Big 12 Championship

It is now the first weekend in December and all that stands between OU and the college football playoff is the Conference Championship game. I'll admit that although I was ready to move on from Bob Stoops (whose "salad days" were shrinking in the rearview), I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Lincoln Riley and the new-look Sooners. I was certainly brim full of optimism, but also a dread feeling in the recesses of "careful-what-you-wish-for." Well, my complaints are minimal at this point, and almost all of them are still directed at a Stoops. Tomorrow provides another opportunity for the Sooners to keep it going with the conference title and a playoff berth at stake.

It's somewhat appropriate that TCU will be the opponent tomorrow as the color of my butthole will likely alternate between purple and white as the game dictates. In spite of the moderately dominant performance against this same squad but a few weeks ago, I do not rest easy in this one. Gary Patterson has proven time and again that he can game plan and that he does not walk into a gunfight with a knife. If you don't think that he and his staff haven't poured over the tape of the first meeting, you're insane. If you don't think he hasn't taken that tape and formulated a plan for each weakness that OU exploited, and a plan to attack the Sooner defense, then you sit in a diaper and smear mayonnaise on your nipples.

The bottom line in this one is that it's going to be an extremely tough matchup. It's never easy to beat the same team twice in one season, particularly when that team has a good coach, nothing to lose, and no pressure whatsoever. I just leaked in the back of my jockey's.

Offense

TCU has easily the best defense in the Big 12. They boast the best pass rusher in the conference (who missed the vast majority of the first meeting due to being a prig), and the have the best run defense by a good measure. I would love to jot down DimitRod Serdams, I just don't think any one of the four-headed monster will be the dominant force in this one. And yes, I think Mayfield will come to play but I think the WR corps will be the difference with guys breaking deep. The guy I think blows up in the passing game is CeeDee Lamb. He's been great, he continues that with a huge game.

Defense

While improving in terms of points allowed, this defense still looks like a tire fire, albeit one that has gone from blaze to smoldering. There simply isn't anyone who routinely stands out as great. The lack of consistency and great playmakers makes this really tough to pick. But my heart  is winning this week and I'm going with Steven Parker, I've always thought he was salty and I think he makes a huge play in this one.

Score

It's going to be a nut-buster. TCU is coming in with everything to prove against "big, bad" OU. Shit, they're a top 12 team so this isn't a cake walk regardless of the stakes, but with them playing the spoiler, they will come out hard and OU will face a very dangerous opponent. This has a lot of the makings of a letdown, but I'm hoping fresh-faced Lincoln Riley has them ready and Baker Mayfield continues his hit parade. Sooners win this in a white-knuckle ride, 31-30.

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.

Ohio State

As debuts go, you'd be hard pressed to find one better than Lincoln Riley's debut as head coach of our beloved Oklahoma Sooner football team. Most key starters on offense were sipping chilled drinks and planning their celebratory evening from the bench after half time, not bad at all. Riley's squad met the ridiculous expectations of only one outcome would be viewed as a success, a drubbing. Of course the caveat is they were playing an obscenely overmatched UTEP squad. Still, we've endured some games over the years that everyone expected to turn out that way and they didn't, so let's not undersell meeting those ridiculous expectations. That said, it wasn't much of a measuring stick but as it turns out a rather sturdy measuring stick happens to be up next.

Last year's Ohio State game was a methodical assbeat. A steady, consistent, thorough jamming of the proverbial bone up the ass. OU had a cupboard full of weapons and none of it mattered. The offense was contained and the defense was the brand-x paper towel on an 80s Bounty commercial. Last week UTEP opened the game with an easy march down the field for a TD, sparking disgust and a Goodfellas level profane tirade from me. But, credit where due, they didn't give up a point or even a reasonable drive, really, after that. This will be the fulcrum of this game. I don't think Baker and co. will put up an easy 56 again, but I'll be surprised if they don't score enough to win...provided the defense plays well. A huge provision to be sure. On to the picks!

Offense

It's no secret that Baker Mayfield is the key to this whole thing. I suppose that is true of the QB on any team, ever. But, for this team, it's especially true. There is no second fiddle really at this point. Mark Andrews raised his hand last week, but suffice it so say if BD isn't great tonight, the Sooners don't stand a chance. Which (finally) leads us to my point, that someone else is going to have to be great tonight too. Mayfield can't do it all against a team of this caliber on the road. I guess that makes my pick more of a hope rather than a prediction, but someone at RB needs to play well. I'm going with Trey Sermon. He wasn't even the best RB last week, but I'm "high" on his "upside". I think he establishes himself as the main RB tonight, and goes Old Steady on the Buckeyes when OU needs him most.

Defense

I'm not sure who I took away from last game as a real standout. Several guys looked really good, surprisingly enough. I'm a big fan of Steven Parker and I also really like Neville Gallimore (great name). Honestly, all of the defense is going to have to play much better than anything we've seen the last few seasons. Ohio State starts a true freshman at RB who only set the school record for rush yards in an opener, go ahead and marinate on that for a minute. JT Barrett is precisely the type of QB that has given OU fits since I was in school there (read: forever ago). Someone is going to have to be great today, and I think that person is Kenneth Murray. The true frosh looked very solid last week and OU has almost always spit-out great college LBs. I think he blows up today and has a very good game, even forcing a fumble.

Score

Whew, I don't feel remotely good about this game. Lincoln Riley gives me some naive optimism that OU will surprise everyone with a win on the road. But, after my disgust squashed the tradition of always picking an OU win last year, I'm trying to be more realistic. I think (hope) the game will be tight, it sucks gearing up for a huge game only to have it be decided (for the opposition) by half-time. OU will want to save face from the beating last season, and will be appropriately fired up for this one. I think Riley will take some chances and go for broke in this one, he doesn't have anything to lose really. But, all of that won't be enough and I see the Sooners losing this one 38-28 to a better Ohio State team. Of course, being wrong would be oh so sweet.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner.

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Clemson Tigers

If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now. As of early September 2015 I had zero expectations for the season. After the inexplicable Texas defeat, I was wondering if there was any chance to stay above .500. I have the heart of a champion.

It takes a lot to make it this far but I've got three keys. The first is good health. The Sooners endured a head shot to Baker Mayfield that knocked him out of the TCU game. Needless to say without a healthy Shake N Bake the Sooners are not in the Playoff. Zack Sanchez was out against Iowa State and Kansas, the two games they could most afford to lose him. Which leads to the second key.

Luck. Let's face facts here. The Sooners ran a November gauntlet against the Big 12's best teams and didn't have to face any of them at full strength because of, ahem, injuries. You could also look back to last year and see the effect in reverse. How might have the Sooners been impacted had Baker Mayfield been cleared to play and/or Joe Mixon had not been suspended? NCAA rules vagueries and punching a woman in the face are conscious decisions, not luck, but in the sense that off the field choices impacted the on field product I'd call that bad luck for the football team.

Finally, you just have to be good. Since Texas the Sooners have been good. The D has been solid. Moving Steven Parker to Safety looks like a stroke of genius. Jordan Thomas has improved immensely. The defensive line is the best in years. Offensively they are a borderline juggernaut. They have the best one-two running back combo in college football. Baker and Sterling Sheperd are a nightmare. There is no more complete team in the four team field.

OFFENSE

The key here is for the O-Line to lock in. Listening to Clemson talk they have visions of last year and terrorizing an overmatched Trevor Knight. I saw one sound bite where the Clemson player said it was as simple as getting to the man with the ball. The running game will mitigate that pin your ears back mentality but if the O-Line can be on point it could be a long night for the Clemson D. They haven't seen anything like what our offense brings.

What I would love to see is for the passing game to "do it's thing" and open up the run game such that Semaje and/or Mixon can run roughshod on national TV. Mayfield is understandably getting his propers but seeing a total team effort on offense would be sublime.

If I could flip and flop here a little bit though I am picking Baker for my OPOG. Spoiler, if the Sooners make it to the championship I'll probably pick him again. He's just the damn man.

DEFENSE

Deshaun Watson is the QB that haunts the dreams of Sooners everywhere. I cringe to think of Clemson in 3rd and long, the secondary does its job only to have this guy take off up the middle of the field. It's bound to happen a few times but let's not make it an ongoing deal please.

If he does have a weakness it appears he can be turned over. Going back to the luck factor it certainly helps the Sooners that Clemson's second best wide receiver got sent home this week.

After getting embarrassed last year the D will be locked in. The key is to not be stupidly over aggressive. No tearing helmets off, no taking people to the ground 15 seconds after the whistle, no late hits out of bounds or roughing the passer etc. Don't give the Clemson offense new life and chances to extend drives.

I'm taking Zack Sanchez as my DPOG in the hopes that the Sooners turn Watson over more than once. Zack seems to play well on big stages and none are bigger than this.

SCORE

Revenge is on the mind of the Sooners. I still can't believe Jerry Jones couldn't finagle an OU-Bama matchup in the Cotton Bowl but the opportunity for the Sooners to avenge last year's bowl debacle is the best motivator you could ask for. This has the feel of a business trip. There is no doubt this is the best healthy team the Sooners have faced but the Sooners confidence should be sky high. They are playing their best football of the year at the right time.

I think the Sooners hold the Tigers two scores below their scoring average and the Sooner offense proves too much over the course of the game.

I like the Sooners 38-24 in a game that's closer than this score would indicate. Let's do this.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner!

Bedlam

You couldn't ask for more in Stillwater today. The Sooners control their own destiny and, with a win, are in The Playoffs?! Should the Cowboys win they'll be pleading their case for the next two days for the playoffs. Even children understand this rivalry. My son and another kid playfully heckled each other at last night's Thunder game. For one day friends are enemies. Good times.

The best part about this game, besides what's at stake, is that each team has its full complement of players. Until Monday it seemed possible that the Sooners would be without Baker Mayfield, Semaje Perine and Joe Mixon. That's the equivalent of American Pharoah running without a leg or three. Mason Rudolph is evidently playing today for the Cowboys amidst rumors of a broken bone in his foot. By all accounts he's their "passer". 

Oklahoma is likely announcing a state of emergency but the weather, while miserable, doesn't look like it will be as bad as, say, TCU-Baylor from last night. 

OFFENSE

As mentioned, the big 3 are cleared to play. Had Baker not been cleared to play I would have rather seen Joe Mixon run Wildcat all night than Trevor Knight take the reigns. Holy smokes did he look awful last week. Being full strength portends nightmares for the Cowboys. They got exposed against Baylor. 

The Sooners will offer a steady does of the ground and pound while Mixon in (get it?) some play action deep routes to keep the Pokes honest. The Cowboys are going to see how well we can pick up a blitz. 

Today I'm leaning heavy on the guy who's gotten us here. Without Baker Mayfield who knows what our record would be. We certainly aren't in the playoff picture. We probably aren't getting mentioned outside of Oklahoma. He's got moxie, he understands what's at stake and there is no way this team lets up for one second today while he's able to play. 

DEFENSE

OSU has a quality offense. By now we've seen as much as we can to prepare for it. Unfortunately it's been everyone's B-team. However, the Sooners D has totally redeemed itself over the course of the season and this group is salty. There is nothing OSU has seen to prepare. Big advantage for the Sooners. 

The Cowboys are going to keep on trucking with their deep ball until we can stop it. We'll win some and lose some. Hopefully we can get our hands on some balls and turn them over a few times. That differential should be enough. 

My top three players on the D this year have been Steven Parker, Eric Motherfuckin Striker and Charles Walker. I'm picking my DPOG from those three and I'm choosing Steven Parker. He's been awesome and his help in the passing game is going to be huge. 

THE SCORE

This will be fun. One team is going to ruin the others dreams. You couldn't ask for more from two teams and fan bases that truly loathe one another. 

The Sooners are a team that's running downhill right now. This game is last jewel in their amazing November run. There is a revenge factor after last year. Bob Stoops had his worst game as coach. The Cowboys can't match what's about to come. 

Sooners 35 Cowboys 17

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Oklahoma Sooners versus Iowa State

It's football time in Oklahoma. Before we get to X's and O's let's address some distraction. It was reported yesterday that Sooners Offensive Coordinator Lincoln Riley had interviewed for the North Texas Mean Green head coaching position. I was gobsmacked. Why? Why in the middle of the season? What's going on inside the locker room at OU?

Seriously, why would Riley be remotely interested enough to even take the phone call? This is one of the worst jobs in college football. Lincoln Riley is a "hot name" and a "rising star" in the coaching ranks. There are no less than a half dozen open or presumably open jobs already which include names like South Carolina, Virginia Tech and Miami. Riley may or may not be a candidate for them this year but likely would for similarly statured vacancies next year. Whoever takes these jobs could well be leaving an opening that would be better than UNT. Justin Fuente, for example, will be leaving Memphis for the best opening available. The Memphis job is way better than UNT and Memphis is a shit job.

Second, isn't there some protocol or boy's club agreement that you don't interview in the middle of a season? Don't you have to get permission from the head coach? If yes and yes then what the hell is going on in the coaches room at OU? It seems like the situation would need to be pretty dire for Bob Stoops to say yeah, Lincoln, you should probably take ANY phone call IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR FIRST SEASON (which, by the way, is going historically well). There are certainly no outward signs of a bad fit. There have been no rumblings though that's no surprise. Journos who wish to keep their press pass would be wise to keep their mouths shut around Norman.

I'm not sold on the idea of something being off because of the list of other names the article mentions. A&M's offensive coordinator. Either (or I suppose both) of TCU's offensive coordinators. It seems these coaching staffs would be at similar levels of disarray for these coaches to be taking calls also. Hard to believe that's the case.

It is possible Lincoln Riley could be incredibly stupid. Talking new jobs in the middle of season one of your new gig is poor form. Taking a look at the first thing that offers a little more money (relatively speaking) would mean he hasn't done much homework. Oklahoma coaches get at least a 100k raise every season. This would put Riley at the current UNT HC coaches salary level. He really should just know better.

It appears UNT is hoping to become the next Baylor and they are waiving a bunch of money around and someone is trying to make a story. There's a lot of smoke here though. Riley, for his part, has come out and denied that he is a candidate. That's no lie. He isn't a candidate for that job. He's a future candidate for a much better job and an offensive coordinator position at OU is a better career launch pad than the UNT HC gig (or it should be). Honestly, he's the kind of guy you'd put a "Head Coach in waiting" tag on if Stoops wanted to retire gracefully one of these days.

On to football.

The Sooners took care of bidny last week against a pathetic Kansas squad. The Sooners had a good intensity level and they avoided major injury. They need to do both those things this week but Iowa State will be a much better test before the backloaded gauntlet begins.

As Sooner fans are no doubt aware, Iowa State shutout Texas last week. Texas beat OU. Vis a vis Iowa State needs to be taken seriously.

OFFENSE

From what poison vile shall Iowa State drink? Stop the run or the pass? I think they load up on the run and the Sooners make them pay with rollouts and play action. Baker Mayfield will have a field day making easy throws to Joe Mixon, Dede Westbrook and Jarvis Baxter. What the hell, throw in some Sterling Shepard and Mark Andrews if you like. I'll take any of it. My pick for player of the game is Baker Mayfield. He gets to sit out the 4th quarter again.

DEFENSE

Interesting tidbit. Kansas State is the only team to run the OU, OSU, TCU and Baylor gauntlet. Scores: 0-55, 34-36, 45-52, 24-31. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here but there is reason for optimism.

Today, the boys need to stay disciplined and don't let their guards down. ISU plays hard all game long and you have to respect it. The cyclones are overmatched but if you go around patting you're own back the result is that ole' bullshit we all love so much.

I've been real pleased with Steven Parker of late so I'm picking him for my defensive player. The move to Safety has been great for him.He does something special today.

SCORE

Welp, I think this one will be mildly interesting but the Sooners, at home, will be too overwhelming. I like the boys 42-17 today.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner.

The 2015 Oklahoma Sooners Defensive Preview

The 2015 season is nigh upon us and the defense will very likely be what determines if the Sooners can make a run to the playoff, or idle by as also-rans yet again.

When examining the Sooners roster on defense, it's hard not to notice that they are pretty young as a whole. There are only 4 seniors in the two deep, 2 of them start, while no freshman are starting, that unit doesn't scream seasoned vet. There are absolutely some talented guys there, including guys like Dominique Alexander who, though not a senior, has more experience as a junior than most older guys. It's not all doom and gloom, but there needs to be a significant improvement over last season when the Sooner D singlehandedly bought the local Tums salesman's pool.

The defensive backfield was abysmal. These weren't lapses either, though I guess the entire months of September, October, and November are a lapse relative to the age of the Sun. Zack Sanchez looked like he might be the real deal, and as it stands now, is easily our best guy back there. Steven Parker looked very promising as a true frosh last season, he stands to start at NB. Jordan Thomas was truly awful, and completely unprepared to play last season. Let's hope a year of reflection on last season has motivated him to be more prepared to run, tackle, etc this year. I think Hatari "2000" Byrd and Ahmad Thomas showed promise as well. If we squint just right, this could be the most improved group on the team. They damn sure need to be.

The LB spot is pretty solid, I think. Jordan Evans beat out Frank Shannon for one of the starting spots. Both are salty, and I suspect Big Frank will get plenty of reps. It won't shock me a bit to see him starting at some point, but don't sleep on Jordan Evans either. Dominique Alexander is also extremely solid. A tackles machine, he seems to be in the right place on most downs. The entire unit desperately needs to improve in the passing game, however.

Defensive Line has some question marks as well. The DE spots are locked down hard by Eric Motherfuckin Striker and Charles "Ass" Tapper. Both can get to the QB and fly around the field, but the depth behind them is firmly in the "question mark" category. Speaking of, the middle of the line could be trouble. Dimon, Romar, and Wade comprise the most known commodities. Though the Big 12 is pretty pass-happy these days, getting a push from these guys will be crucial in minimizing our DB's exposure. This is starting to feel like a lot of "ifs."

Last season, the defense finished 114 in the nation vs the pass. Some changes have been made, moving full-time to the 4-2-5, or at least as a base package could help. I also read that last season they had two different coaches for the secondary, one for the safeties and one for the corners!? One player said that this season communication has been so much better now that they're all in the same meetings together. Why not have the QB and receivers meet separately and then just figure it out on gameday? (I can't confidently say that didn't happen last year as well.) I'm not even a reasonable facsimile of a pee-wee football coach, but this seems like a pretty damn obvious way to set things up.

There is a lot that has to go right for this defense to push the Sooners to the playoff. Pretty much every unit has to improve...a lot. They aren't going to be the '85 Bears, but maybe they can do enough to get wins. I hope Mitch is right about that 45-55 point per game average. Not only would it be fun, it might be the only way to win.


Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner.