Texas

As you may or may not have heard, the Sooners play their arch rival tomorrow the texas longhorns. If you own a TV, radio or have left your home in the last 4 weeks, it's also likely you know that texas hasn't been very good this year. There is apparently quite a lot of conflict within the team. It seems the upper classmen don't like the lower classmen and vice versa. I could give a shit.

texas is talented, though they have (according to Mel Kiper types) a dearth of nfl prospects with not one player expected to be drafted next spring. That said, they come in with 2 losses (OSU and Cal) that very easily could have been wins had their special teams not turned the inside of their unis burnt orange. The Sooners should win this game, they are better in all phases. However, anyone who has watched this series over the years knows, anything can happen.  The blowouts only seem to happen when they are unexpected (I took 2.3 seconds to think about that last statement). With nothing else to play for, this is the season for Ut.

Those that know me personally know I only like burnt orange in one capacity, my nether regions. They also know I expect the worst nearly every week. I am nervous about this. After TCU publicly fisted them last weekend, the masses expect a repeat. I don't see a demolition, I think this will be tough.

Offense

Man, Baker Mayfield is making it awfully hard for me to not pick him every week. He's been stellar nearly every game. Mixon has been spectacular, but seems to have angered someone as he routinely sees about 4 snaps a game. Perine has been relegated to the football equivalent of a closer. I just have to go with Mayfield this week. He's been great and I think he continues to extend plays this Saturday and carries the Sooners again. 300+ yards and he accounts for 4 scores.

Defense

Big stage for the defense against a mobile quarterback. This one will be up to the front 4 to contain the Q and apply pressure. I've been all over the place with my picks on D and so far I don't think I've even come close yet. That changes Saturday. Eric Motherfuckin Striker takes the field for his last taste of Bevo (not beaver, presumably he'll taste more of that down the road). He was an absolute menace last week and I think he carries it over. 3 sacks, tackles by the shitload and a turnover.

Score

The spread I saw most recently was OU by 17.  I don't quite think the Sooners cover. I think it is a somewhat ugly game, but the Sooners do enough to make the sphincter relax by 1:30 or so. For my man RP I think the Sooners put up 40, texas 27.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner

Oklahoma Sooners vs. West Virginia Mountaineers

If you were a season ticket holder for Good Ol Alma Mater how much would you donate if your non-conference home slate consisted of the following: Georgia Southern, Liberty and Maryland? How confident would you be after hammering these wet bags of turd and heading out on the road for the first time all season against a capable conference foe?

I'll tell you I wouldn't blown my nose with my tickets for those scrimmages and I'd be puckered up like a snare drum if I was West Virginia. Honestly, I didn't know Liberty had a football team. So the Mountaineers have a top 15 offense and defense. Cue the slowest, most sarcastic slow clap I can muster. 

I'm not, by any stretch, implying the Sooners have nothing to fear here. They know how big this one is. They've asked the fans to candy stripe the stadium and they're pulling out the alternate uniforms because they A) need to protect the house (something that didn't happen last year) so they can B) start/stay in the Big 12 championship chase and C) make a strong early season impression on voters/computer against a currently ranked, undefeated team. The Sooner faithful should be in full throat in spite of yet another 11am kickoff.

OFFENSE

This is the key to the whole ballgame. It's going to become a broken record if it isn't already but the Sooner offense is truly the best defense. If the Sooners can get rolling early and pop a defense that's been untested it may provide enough cushion to win the day.

This is true. Georgia Southern got routed by West Virginny 44-0 and attempted 13 passes. This is the best offense they've faced. If the Sooners game plan isn't to hit the Mountaineer defense early, keep them on the field and wear them down then I know nothing. I expect a lot of hands on hips from the Mountaineers. 

The other key for the Sooners is to hang on to the ball. They should have buried Tulsa two weeks ago but turnovers cost them about 31 points. West Virginia is opportunistic and experienced. If the Mountaineers get some breaks off turnovers and capitalize then all bets are off. If the Sooners shove it down their throat and bring a gun to a gun fight they'll win. It's such a simple game really.

The scary thing is the Sooners haven't fired on all cylinders yet. They've gotten off to slow starts, the run game has struggled at times and they've had fumble-itis. They will hit their stride this week. They have 9 receivers for Baker Mayfield to choose from. They have a dynamic backfield (although I can't fathom why David Brooks got so many early carries over Joe Mixon against Tulsa).  I really want to pick Semarje Perine for my OPOG but I can't do it. I'm going Baker Mayfield. He's on fire. His ability to keep plays alive and distribute the ball is awesome. What he did against Tulsa was video game stuff. I'll keep the Semarje card in my back pocket and take ol' Baker. Not sure if he can hit 86% completion for 6 million yards again but I'll be thrilled with less gaudy numbers and the same dearth of INT's.

DEFENSE

I'm a little nervous when the absence of Jordan Thomas is the excuse for giving up ∞ yards to Tulsa. It's also mildly jarring to read that Devante Bond and Eric MF Striker aren't going to be on the field much together going forward. I get it, but how frustrating is it to get picked apart because there is zero pressure from up front? Why not take a couple chances with your best players on the field together? You get scored on anyway. You have to disrupt the rhythm of either the QB or the receivers. I like Striker and Bonds versus a QB than Jordan Thomas et al against everyone else. Especially at home.

Someday, some defensive coordinator in the Big 12 is going to quit trying the same thing over and over and will change things up drastically, shut down some big time offenses and become a well-paid head coach in the SEC. He'll probably come from TCU.

Anyway, I'm skeered of the Mountaineer offense and particularly Wendell Smallwood at running back. My worst nightmare is a 3rd and medium scenario and this guy just shoving it down our throats.

For DPOG I'm making a pick based on sheer force of will. I desperately want someone on the D-Line to get to the quarterback if the Sooners are going to stubbornly refuse to send someone from the edge.

::closes eyes, points fingers at depth chart::

I'm going Charles "Chaz" Walker because I like his name. Note: I am not in defensive indifference mode yet. That won't happen until after Texas Tech I hope. I just want someone on the D-Line to step up and I have no idea who that will be at this point.

THE SCORE

If the Sooners can pick up where they've been leaving off and hang on to the ball we're golden. If the defense can hold the Mountaineers even one touchdown below their season average the Sooners win.

I think the D will do a little better than that and the Mountaineer D just isn't ready for this test yet.

Sooners 49, West Virginny 35

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner

The West Virginia Mountaineers

Sooner fans, it's been an exciting year up to now. An improbable road win against a solid SEC opponent, a TCB win against an also-ran, and a grind it out win in a trap-game against a high-scoring offense. Now the season gets serious as conference play begins. It's no patsy either as WVU comes in unbeaten and ranked 23.

In doing some "research" on a website called smokingmusket.com (a website I fully expected to 1. require my credit card info to access, and 2. melt my computer as soon as I entered) I learned that the mountaineers come into the game leading the country in points and turnovers....on defense. Sure, we always expect Holgerson's teams to score, but this one seems to understand tackling and coverage etc. Granted, they haven't exactly played the 2007 Patriots, but nonetheless this is new territory for this team.

Since joining the Big 12, WVU has yet to finish in the win column against OU. The comments I've read from the players leads me to believe they've circled this game for some time. It's their chance to beat a big time team as well as firmly establish themselves as a Big 12 title contender. It's also the first game of a murderous stretch for the Mountaineers (OU, OSU, Baylor, TCU). They've proven they can score, now paired with a solid defense this represents a very tough test for our Sooners.

Offense

With a week off to heal up bruises, tweaks and pulls I expect the full arsenal of weapons to be at Lincoln Riley's disposal. Mayfield has been nothing short of great in every game. He extends plays, takes his shots when they're there, and scrambles for postive gains when they aren't. He's also realized that it's acceptable to go through a progression and throw to any receiver who might be open. No small feat, and one we haven't really seen since Bradford. Now that I've spent this whole section verbally fluffing Baker Mayfield, I'm going in a different direction. This game will likely see plenty of scoring. This one will be won by the team that can grind it out late. After getting embarrassed by Perine last season, they'll be keying on him, that's why I like Joe Mixon to make his name a household one in this tilt. It's his coming out party tomorrow, 150+ total yards and a score.

Defense

This is becoming harder to pick. We've had solid play from several different guys in every game. One area where I feel comfortable avoiding a pick is the secondary. They were just scorched by Tulsa. Truly an awful showing. For this game we will need balance in both the run and pass phases of the game. I like Dominique Alexander to come strong in this one. He's been quietly solid and I think Saturday he makes some big plays and contains the high flying Mountaineers.

Score

This is a huge game, first one of the season in conference, two unbeaten teams, two ranked in the top 25. The winner stays the course for those preseason aspirations, the loser says the right things and quietly begins scoreboard watching. The Sooners have had two weeks to get ready for this game. It's in the right stadium, and they've still got that "nobody-believes-in-us" mentality accompanying a sub-top 20 preseason ranking. It'll be a very tough test, but the Sooners do enough and win it 31-27.


Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner. 

Livin' On Tulsa Time

Great song, better post title. The Sooners come into this test fresh off of a great (however improbable) win that took me back to the early Stoops era where wins were pulled out with regularity. It was the opposite of a gut punch and was so much fun to watch. Let's hope it doesn't breed complacency and rather pushes the boys on a roll that lasts all season.

There was much hand wringing about Mayfield and his lack of production last week until the 4th quarter/OT. Maybe I'm crazy but I thought he did a fine job through the game. It was basically, hike, run for your life each down. Couple that with several drops and he wasn't exactly set up for success.

Tulsa has been scoring points in buckets this season. Admittedly their competition hasn't been the best, but it still takes talent to score. I think our D will be tested and this has all of the makings of a trap game. Let's hope the Sooners stay focused and do what everyone expects today.

Offense

So far, the Air Raid attack has been on high and as a result the ground game hasn't exactly dropped jaws. I think the coaching staff uses this game as an attempt tune up the balance and get the ground game going. Samaje busts out today and gets his first hundo of the season and finds the end zone at least once.

Defense

There has been a clear cut best player on the defense this season so far, and it's someone who's not been mentioned much on this blog apart from the mention of his cameo on Hill Street Blues. That guy is Devante Bond.  Bond was all over the field last week and I think he will be again. The man has been an absolute beast.

Score

I think Tulsa will score a lot on OU today, they run the fast pace aerial attack that generally gives the defense fits. Pair that with the trap game set up (coming off a huge win/going into a bye/seemingly lesser opponent) and this will be tougher than anyone thinks. As I mentioned, Tulsa scores, they also give up a lot of points. OU wins this one and heads into the off week 3-0. Sooners take it 44-34.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner. 

Oklahoma Sooner vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Sooner fans may still be basking in the afterglow of last week's miracle but the boys on the field need to get right back to work.

First, may I share a few words on last week's environment? Knoxville is one of the coolest college towns I've ever been to. The people were amazing. The bar scene was spectacular. The tailgates were crazy in that they are shoved into every nook and cranny (technical term) from inside parking garages to yacht decks on the Tennessee River. And make no mistake. They were yachts. It was also the loudest venue I've ever been to in my life and it wasn't even close. I could not more highly recommend spending time on a college football weekend in Knoxville.

Bob Stoops called the win perhaps the favorite of his tenure. It was pretty awesome and I will never forget the sight of 100,000 Volunteer fans getting their hearts collectively ripped out. That's exactly what you could sense happening on that long drive in the 4th quarter that tied the game.

Now we move on to Tulsa. I thought for sure this would be a great homecoming game to work on some things going into a bye. Then I spoke with an historically pessimistic tailgating buddy who informs that Tulsa has a 5-Star QB who transferred in with new head coach and former Baylor Offensive Coordinator Philip Montgomery. Turns out it's true and so this may prove to be a nice test for the defense and the secondary in particular.

OFFENSE

Baker Mayfield was obviously great last week. However, his ability to scramble highlighted the fact the O-Line needs to pull up their big boy pants and start putting some helmets on someone. No more of this "ole' bullshit". Can you imagine how many times Landry Jones would have been sacked last week?

The Sooners also need to get in a rhythm early. A slow start against Akron is OK in game 1. A slow start against Tennessee is OK in a hostile road environment against a pretty decent defense. A slow start against Tulsa has me making that sucking in noise through my teeth and worrying we've got a bad habit on our hands that's going to bite us in the ass sometime sooner than later.

There are some good options to get the rhythm going. You could run Mayfield, Perine or Mixon. You could try to strike deep with Shepard. Or you could pull a Heupel and do none of these (using your best players being too obvious).

I'm a big "ride the hot hand" guy so I'm taking Sterling Shepard this week. He was yoooj, just yoooooj last week and, as a veteran, he can get things going early.

DEFENSE

This unit is clearly improved but I'm still not convinced they are the real deal. I can't believe it but today will show a lot. Tulsa has what appears to be a balanced and potent offense. Baylor Light may be an insult to both Baylor and Tulsa but if it winds up being the case then the Sooner D is only going to grow from the experience.

Again, in the vein of riding the hot hand I'm going to take Devante Bond. He's been in beast mode for two weeks now. He's kept Frank Shannon off the field. I like him to continue today. Hopefully he can get some good pressure on this QB and the Sooners can turn them over a couple times.

THE SCORE

Tulsa gives up a ton of points. They score a ton. I feel like this one's going to start off as a shootout before the talent gap takes over. The Sooners do get going early on offense, the D shows signs of future struggles against potent offenses before showing flashes of potential.

Sooners 56, Tulsa 28

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner

Tennessee Volunteers

One week after reading my post, laughing hysterically, shitting on it and making Akron eat it, the Sooners travel to Tennessee for an SEC tilt in front of the most fans to ever witness (you may or may not have heard) an OU game. I may have overestimated the Zips chances, but can you blame after recent seasons? The Vols should be a much tougher test. The road environment, the big crowd, the fact that Stoops hasn't always had the troops completely ready in the situations in recent past all should give pause to the faithful.

The Sooners had a difficult time beating these guys last season in Norman. This is largely the same young Vols team this season, only with another year to gain experience. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs gave the Sooners fits last year as is the fashion with any QB who can run and prolong plays. He's back as are talented running backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara who both proved very tough last season. There is no shortage of weapons on the Vols offense and the Sooner D will be tested early and often.

The good news is the Sooners are not the same team as last year. The offense looked balanced and almost as if they had tried throwing passes during practice at some point. This is an upgrade. That said, there was a slow start against Akron. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and chalk that up to week 1 kinks. But, you know how it sucks when another team comes to Norman and comes out on fire? It would be pretty awesome to do the same to Tennessee tomorrow and find out what it sounds like to hear a mouse peeing on Cotton in front of 104k+.

Offense

One week after Baker Mayfield gave the Sooner State a collective boner that became the first object on earth photographed by the Mars rover, one would be tempted to go with him as their OPG. I would love to regret not picking him again next week, but I refuse to. Bowling Green threw for 433 against the Vols last week. I think Mayfield builds off of last week and has another nice outing with 300 plus yards and 2 TDs.

Defense

I didn't see the game last week so I have little to go on in terms of who I thought looked solid. Tennessee is multi-dimensional on offense and it will require a full team approach to slow them down. I think Charles "Ass" Tapper has a nice game as he gets to the Q at least once and keeps the two-headed RB contained with multiple tackles in the run game.

Score

This will be a tough game for OU. They have everything to prove and this game could be a big step in shedding some of the road demons that have plagued them. Not to mention it would be a nice confidence builder for the rest of the season. Tennessee will get some points and the crowd will carry them to an extent. That said, I think the Sooners play enough defense and the offense rolls up some points, Sooners win it in a nice road statement, 33-20.

Big game this week, let's stomp some Vol nuts.


Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner.

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Tennessee Volunteers

The Sooners couldn’t have hoped for a better start to the 2015 campaign. The offense, after a slow start, became unstoppable in the 3rd quarter. Baker Mayfield broke a record set by no less a personage than Sam Bradford. Joe Mixon looked worthy of the hype. Play calls were in early and decisive. There was a lot of play action and misdirection.

The defense yielded only 225 yards and forced a fumble. Hatari Byrd made an early entry for Hit of the Year when he stopped a scrambling Tra’Von Chapman in his tracks.

Austin Siebert is a weapon in the kicking game. He turned the field over on several occasions and he’s a good field goal kicker.  I can’t remember a kicker “putting out the vibe” like this guy.

There were positives in all phases of the game. I wear crimson blinders but there were no glaring weaknesses that are going to result in Week 2 coaching demotions a la the texas Longhorns. Yet, there are things that I’m sure showed up on game tape that the coaching staff can use for teaching points.

Now on to Rocky Top for a great early season test.  

OFFENSE

One of my favorite moments last week was a 3rd quarter 4th and 1 on the Zips 49 yard line. Lincoln Riley sent in some kind of jumbo package with Perine in the backfield. There was no hesitation on the call. Once the Sooners set at the line there was no looking over to the sideline. No timeout was called. Everyone in the stadium knew where the ball was going. Perine carried for 15. The Sooners went on to score three plays later on passes. It was consistent with the way the play calling went all night. It was easy and confident. There was no waiting around for the next play call to come in. There was occasionally some checking in to the sideline but the answer was ready when the question was asked. Nothing, a la the run game, was forced. It was nice to see.

The bubble may burst but I get the sense that the confidence of Riley and Mayfield is going to carry over to the rest of the offense and the stage of Neyland Stadium, in SEC country, in front of 105,000 is not going to be too big for these guys.

Plus, this quote from Bowling Green head coach Dino Babers makes me feel pretty good. "I promise you that someone's not going to sleep over there based off of their defense either."

I’d love to pick Mayfield to go bonkers again here. And it’s highly likely he will. He has a high comfort level with Jarvis Baxter so that would be a reasonable pick too. Needless to say, Berry Tramel put together a mid-week puff piece on Baxter’s Cinderella story. But I’m going with Joe Mixon. I imagine Tennessee is going to be quite aware of where he’s lined up and they will still have a tough time handling him. I think this will be Joe’s introduction to the country.

DEFENSE

This will be a big test for the Sooner D. Tennessee appears ready, willing and able to run rough shod over the Sooners. Can the defensive line help the linebackers out? Matt Dimon, Charles “Chaz” Walker and Matthew Romar need to play big. I feel good that your ‘Nique Alexanders, Jordan Evans, Frank Shannon’s and Devonte Bonds can clean up if the D-Line does its thing.

On that note, from the “Straight Outta LEFT FIELD” department I’m going to with Zack Sanchez. I just have that old tingly feeling that he’s going to do something big to alter the course of the game.

Akron was just too discombobulated on offense to know whether the Sooners made them that way or if they were just terrible. Probably a little of both. I'm not yet sold on their improvement over last year. I'll be happy with baby steps and another good showing this weekend.

THE SCORE

Tennessee wound up putting up a big number on Bowling Green but the Sooners D, questions and all, are better than anything the Vols have seen in practice or in week 1. That’s going to be the difference.

The Sooners offense is also going to prove superior and I have doubts that the Vols offense is built to come from behind.

I’m going Sooners 38, Tennessee 21

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner