Florida State - the return of Doomsday McGoo

Well, Mitch has predictably put together a well written, well thought out post full of words with more than two syllables. Now I'm going to attempt to drag my knuckles through a post and not chip any of my prominent front teeth on whatever stationary object may be in front of me. Old crimson colored glasses seems confident that last week was the requisite wake-up call on our march to another national title. I feel less confident. How many times in the last few seasons have we struggled against someone clearly inferior and chalked it up not being ready, looking past them, etc.? In fact, I've dared blaspheme that this is becoming alarmingly regular for Bobby and his staff. I, for one, am sick and tired of playing under the notion that just setting foot on field is enough to win games. How about playing like we really want it. The Texas Tech home game from two years ago is the last time I can remember us really looking like we wanted to eat babies. All of that said, I still think we will win this game. In fact, out of a decade of picking games like this each week I've never picked the Sooners to lose (homer much?), and don't plan on breaking that streak today. After jabbing Stoops not three sentences ago, it's telling that I've been wrong only 28 times in his tenure. So let's get to FSU.

The first season for FSU without Bobby Bowden since powdered wigs were in style had a pretty auspicious debut over a pretty shitty team. Essentially they did what everyone thought we would do last week to Samford. So it appears that everyone is ready to crown Jimbo Fisher's ass. By the way, nice fucking name. Jimbo? Really, Jimbo? Is he a 50's greaser? In that same vein, Christian Ponder is potentially going to miss this start with a raw dick from the media relentlessly jerking him off all week. While I'm on the subject of stupid fucking names, Christian? If your parents name you Christian and you elect to be called that over Chris then fuck you. You've sealed your fate as a douche. I knew a guy who was called that once, and I felt like giant tool every time I was forced to call him by name. If you make other people feel like a tool then go by something else. Basically, I think this guy is a fuck and I hope we pummel him early and often. By all accounts he's a terrific passer with a terrific arm, a better passer than the guy we saw last week, but not as mobile. Which, I think bodes well seeing that if there is one thing that has consistently given our defense problems over the last several years it's a mobile QB who can improvise. Now, the flip side of that, as it relates to today, is their offensive line is considerably more seasoned and generally better all around than the one we saw last week. This will make it difficult to set up camp in their backfield with guys like Beal, as Mitch alluded to. However, I believe Frank Alexander is back this week (an early fringe candidate for MF'er this year), which will give them one more legit pass rusher to think about. This battle (the line) will absolutely determine the game, on both sides of the ball (I'm Navin, I like to make long winded posts concluded with obvious comments). On to the awards...

Defense

I'm starting with the D this week. I think these guys are feeling pretty sick and tired of being told they will be carved by Christian Ponder this week. I think the secondary is going take a step forward today and eliminate some of the gaffs from last week. I think we will give up some yardage, and some big plays but I think we'll stop enough of them to put up some more respectable numbers than last week, and against a better team. However, I'm going in another direction this week. I'm taking Travis Lewis on that side of the ball. Everything I've read from him after last week indicates he is one pissed off  motherfucker about the way the D was abused by Utah State. I think this week is the first time we say, "holy shit, he's everywhere out there". I like him for not only his standard dozen tackles or so, but something big possibly a forced fumble, or a couple of sacks.

Offense

Here, I really can't argue with Mitch and his DeMarco Murray pick, that guy was the reason we won last week. He can do it all, but with Mossis "My Dog" Madu, back he will get fewer touches I think. I'm going slightly outside of the box and picking Lonnie to be my player of the game. Playing on the same theme of "something to prove" that I did with Lewis, I think Lonnie bounces back this week. I'll even say he turns it over once, but I think he clears 300 yards and throws at least 3 TD's. In a related note, I think another receiver emerges this week to take some heat off of the hardass that is Ryan Broyles (Kenny Stills, please report to the wide side of the field). I'm going to keep harping on names here, I really like the name Kenny Stills. He sounds like someone destined to be a stud, especially at WR. "Hey, who do you think is the best WR of Stoops' career? I'll tell you who I like, Kenny Stills" Sounds legit 'eh? Anyway, if Lonnie doesn't bounce back, then I think it's the beginning of the end for him and suddenly his career will feel a lot more like Hybl than Heupel.

