Iowa State

The Sooners travel to the bustling burg of Ames, IA, today to take on the Cyclones. If you were unaware that OU lost its only regular season game of last season against Iowa State, simply peek through your blinds, there is likely a bi-plane over your house dragging a banner behind it saying as much. In short, even in Louisiana I've been beaten over the head with this detail. It was a perfect storm of a bench QB being much better than even his own coaches thought, and a (marginal) defense being completely unprepared for him. This season, it sounds like (un)Kempt(beaver) may not even play due to injury. Regardless, I don't think the element of surprise will rear its ugly head again.

Last week was a win, but if there is such a thing, it was the worst kind of win. The kind where your Heisman hopeful (read: dominant) RB goes down for the year "with a knee." The "experts" and even Lincoln Riley seem to have downplayed this injury quite a bit. I was talking with Mitch earlier this week and we both agree that replacing Rod is no easy task. Yes, there are other weapons on the offense and even in the backfield, but he's clearly the best back on the team. That's not a loss that goes unnoticed. The question today is how much will Trey Sermon step up and can Kyler Murray take the next step as a passer to relieve some of the pressure off of the run game. Couple that with the first road test of the year and this is no key party in terms of guaranteed success.

Offense

So far the offense has (shockingly) not missed a beat from last year. It's a different style, and we can credit wunderkind Lincoln Riley for putting his guys in a position to succeed. The ball has been spread around nicely, presumably making it difficult for defenses to take away one particular weapon. As I mentioned before, injury has done those defenses a favor in taking away a big one. But I think Riley will adapt and I'm going to go with Trey Sermon today. I think he's heard the doubters and moreover, I think Riley wants an "I told you so" statement that the running game is still strong. This plays well for Sermon's confidence and for future opponents to know that even without Rod they'd better be ready for a run game. Sermon goes for 100+ and 2 (that's right, 2) TDs today.

Defense

If I were writing this same crap 15 years ago, defense would've been the fun part to pick. This season, albeit against 2 (so far) questionable opponents, the defense has looked...has looked...halfway decent? There, the kiss of death, so far I've dealt it to two players, now why not the whole unit? Today will present a tougher test I think, and the road factor always makes it tough, particularly if they have success early. One guy I've liked so far is Curtis Bolton. He beat out all-world recruit Caleb Kelly and has played well so far. Basically, I just guaranteed that he's out with severe food poisoning or he's spontaneously combusted.

Score

While the Sooners have given plenty of reason for optimism in the first two games, this is on the road against a pretty tough opponent. Iowa State has a good coach and these conference games are always a challenge. I think revenge is on the minds of the players for last season however, and I think Riley learned from last year that every opponent has to be taken very seriously. The Sooners withstand a close first half against a fired-up Cyclone team and pull away late to take this one, 41-24.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner

Iowa State

The Sooners come into this one off of a narrow and ugly win vs. a winless Baylor team. As usual, my crack reporting was woefully off, thinking Seth Russell still played for them--and as usual, I'll brush that off with a "fuck it." As you may have ascertained from my "piece" last week, I was fully drinking the Sooner Kool-Aid and felt as though they may never lose again. Ever. But hindsight, being what it is, it merits a quick review of teams the Sooners had beaten. UTEP, Ohio State, and Tulane all have what in common? None of them know how to execute the forward pass with any consistency. Granted QB or not, Ohio State has loads of talent, but OU has historically done well against run-first teams. Baylor passes first and asks questions later, the RB being mostly a "show-piece." This is alarming going into conference play where, as you may have noticed, the spread is all the rage.

In spite of the lamentations that the Sooners' bye was too early in the season, at this point I'm happy with its timing. If they had rolled over Baylor, I, too, may have wished for a bye a few weeks later to heal up, but as it stands, I think coming off a reality check where the D was exposed, the bye could be helpful. Ideally the Sooners have been "woken up" to the reality that maybe they aren't as complete as they thought they were. The offense continues to look good, but hopefully the defense gets it together and is ready for Big 12 play.

Iowa State is a solid team. 2-2 at this point, but narrowly losing a close rivalry game against a good Iowa team and also losing against texas who is probably better than their record would let on, belies a solid squad. They roll into Norman ready to give their absolute best shot to the number 3 team in the country. Coming off the bye, I hope the Sooners aren't looking ahead to the texas game and are focused on TCB today.

Offense

The worries coming into the year of having lost 3 essential skill players from last year have been mitigated by a great offensive line and a QB that elevates everyone around him. It seems each week that someone new steps up and has a great game, all of which of course is predicated on BD Mayfield. Today I'm throwing my dart in the direction of Mark Andrews. I feel like he's had an off-week to let that knee heal up and though he's played through that, I think he's close to 100% this week and has a big game against an Iowa State defense that I don't think can match up with him.

Defense

Whew, last week was ugly. PTSD inducing flashbacks to last year (and last several years). No ability to pressure the QB on obvious passing downs, and receivers getting open deep on said passing downs. It was a maddening effort littered with big plays and an inability to get off of the field on 3rd down. Aside from being torture to watch, that shit won't fly if a national championship is the goal. But I'm not ready to wash my hands of them just yet. While Parnell Motley has stepped up as the most reliable defender, I'm going to go with another DB that has been overshadowed a bit this year. I like Steven Parker to have a solid game today in all phases, stepping up in the run game and making a couple of big plays in the secondary.

Score

My mood has gone from overconfident to cautiously optimistic, or cold steel to firm chubby on the boner-meter for you high-brow types. And while I think Iowa State is better than their record, I think a Sooner squad at home, coming off of a bye is just too much today. I think the Sooners get back on track to some extend and win this one in a tune-up for Red River. Sooners win it 44-20.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner.

OU - ISU Hangover/Recap

Well, well, well, if it isn't our old friend Doomsday McGoo. I couldn't be more happy to see you. All is right in the universe.

The battle with Mizzou is going to be a huge test, no doubt. The Tigers bandwagon will be taking on new riders all week and this is a service to OU. I love how this is shaping up. The Sooners are healthy, confidence is sky high and everyone knows what is at stake. We'll hear nothing other than glowing reports of high energy, competitive practices and that the boys are ready to compete in a great way.

But before we set our sights on Saturday let's briefly recap the clinic that left Iowa State suckling hind teat.

Congrats to DeMarco Murray for passing Steve Owens for the all-time touchdown record. That is amazing. Murray is in rarefied air and, maybe it's just me, it seems like he's done all this fairly quietly. You'll get no argument from me that he's a badass. He broke a 40 year old record, overcame an injury plagued career and still has half a season left to add to his legacy. But if you polled Sooner fans would DeMarco make the list of top 5 OU running backs? Would people put him ahead of Billy Sims, Steve Owens, Joe Washington, AD, Greg Pruitt, BillyVessels, etc? He belongs somewhere in that group.

What of the gaudy numbers put up by Lonnie and Ryan Broyles? Lonnie 30-34 for 334 and half of those balls going Broyles's way for 182. Good grief. Iowa State sucks okay. But any Sooner fan should be quite pleased with anything that might give Lonnie as much confidence as possible. And what can you say about Broyles save that he's a badass.The ball he caught in traffic and the diving touchdown reception were both world class.

Roy Finch has something special. It's hard to compare him to anyone after a handful of carries but if I had to say anyone it would be Noel Devine. Finch is short and built like a brick shithouse. Lean more than a bowling ball. He has jets and gets to the second layer quickly. Then he's shifty and can finish with power. Considering he's been out 8 weeks with a foot injury he performed quite ably. Needless to say the future is bright.

Now on to Mizzou.

OU - Iowa State

I couldn't give two craps about this game. Iowa State blows. Ames is probably the least attractive destination in the Big 12. I would never travel to see a game there.

I suppose there are a couple intriguing story lines. Much ballyhooed RB Roy Finch will be playing today. Someone on the team (too lazy to try to find it) said that his moves are Reggie Bush-esque. That sound you heard was the button flying off the front of my pants. A new weapon for the offense? Yes please.

The other thing we need to see is some attitude. The boys are fresh off a bye and huge win. They are in control of their own destiny. There is no excuse for not being "up" for this game. Even if it is Iowa State.

One last note on the Cyclones. When I went to the Big 12 basketball tournament a couple of years ago I had the misfortune of seeing the ISU cheer squad up close. Holy smokes was that a roster of fug. I couldn't believe a Division 1 program from a premier conference could have so little "talent".

On with the picks.

Offense
I'm riding the DeMarco train. I am a believer. He's got to be feeling confident after the texas game and now with the young pup Finch pushing him, I see him going off again today. I certainly am enamored with the idea anyways. I'm kind of feeling a kick return also.

Defense
I don't have a strong feeling on anyone here. I'll go with Travis "Old Steady" Lewis. He'll get his usual tackle numbers but perhaps he gets an INT or a fumble recovery.

Conclusion
The Sooners need to play with some fire and show they understand where they are on the college football landscape (contending for the GD title). They need to throttle these losers. And I believe they will. It's TCB Saturday for the Sooners.

OU 52, ISU 17