB because I think the Sooners will come to rely on the ground game a bit more. But my head doesn't know what the hell it's talking about. The pick here is Kenny Fuckin Shitbag. He's clutch and has the swagger of a number 1 guy. Now there's no deferring to one of the all-time Sooner greats. The moment is his, the time is now.

The real wise pick might be the Belldozer. Dude brah is a force of nature.

DEFENSE

It's pretty simple. Stop Robert Griffin III. The hard part is stopping Robert Griffin III. It will take a total team effort.

Since I really have nothing else to add (This article is free. You get what you pay for) I'm going all heart here. I'm taking a page out of Navin's playbook and picking Big Frank Alexander. Blood flows to my groin region when Big Frank wreaks havoc on the football field. And he's wreaked a lot of havoc this football season. But I haven't picked him too much. So here it is.

THE SCORE

In my perfect scenario (read: Crimson Colored Glasses) I see the Sooners offense as a wounded and cornered animal. They lost their best running back. Now they've lost their best player. What's left is a group that must throw the kitchen sink at the opposing defense to be successful. Implementing the Bulldozer is evidence of this mentality. Now it's taken a step forward. So, it's conceivable we could see a pretty dynamic offense with no page of the playback left un-turned. That's my hope. In reality I think the Sooners look good these next two weeks in a false confident sort of way. By that I mean their opponents just aren't up to snuff. The offense looks like it hasn't missed a beat but they won't have really been tested. Who cares though. It's all about winning football games right now.

Defensively all I care about it making RGIII look human. Do that and we hold them under 30 points and we win.

OU 35, Baylor 17

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

OU vs. Ball State

One pair of OU football season tickets costs no less than $800.00. Your $800 gets you six games. In Oklahoma, the year is measured by the first game of the football season and the BCS Championship game. We'd just as soon not have January through July. So, to me, the idea of not going to a home game is ludicrous. But Oklahoma football fans are pretty spoiled and, believe it or not, this incoming Ball State football team has not captured the imaginations of the Sooner faithful. The result is the easiest, cheapest ticket you can imagine for a top-5 football team. I swear I saw Sooner fans giving tickets instead of coin to local panhandlers this week.

It doesn't help that last week's performance against Mizzou was marked by a pretty heartless effort by the Sooners. For whatever reason no one in Sooner nation seemed real fired up.

This Ball State ball game should serve as a perfect opportunity to correct last week's mistakes and get sharp in some areas because next week is a damn big one.

Things to work on:

• Pass Defense. The Sooner D was gashed last week and so far this season this unit either gets tackles for losses or gives up yards in massive chunks.
• Sustained aggressiveness on the Offensive Line. The Sooners can score fast and look like a machine when the O-Line is nasty. This unit needs to prove they can keep their heads out of their asses and keep their focus for a full game. It will be hard for them to do today.
• The Backup QB situation. Lonnie's jersey has been kept pretty clean this year but all it takes is one play for your whole season to ride on someone untested. The Stoops era has been marked by a stubborn unwillingness to give backup QB's any meaningful game reps. It's never made sense to me but maybe Bobby learned something from Sam Bradford's Senior season. There's no better time to strengthen the depth chart than today.
• The 3rd and 4th Wide Receivers. See the Backup QB Situation. Besides the emergence of Dom Whaley the most intriguing story on the Sooners Offense, to me, is who ultimately wins that 3rd spot out of Trey Franks (who won't play today), Dejuan Miller, Jaz Reynolds and Kameel Jackson. Franks, Miller and Reynolds have all made cases while Jackson is the darkhorse but is being given every chance. 
• Spreading the ball around. I really don't see this happening because Texas is next week but Lonnie could benefit by practicing checking down his receivers, working on reading progressions and distributing the ball to as many people as possible. 

OFFENSE


I'm stepping out on a precarious limb here but I'm going to go with Roy Finch today. In a perfect scenario Dominique Whaley's day is done after the first or second series of the 3rd Quarter. Finch or possibly even Freshman wunderkind Brandon Williams should see a good number of touches. If Finch is to have any kind of meaningful impact for the Sooners this year he needs to make the most of his chances today. So I believe (stupidly) in the good of humanity and I enjoy seeing the triumph of the human spirit so I believe Finch will rise to whatever occasion might be presented. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see him try too hard and fumble which would be devastating for him from a future PT (now that's Playing Time - Football Lingo) perspective.


DEFENSE


If I had to select a defensive MVP for the Sooners so far this season it would have to be Frank Alexander. He is a one man wrecking crew. Any Sooner opponent watching film has to be making plans to avoid this man whenever possible. I would even hope an opponent as hapless as Ball State is aware of this. That means, like a pack of lions working the hunt in tandem, Ronnell Lewis is going to have a lot of opportunities to make plays. If all goes according to my plans, he might break someone in half today. I'd be all for it. So The Hammer is my defensive pick.


THE PICK


Ball State are 40 point underdogs. The only real question is can the Sooners cover it. I know they can but I don't think they will. Josh Heupel seems pretty content to run whatever kind of offense he needs to keep the opponent at arms length. He'll have the Sooners going on long, boring methodical drives and it will be as vanilla as possible given the Red River Rivalry is coming up.


Maybe I should try to give away my tickets after all. Nah.


Sooners 42, Ball State 7

Edited to add: Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner! Tip them PBR's

OU - Mizzou Game Tape Review

This article is sponsored by the American Pigeon Museum and Library in Oklahoma City - When you have a message that you want delivered slow or maybe not at all, choose pigeon's, choose the World of Wings. 

Some quick thoughts after watching the tape (Presented in bullet points for my man TFrye who, "doesn't have time for paragraphs"):

• There is no real good excuse anymore for Dominque Whaley not being the feature back. The carries between he and Brennan Clay were nearly even. No disrespect to Clay, who really is a solid player, but he doesn't have the "missability" of Whaley (as Emmitt Smith might say). There was a series in the 3rd Quarter where Whaley had a hole close and he made himself small and, "squirted through the line" for a 1st down. The next play he caught a short pass, delivered a hit, stayed in bounds then used a spin move and a leap to get inside the 5. The next play he outran the defense to gain the corner and score. In short, he can do just about anything.
• The Sooners Offense is at it's best when the ball is getting spread around. Any offense is but I mean the Sooners really need to get Trey Millard and James Hanna involved every now and again. Those guys are under-utilized weapons.
• Jaz Reynolds did a nice job stepping up in Kenny Fuckin Shitbag and Trey Franks's stead.
• At the game I felt like Lonnie is a System Quarterback. I believe it more and more. His numbers are gaudy but his pant shitting robs him of real greatness. By pant shitting I mean anytime the pocket may collapse.
• In person I was disappointed in Josh Heupel's play calling. On tape it wasn't so bad. I think it was the fact that the "hurry up to the line play" was beyond predictable. When half-drunk homers in the last row of the upper deck are calling the plays, chances are good your opponent's Defensive Coordinator is dialed in as well.
• The Sooners D-Line is badass and Frank Alexander in particular is a damn beast.
• Gabe Lynn still looks lost on Defense.

OU vs. FSU

ESPN has themed this week, "Road Test Week". I think it should be "Statement Week".

Nothing like an early road test to send you either hurtling towards greatness or potentially derailing title hopes. Really, this sentiment is apropos for either the Sooners or the Seminoles. Who is going to take charge of their own destiny?

I'm not that nervous. Your 2011 Oklahoma Sooners are a veteran bunch and that means the world in college football.The Seminole locker room is talking about a return to glory, the Sooner players are talking about games like this being the reason they chose the Oklahoma. The X on your back, the prize in front of you, etc.

I sure do wish the Sooners had played a game last week though. Sure the bye gives you plenty of time to prepare and get people healthy but it's too early in the season for a break. You could argue that the Sooners facing each other in practice is a better test than what the Seminoles had last week but there is nothing better than game experience.

That said, I have it on good authority that these Sooners are ready for this one. If there was a game this season besides Texas that the Sooners are looking forward to it's this one. Gameday, national television at night, and a chance to show the country why they are ranked number 1.

Honestly, I haven't seen a team in the first two weeks that really stepped up and set itself apart from any other. LSU seems pedestrian. Alabama, meh. Where's the playmakers?  They are on the Sooners, damnit, and they are about to serve notice.

OFFENSE

The fundamental truth is that your stars shine brightest on the biggest stage. Baylor's Robert Griffin III is the only player I've seen really perform out of this world and in the spotlight. That changes Saturday night. Ryan Broyles is going to grab control of the Heisman race. Book it. And here's a spoiler alert: Get ready for a season of, "Can a wide receiver win a Heisman in 2011?" articles. Look, if Broyles lights it up this early in the season and has a signature performance in week 3, it's his to lose.

Now, that's not to say that this game is about Heisman front running. That's a bunch of crap. But, the Seminoles are going to throw the kitchen sink at trying to contain Broyles and if they fail (and oh! they will fail) that means they can't shut anybody else down either. That means trouble for Florida State. I am keen on trouble and havoc for Florida State. If the Sooner offensive line can keep Lonnie clean, and Lonnie can keep from smearing his own britches, the Sooners are golden.

Obviously Broyles is my pick.

I can't move on to the Defense without saying also that it's going to be huge that Dominique Whaley not be a one-hit wonder. Yes he's a Cinderella story, he came from nowhere and all that. That shit sells papers (or e-readers or whatever the fuck else). The Sooners have to have a ground game. Against Tulsa, I thought Roy Finch was suspended. I think he's back this week with a vengeance. But the Sooners must be able to run the football. I think Whaley can be better than Allen Patrick and I hope I'm right.

DEFENSE

So I was at Wakarusa this Summer and as we drive in we gave this kid a lift to his campsite and come to find out that he goes to Florida State. We should have kicked him out of the car but we're good people and we put up with his nonsense about how EJ Manuel is like Michael Vick if he made babies with Vince Young and every other run-first pass-average QB of the last twenty years. Here's the thing though; EJ Manuel is a Junior. Christian Ponder is a pussy and woefully overrated. If Manuel were "all that" he would have started. Plain and simple. You think the best quarterback on a roster isn't starting at 95% of all major colleges? Crazy talk. If you think I'm wrong that's you getting caught up in recruiting blabber. Coaches typically like their jobs. They get fired more than they quit. Playing your best players helps coaches keep their jobs. When I was watching LSU-MSU the other night ESPN compared EJ and Lonnie. EJ, for his career, has 6 TD's and 10 INT's. Dreadful on any level.

That's the key difference in this ballgame. Of course the Sooners have to, "stay disciplined", and "don't break contain" and, "know gap responsibility". All that goes without saying.

I'm nervous about the secondary of all things. Versus Tulsa, that's where the breakdowns happened. They can be corrected, of course. But the Sooners need to be the aggressor here and they need to force Manuel into some mistakes which he is clearly wont to do.

The Linebackers need to keep it up also. Whilst my colleague Navin is still not sold on Lonnie, I still don't trust Tom Wort. I'm not convinced he's a gamer. Sorry.

The OU Defensive line was much better against Tulsa than I thought they would be. They could be a serious strength and a source of headache for Offensive Coordinators. Dear God, please let that be the case on Saturday night.

I'm going to play keep up this week with my defensive pick. Frank Alexander was a man possessed against Tulsa, so I'm going with him. Buddy, you better believe the Seminole offensive line has their work cut out for them.

Before we move on, I'd just like to mention that the rumor is that none other than Tony M.F. Jefferson will be wearing Soggy Box's #12 this week. Um, I like that. Would it stand to reason that in Week 1 it's pretty obvious that you let Box's new position minder (Wort) wear #12 and in week 2 you give the honor to your defense's bellweather? That's how I'm thinking this works. From here on out it will go to the person who "grades out" the best on film until Old Steady comes back. He gets it his first week back obviously and then it's back to who deserves it the most.

THE PICK

Someone please tell me what Florida State has done to earn the #5 ranking? Sure they ended the season last year on a positive note. But they played in the ACC which. let's be honest, is barely deserving of a BCS bid if such things were determined on a yearly basis. And yeah Jimbo Fisher appears to be a rare example of the "Head Coach in Waiting" shtick actually working out. And Bobby Bowden might have given the 'Noles an emotion boost by announcing he battled cancer in recent years stoically, alone and like a man. But c'mon. This is a perfect example of why there should be no rankings until week 5. Also, if you're going to base expectations on what happened last year then shouldn't it matter if the QB who took you there is now holding a clipboard in the NFL?

I just don't see it. The crowd will be hyped but this is a business trip for the Sooners. It's not total domination but it's close.

OU 34 - FSU 24

Tip them PBR Tallboys and Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner