The Oklahoma Sooners Versus the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame

Get yourself buckled up boys and girls because what we have here is a big damn football game.

Sooner Head Football Coach Bobby Stoops said earlier this week that it's probably the biggest game since Nebraska came rolling into town one Red October back in 2000. Navin and I were at that football game and I can say that it was, without a doubt, the best atmosphere for a football game I've ever been a part of. It was the first time at any sporting event that I literally felt electricity in the air.

The Sooners of 2000 were a Cinderella story in college football and the contest against the Huskers put the Sooners back on top. The thing is, in the Spring of 2000, nobody looked at the calendar, saw Nebraska on the schedule, and said, "Boy is that going to be one hell of a game." On the contrary, most  people probably hershey squirted their pants a little. Nebraska was a juggernaut at the time.

Flash forward to the Spring of 2012, however, and every Sooners fan I talked to was looking forward to this contest. It's the first time I can remember such a thing in my adult life. Not only was everyone looking forward to it but now we find a contest worthy of the hype.

All of this to say that there will almost certainly be electricity in the air once again come Saturday in Norman.

I am giddy that we find ourselves, Sooner fans, in the position of doing the circling on the calendar for once. And, I don't need to remind anyone how well the Sooners play when they are looking forward to something (look at Texas two weeks ago).

OFFENSE

The Notre Dame defense is the reason for their 7-0 start. They have yet to allow a rushing touchdown on 3rd and goal situations. Is this the day the Belldozer is contained? I'm interested in finding out. It's inexplicable that the Belldozer has yet to be contained. If anyone can do it, it's the Irish. Today is the first day I'm really excited to see him in there and I really hope it works.

The Irish also have a LB in Manti Te'o who is appearing on some Heisman short lists. He sounds like a man among boys and, in that sense, is frightening. Turnovers are the reason the Sooners have one loss. If the Irish are as fierce and ballyhooed as the pundits say, then this is a classic turnover battle game. Landry has to have protection. How far has the O-Line come since K-State. We find out tonight.

The Sooner offensive arsenal, including Special Teams, is scarier than the Irish Defense. This Te'o fella can't cover them all and smear Landry at the same time. The Sooners need to pull out all stops and take their dynamic propensities to new heights.

My favorite weapon on a day like today, and my pick for OPOG, is Night Train Trey Millard. He's the most versatile. He's a matchup nightmare. He is a man among boys on the offensive side of the football.

DEFENSE

I ain't skeered of the Irish offense. The Sooner D has been getting stronger as the season wears on and they have another shot on national television to prove they are elite.

By all accounts the offense for Notre Dame is predicated on the run game. This means a lot of Tommy Wort which is not ideal, unfortunately. Hopefully the Sooners won't get burned on play action if he's in there.

I'm unconvinced that the Irish have faced anything resembling the Sooner defense. The Irish have put up enough points to win against teams that don't really strike fear in opposing defensive coordinators.

For my DPOG today I'm going with Demontre Hurst. I think the Irish will try to sneak in some big pass plays and they have to pick on someone. Demontre will make them pay.

THE SCORE

I think this one goes along the same lines as the K-State game. It's a race to 30 points. The Sooners can't turn the ball over more than once and get there. The Irish will have to capitalize on mistakes to do it.

The atmosphere will be off the charts. The stadium will be candy-striped red and white. They are handing out rally towels (the first time I can remember a giveaway). The proverbial roof was going to be blown off without these gimmicks but it's going to be a scene unlike any other. It obviously favors OU.

OU 24 Notre Dame 17

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner!

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

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:

It's Game Week

It's hard to believe that it's finally here. I spend from Mid-January on thinking about going to 6 games. Utah State gametime is set for 6:30. We'll probably head down about 2:00PM.

Our typical gameday looks like this. We'll park North of Campus Corner (Norman's bar scene situated North of the stadium). We'll walk through Campus Corner and have some beers, do some people watching, chat up friends and so forth. Then we'll head South and make our way to the East side of the stadium to meet up with my father-in-law and his tailgating buddies.

They go all out. Picnic tables, tablecloth, usually two grills, beer, liquor, wine, satellite TV to watch the day's action and plenty of people moving in and out. It's a great spot to hang out up to gametime and even better postgame. Once the traffic has dissipated we'll head back North, again through Campus Corner before heading home. It'll be a full day.

I'm going to snap some photos of the gameday scene. The pomp, the pageantry, the tailgating, the beer. I'll also show you the view from my Uecker Seats.

Check out Navin's recap below. I'll have mine up Thursday or Friday.