Sooners in this one, but I think it will be a struggle from the beginning. I think we come out strong and hold off a hungry FSU team in the second half to win. Turnovers are huge and I think we will win that battle. I don't imagine Bobby has much interest in being out-defensed  (I may have made that word up) by his younger brother.

Final Score 31-27 in favor of the Sooners. Lives up to the billing as well.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner.

OU - FSU Gameplan/Strategy/Hope/Prayer

You'd be hard pressed to find a 1-0 team whose stock dropped more precipitously than the Sooners did this past week. A poor showing at home to the inferior Aggies of Utard State (a clever name courtesy of the father-in-law) and a Florida State asswhoopin' of Samford will do that.

So it's Week 2 and already Sooner Nation finds itself at a fork in the road. The Sooners can live up to the anti-hype or take it as the proverbial "warning shot across the bow" and get their shit together. I've spent all week talking myself out of the former and into the latter. I've been successful. I'm now convinced that this narrow loss was the perfect splash in the face of cold water that this Sooner team needs heading into their biggest non-conference game of the season. I'm convinced the defensive miscues of last week are correctable as opposed to brain farts to be endured all season.

FSU is also at a crossroads. Are they as good as everyone currently fellating them says? Or are they poised now for some come-uppance because OU is no Samford?

I guess what I'm saying is I have questions and, come Saturday evening, there will be some answers.

This will be a hell of a game if OU comes out playing like their hair is on fire and FSU does the same due to the fact they inexplicably believe in themselves like no other time since 2001. There is much talk of superior athleticism on the FSU sidelines.

In addition, two Stoops brothers will be facing off for the first time. I can't imagine how badly these two would love to beat each other. I can imagine that both defensive units are aware of the situation and frothing at the mouth to win for their respective coach.

I'm expecting a close game with some special teams fireworks.

On Offense
At the risk of getting into a rut (by alternating all season between DeMarco and Ryan Broyles) I'm going to say DeMarco Murray. He's clearly the bell cow and he's going to be pivotal in keeping Lonnie from smearing his britches all day. He looked like an elite runner last week. He had the glide. I've got a real good feeling he's going to take a kickoff to the house.

Tangentially, if DeMarco is healthy all season, where does he rank in OU history? I have a feeling his legacy will be somewhat diminished because of how smoothly he runs. He's not a freight-train like AD. He doesn't have the novelty of size or the pinball action of Q Griffin. But he's better than pretty much everyone else in the Stoops era wouldn't you say?


On Defense
I like Tom Wort here. I have quickly become a believer. The guy was all over the place against Utah State and he just looks like a mean motherfucker. I am perfectly content with him manning the middle. 

My question is does he speak with a British accent? I didn't know he spent a good portion of his childhood in England as this article says. If so, that's badass.

The important question for the Sooner defense is can they get pressure on the QB? Last week Jeremy Beal set up a tent in the backfield but coralling the QB was difficult. In spite of that we got three INT's. Can OU force FSU into more turnovers than FSU can get from Lonnie?

The Verdict
I really think this is going to be an awesome game. FSU has a brilliant special teams player in Greg Reid. OU has brilliant return men in Broyles and Murray. I think this could be the key. Also, will Lonnie look like a true Freshman or like a guy who's started a dozen games at this level? Will the line give him some time just in case he wants to go through a progression?

I think so and the defense will be eager to put in the past last week's transgressions. Also, Sooner Nation is going to be ready to cheer long and loud. 

I of course like the Sooners.

OU 35, FSU 17

PS- Is it a good sign when, in Week 2, there's a poll in the paper asking if you'd rather have your starting QB or a guy who isn't even on campus? Note: Berry Tramel is a dick so leave it to him to start asking inane questions.

PPS- In this article on August 25th I wrote:

Will some Mouth-Breathing Knuckle-Dragging Clod on the O-Line Quit the Team Come September 2nd?

I don't know what it is about O-Linemen but it seems like a right of Autumn that one of these jackoffs has had enough of windsprints and Oklahoma Drills and quits the team. I'm always one who says if they're not tough enough to handle it we don't need them anyways. Which is true. But just this once can these jackholes keep it together long enough to develop some chemistry before Cincinnatti? Pretty please?

I'll be damned if Guard Tavaris Jeffries didn't go and get his self arrested. He's not on the two-deep but he's trying to screw things up.

My Photo Essay from Week 1

Or, the 3 pictures I took:

The scene at the tailgate:

My Mother-In-Law Preparing to Sneak Some Merlot into the Stadium via Her Sunglass Case:

The View from the Seats:

Well, We're 1-0

My pregame analysis pretty much took a giant shit on itself. Our players of the game were pretty spot-on though. This game was weird.

On one hand, there were some things that were very encouraging. On Offense, DeMarco and Broyles were workhorses. The WR's as a unit were pretty solid. There were not a lot of drops (none that I can recall). Cameron Kenney seems more comfortable and DeJuan Miller caught a couple of key passes. There were no fumbles.

Unfortunately for the Offense, Lonnie was inconsistent at best and showed little, if any, improvement that I could tell. He seemed to lock in on receivers (only 5 players caught balls), was eager to move out of the pocket (read: happy feet), threw some awful balls and generally seemed out of sorts a lot of the time. This was just one game, of course, but the notion that we may have seen Lonnie's career ceiling already is disheartening. It's hard for me to watch the O-Line in person and I don't know a lot about that unit anyways (as far as nuances of the position) but I'm going to presume they were average/below average given that Lonnie was sacked 3 times and threw the ball away more times than that. Whether that's on the Line or Lonnie or WR's I don't know.

On defense there were also some positives if you can believe it. Jeremy Beal looked very good and was spending a great deal of time in the backfield. The LB's looked good as well. Ronnell came in for 3-4 situations and Tom Wort was all over the place. What a great name for a LB by the way, Tom Wort. Travis Lewis had a predictably quiet steady game. In the secondary Tony Jefferson caught my eye and Quinton M.F. Carter looked like the leader he should be.

However, virtually everyone in the secondary staked their claim to be the next "Gasrag McCoy", even Quinton and DeMontre Hurst (who they almost never threw to). At some point, somebody made an egregious error in coverage that cost the Sooners. At this point I'd say Jamelle Fleming or Jonathan Nelson are the leaders in the clubhouse though. What was odd but mildly encouraging was that on some of these mistakes, the defender was in good position, he just didn't turn to find the ball. It wasn't always a completely blown coverage.

For every positive there was a negative. Utah State played well, no doubt, but there is no reason in the world that game should have been close. Hopefully this performance got the attention of the right people. Even as close as this game wound up being, I still think this team can be really good. The mistakes seem fixable.

At the end of the day we're 1-0 and still in control of our own destiny. And, unlike teams of the past, this one on this day made plays when they had to and persevered. Yes, I am trying to be as positive as possible because now next week looks very, very scary.

Other Notes

• I can believe that OU would try to charge people to listen to games on the Internet. Such is the state of big time sports. I cannot believe anyone would be willing to pay. That's a crock. The good news is I believe every other game will be televised.
• I cannot say enough about DeMarco. 35 carries is a ton. He hit holes hard, hung on to the ball, showed some patience and had that breakaway speed in the open field. Very, very encouraging. Kudos to you on the call.
• Shouldn't Jamarkus McFarland be called "Booger" from now on? Sure, it's technically taken but anytime you have the chance to call someone Booger I feel it's my obligation as an American to do so.
• You know how football is such a copycat sport (Wildcat). Well, at Coach Camp this offseason I guess the big new thing was to run traditional running formations out of the shotgun. For instance, DeMarco lined up a lot behind Lonnie in the Shotgun. Or, there would be an off-balance I-Formation behind Lonnie in Shotgun. Utah State was doing this also. I can't remember seeing it before.
• This game had a terrible vibe. The crowd was shit.

Ouch

Well, that game wasn't exactly the slaughter we hoped for. In fact, it was as embarrassing as a win can be. Mitch, what the hell happened down there? Was it the typical Sooners effort from recent years (see: attitude that we are entitled to win and therefore go through the motions)? Looks like we both did a decent job on our players of the game. Quinton MF Carter came through with a decent effort statistically, 7 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, and 1 pass broken up. I nearly nailed DeMarco with 250 APY (he finished with 256), and a case could certainly be made for Broyles (9 catches for 142 with 2 TDs). However, no one could have predicted the absolute diarrhea our pass defense would resemble. While I thought we would cough up a few big gainers and maybe some points, I never thought they would carve us up like they did. I didn't get to watch the game or listen to it (can you believe they charge  to listen to the game on the web? Sorry Merv, your folksy color commentary warrants payment to avoid), but I would love to hear your thoughts Mitch since you saw it first hand. Any early takers for this years Matt McCoy memorial Gas Rag (as in "easily burned")? I'm pretty discouraged, but not as much as I was after last season's opener. I'm not even going to mention what, by all accounts, was a shit performance from Lonnie. All I know is he'd better settle in or the calls for Blake Bell will start coming in pretty heavily. I'm far more nervous about next week than I was on Friday. We'd better get some things fixed or FSU will end our 31 game home win streak going away.

OU - Utah State THE BREAKDOWN

Here's the way it should go; The Sooners embark on a new voyage towards another national title. The sun is shining, the air is crisp, grill smoke is wafting through campus and a lame duck opening opponent takes the pistol-whipping they are paid to take. 90,000 spoiled fans see the bloodbath they crave. Everyone totters home drunk and happy.

It had damn well better go this way.

Navin has done a fine job identifying the "strengths" of this Utah State team. I'm too lazy to confirm his research by doing my own and thus am unable to refute or add to his assertions. Which is fine and dandy anyways because whilst Navin tends to be more pragmatic I, on the other hand, wear "Crimson Colored Glasses" and think every game should be won handily, PlayStation style, like the game was set on Beginner. I'm too old to change who I am.

So if, as Navin suggests, the Utah State attack is predicated on running the football, then they are fucked. The calling card of a Brent Venables defense is stopping the run. This makes me giddy because there is nothing I enjoy more than watching the Line Backers get a dozen tackles per man. It will also force Utah State into long third downs at which point I'll enjoy watching the Sooner D-Linemen pin their ears back, forcing the Utah State QB to both shit his pants and throw ill-conceived passes into tight coverage. Hopefully this means several turnovers, maybe even a defensive touchdown. See above the note on bloodbaths.

So here's who I like in this one on both sides of the ball:

On Offense

I'm really feeling Ryan Broyles here. He's getting a lot of love nationally. A lot of pub, if you will. In week 1 he exceeds the hype. The reason being that Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson loves to get his QB's settled down and into the game by calling easy little passes. Broyles is going to be Lonnie's security blanket in this game and probably all season. This means short throws to Broyles in the open field where Lonnie gets in a rhythm and Broyles does what he does best; Running like his hair is on fire.  I'm calling at least 150 yards and the Heisman Hype engine firing up on the first turn of the key.

On Defense


I've already mentioned how I envision the Linebacking corps amassing roughly 50 tackles as a unit. In spite of that, I cannot go with anyone other than Quinton M.F. Carter as my Defensive Player of the Game. We made a t-shirt for him for God's sake. I think an INT would be a bonus but I'm more excited to see some bone-crunching hits and maybe a sack or two from Quinton. Carter and Ronnell Lewis could be the biggest bonecrunching duo since Roy M.F. Williams and Brandon Everage. This is legitimately exciting.

The Score


This one isn't as close as the score would indicate.

OU 63, Utah State 6

Big 12 Rankings and Predictions

Just because I feel like it.

Big 12 North 
Nebraska (Someone has to win)
K-State (Gut feeling they'll pull something out of their ass)
Mizzou (Pinkel is Einhorn, Einhorn is Pinkel; I hate them)
Kansas (Average as per usual; starting off 4-0 as usual)
Colorado (If Hawkin's son is still at QB they are here. If they got someone real maybe they move up)
Iowa State (Everything about this place stinks)

Big 12 South
Oklahoma (Like I would pick anyone else)
texas (No on else fits here; I will never capitalize it)
Baylor (Gut feel a la K-State)
OSU (Living in a fantasy land)
Texas Tech (Heading South)
Texas A&M (Nothing going for them)

Update
I just read this on cnnsi.com. Under "Bold Prediction" that Asshat Stewart Mandel (Navin's Nemesis) has predicted Baylor will finish ahead of Oklahoma State. Not sure if I should feel upset that my prediction will now almost certainly not come true or vindicated that I could, nee should, be doing that dingleberry's job.