Kent State vs. Oklahoma

The Sooners take on hapless Kent State on a gorgeous sunny day in Norman today. This will be the first game for the Sooners since learning that John Mateer suffered an injury in his throwing hand that required surgery in the Sooners victory against the Auburn Tigers.

Making the playoffs, much less winning a championship, requires more than a complete team. You have to avoid injuries and you have to have some luck. The Sooners have a good, mostly complete team. The timing of Mateer's injury seems to be lucky. The injury should take approximately four weeks to come back from. It seems plausible that he would try to come back on the aggressive side of a 4-6 week timetable. But for the Sooners, what a gift to have week 1 of the injury be on a bye week and week 2 against Kent State, at home, a chance to let Ben Arbuckle and Michael Hawkins, Jr. try to get some work in together before SEC begins, in earnest, with the Red River Rivalry coming up next week. 

The Sooners will be (spoiler alert!) undefeated going into Texas. Let's hedge and say Mateer does not make it back for that one or the matchup at South Carolina the week after. The Sooners will still be in terrific shape for the stretch run if they can go 2-1 without Mateer and get back home on October 25th sitting at 6-1 or 7-0 against Ole Miss. I'd love to see Mateer against Texas. But if Michael Hawkins can show some competence and poise while managing Ben Arbuckle's game plan, I'd be thrilled to see the return of a healthy Mateer at home against Ole Miss.

That's the mission at this point. 

OFFENSE

Speaking of Michael Hawkins, what we've seen in limited action thus far would indicate he is not John Mateer or even close. He's run-first and does not seem to keep his eyes downfield while scrambling. He's an athletic freak, but the magic of Mateer is his ability to keep both a play alive and his eyes downfield.

The key today will be for Hawkins to reign in his instinct to tuck and run. One would hope the Sooners O-Line can provide enough cushion to allow Hawkins time to work on going through his reads quickly, being decisive and running as a last resort. 

Secondarily, today really needs to be used to develop the running game. Every armchair quarterback who's watched the Sooners this year has lamented the lack of a consistent running attack outside of John Mateer. Rumor has it that Jayden Ott might see more action. One is also left to wonder, "Wither Taylor Tatum?". 

The key today though, and my OPOG, is Jaren Kanek. Kanek has been such a pleasant surprise and primary security blanket for Mateer. He will find himself playing on Sundays if he doesn't watch himself. If he and Mikey Hawkins can get on the same page, Kanek can go a long ways towards helping Hawkins get settled in. Kanek needs to hang onto the ball, but by and large he's sure handed, great after the catch and can get himself open a lot. He's brilliant at getting chunk plays when the Sooners need one. I think he'll be huge today. 

DEFENSE

Mateer gets a lot of credit for his part in making the Sooners one of this season's biggest positive surprises thus far. It's the Sooners defense, however, that is carrying the day. They're 3rd nationally in scoring defense and 2nd overall in total defense. 

Perhaps the weirdest statistic in college football this year is that the Sooners are tied for 128th in the FBS in turnover margin. They have yet to get one. They've had chances and you have to trust that they'll come and when they do it will be in bunches. 

Maybe it starts today. Eli Bowen is back and healthy and will get his first action of the season. He is probably the better of the Bowen's which is saying something. If he's fully healthy and the Sooners decide to get him a lot of snaps to work him back into playing action, then it's conceivable this defense just got better. 

For my DPOG I'm summoning my inner Natey, though,  and starting to really like what David Stone brings to the table. He is a menace. This defensive line is something else. I'm claiming my spot on the Stone Bandwagon until it looks like it's parked at a Mumbai station and I'm squeezed off by the crush of so many other Philistines.

THE SCORE

The Sooners will crush today. Kent State has played some ranked teams (Texas Tech and Florida State), but they are about to get feasted on, the extent to which they are not prepared to handle. I will be interested to hear how Kent State compares the Sooners overall to these other quality teams they have faced. Mind you, interested to hear is not to be confused with ambitious enough to actually look.

The Sooners are favored by 45.5 as of press time and the over/under is 53.5. I will take those odds and the over. 

Sooners 63, Kent State 7

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Kansas Jayhawks

 Good morning, Sooner fans. Our 7-0 Sooners had themselves a good ole fashioned wake-up call last week against UCF at home, but they bowed up when it mattered and hopefully it was a good learning experience because this week it's a real trap game. The Sooners head up to Lawrence to face the Jayhawks, a team with a legit rushing attack and a desire to show the country they the program is trending in the positive.

OFFENSE

The Sooner offense is obviously good enough to win any game. Dillon Gabriel has taken a step up this year, to say the least. They have receivers who can do some damage. But, at some point, the Sooners need to figure out how to get the run game going from the jump. Last week DG took the reigns, and that's fine. But the running-back-by-committee is still clunky and weird. In defense of last week, Tawee Walker didn't play because of reasons and supposedly he's back today. Gavin Sawchuk looked good in the 2nd half. 

Last week I picked Walker and look what happened. Today I'm picking Sawchuk and hopefully I don't fuck up his day.

DEFENSE

Don't be surprised if Danny Stutsman gets 15 tackles today. The Jayhawks are going to try to rush the ball. They have a running back that averages 7+ yards per carry. Ridiculous. The Sooners need to shut that down double quick and avoid stupid penalties while doing it. 

If they can avoid stomping on their own dicks for a minute, the Jayhawks shouldn't score more than 17-24. If they let the Jayhawks stay on the field, it'll be hard to keep them under 30.

I think the D might have learned more from last week than the O. In that vein, I think they respond and put on a clinic. Stutsman is the MVP, but Kansas native Jaren Kanek, chief offender of boneheaded penalties last week, is my DPOG.

SCORE

This one scares me more than just about any other on the schedule for some reason. I was worried about Jalon Daniels at QB, but it doesn't look like he'll be playing. However, the Jayhawks will have a chip on their shoulder. The Sooners will get their best game. It's time for the Sooners to show they can match that level of energy and preparedness. History has shown that this is tough for OU. It doesn't have to be today. This one is an opportunity to take another step towards being a bona fide contender.

I like the Sooners to win but I'm not sure they'll cover the spread (-9). I like the Sooners 31-24.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Cincinnati Bearcats

 Happy college football Saturday, sports fans. Our Sooners are 3-0 at the conclusion of warm-up section of the schedule. They've looked mostly very good to this point. Dillon Gabriel is playing at a consistently higher level year over year and the defense is visibly much improved.

Today shit gets real. This will be Cincinnati's first game in the Big 12. It's the first true away game for the Sooners.  The Bearcats will be fired up and ready to show they belong. Our boys are going to have to show some character today if they want to come out with a W.

OFFENSE

Reportedly the Bearcats have a pretty solid defensive line. They have 10 sacks so far this year. The Sooners offensive line has been a little spotty and they haven't nailed down personnel. Keep an eye out here. You know the Sooners will never give up on the running game, but we don't need to see Dillon Gabriel scrambling early and often as it may make him a little more accident prone. 

It makes me wonder if Jackson Arnold might get in the mix if it does happen that the Sooners line can't keep the Bearcats in check. 

Meanwhile, in the passing game, the Sooners took some shots last week which was great to see. Nic Anderson showed he can be a serious threat. He's tall and strong enough to shed defenders. 

I like Nic Anderson today as my ovenmitts.com Hot Hand player of the game. 

DEFENSE

I'm keenly interested to watch the defense today. The Bearcats QB is a dual threat transfer from Florida. It's a given that the Sooners are going to take the Bearcats best shot. There's probably going to be some breakdowns and the Sooners are going to get punched in the mouth.

Today we'll see if they've got some grit. I think the mentality is there but it's going to get tested. 

Whoever is spying the quarterback is my DPOG. I don't know if that's Danny Stutsman, Jaren Kanek, Justin Harrington or someone else. But that's the key. I'm guessing they start with Kanek. I'm not sure if Harrington is even back from injury. 

The Sooners have three guys banged up that they need back ASAP. Harrington, Dasan McCullough and Gentry Williams. Williams, especially. I'd feel much better about things if two of these three were active today.

OK so my DPOG is Kanek.

THE SCORE

This is the perfect test at the right time for the Sooners. The Bearcats are a team we should beat by more than 14 (current spread). It's the situation for the Bearcats that makes this one so much more difficult. On the road, first Big 12 game in history for a Cincy team that will want to prove they belong. 

The Sooners need to play with an edge and attitude and squash the bug. The Sooners O-line needs to ball out and the defense needs to show some toughness. 

If it works out, I like the Sooners 31, Bearcats 17.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner