Bedlam

Whoa mama, this is gonna be a tough one. The Sooners travel up the road tomorrow to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The days of this being a big brother/little brother matchup are gone.  Granted OU holds a likely insurmountable edge in the all-time series, OSU has been consistently good for well over a decade now. The two teams are again highly ranked and again, both have plenty to play for.

The initial playoff rankings were released on Tuesday and they did an excellent job of serving as sports talk fodder and causing much angst and hand wringing. In reality, they mean absolutely nothing. The chances of these rankings being the same at the end of the season (when they do mean something) are as good as my chances of getting a nice bronzy tan next summer. Every team has it's fans (and sometimes coaches) complaining about where they are ranked and what they "deserve" etc about this time of year, I've been guilty of it plenty of times (this year included), but those complaints often have a way of working themselves out in the form of prompt losses. I didn't care for OU coaches and players coming out with that shit this week, if you win, it all sorts itself out. Which brings us to Bedlam, this and every game from here on out are must-wins if OU wants a shot at the playoff.

This week won't be easy. OSU comes in with a very high-powered offense that can score in bunches. If you've watched any OU football this year, that doesn't set up to be a great matchup against the Red Carpet. In my eyes, this game will come down to one position battle, the Sooner defensive line vs the OSU offensive line. If OU can generate consistent pressure without bringing the house, they have a great chance. If not, and the OU secondary is tested, it could be a long, frustrating day. OU will score, but that was never the question, how many times they can stop the pokes is.


Offense

How about the RB situation for the Sooners? I, and many others (I think), assumed this would be a weak point after the departures of Mixon and Perine. If anything it's looking like a major strength. To be fair, they are in a great position to succeed behind an outstanding offensive line and a QB that is a Heisman hopeful. But, nonetheless, they have really done the almost impossible job of being a committee where I'm happy to see any of them come in rather than the opposite. But back to that QB they play behind, he's been next to unstoppable lately. I think big rivalry games like this are what he lives for, I'm going with Baker Mayfield in this one. I think he has monster day and frustrates the Cowboy defense all afternoon.

Defense

In the "Credit Where Due" file, I'd like to submit Mike Stoops photo. I have complained a lot about his inability to make in-game, née in-season, adjustments. After a disastrous opening quarter of defensive football against Tech, the Sooners switched up their fronts and essentially dominated on defense the rest of the way. I have no idea (and even less faith) whether they can repeat that sort of adjustment, but it will be critical to the outcome of this game. As I alluded to earlier, getting pressure on Mason Rudolph and disrupting the run game up front is key. I will be as hopeful as possible and say DJ Ward has a big game on the edge and gets a sack in a key moment.

Score

My gut does not send out good vibes in this one. On the plus side, there is no way they can be looking past OSU. I choose to ignore the minus side. OU will need to play a very complete game, something they haven't done since Ohio State. Let's hope they get it together and crush the flying mullets. Sooners eke out a must-win 29-27.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner

:: Pours whiskey, cracks knuckles and settles down in front of the IBM Selectra II ::

Greetings loyal readers and welcome back to another, albeit belated and surprising, addition of the Steamroller. Per  several letters to the Editor, the only thing as remotely disappointing as the Sooners performance against Houston was me and my decision to bail on this blog.

Alas, fear not for I am with thee.

By now we should all be somewhere between Bargaining and Acceptance on our personal grief journey. I'm somewhere right around here: Bargaining-------I--Depression. Remember, if you feel like you're out there alone in the wilderness, there are hundreds of thousands of Sooners fans just as bewildered and pissed off as you right now. We can get through this together.

Seriously though what the hell?

Give Houston credit. They are quality football team blah blah blah. But when will the Sooners realize every opponent approaches them like its their Super Bowl®? Houston finished 2015 with a nice bowl win and then looked at the 2016 slate and realized, "Great Hosanna! If we beat OU we're in control of our BCS destiny after week 1".

OU came off an assbeating from Clemson, looked at the schedule, saw Houston, scratched their buttholes and sniffed their fingers.

There are no valid excuses. Houston was better prepared and played harder. What happens when the Sooners are better prepared and play harder? They throttle people. How often does that happen? About as often as the shoe is on the other foot. Once or twice a season. So there's your ten wins, occasional conference title games/bowl wins and occasional national stage embarrassments. We're not trying to land lunar rovers on comets here.

On to Louisiana Monroe, a game so devoid of interest it's relegated to Pay Per View. I'd rather give away my tickets and buy the damn show than spend six hours plus heading to Norman and back for this schlock fest.

OFFENSE

I can't believe it but after the small sample size of one awful game it appears there are four options on offense. Baker Damn Mayfield (henceforth B.D. Mayfield as far as I am concerned), Samaje Perine, Joe Mixon and Mark Andrews. It is unbelievable that an offseason of work would have failed to produce two more reliable options at wide receiver. I don't even mean replacing the production of Sterling Shepard. I mean, players that can get open and not do dumb things if/when they catch the ball. Wide receiver development needs to be the focus of this game. The Sooners are effed if they can't figure it out.

However... Lincoln Riley got a case of the Heupels when he abandoned the running game which is, you know, only the most potent backfield in the country probably. Yeah, Perine went out for a bit with "a shoulder" but he returned and he makes for a damn fine decoy. I get the feeling that sort of sorcery is a bit much for these guys to handle mentally if it isn't already a contingency in the game plan though.

Since I didn't publicly proclaim that Joe Mixon will have a breakout season I will do so again for my OPOG this week. Joe Mixon is going to bust loose this year. The inexcusable lady beating is kind of behind him, he's had a whole offseason where he could participate and my advanced scouting metrics indicate he is a multi-threat beast.

I'm leaving the O-Line alone for just this minute.

DEFENSE

Well these guys looked a little disjointed to say the least. Dakota Austin earned Twitter's Vine of the Week by trying to tackle a person without the ball. Hell of a motor though I guess. Obwe Onyonkawya nee Ogbonnia Okoronkwo probably passes the Kirk Herbstreit "Eye Test" and might be one hell of a player someday but it's hard for me to tell if he was everywhere or getting picked on. Other than that I remember Steven Parker got dinged up and that's about it for the memorable moments.

The highlight for me was actually seeing Mike Stoops frothing at the mouth in the press box. He clearly belongs there. This bunch seems like they could tune out his profanity laced tirades fairly easily.

This week let's hope for baby steps. Maybe a three and out or two. Buttoning up on third down. Maybe not committing dumb shit penalties to keep drives alive. Some push up the middle? I don't know I'm spitballing here.

Who's the leader of this group anyway? Is there an MF'er? I'll pin my hopes for Defensive Player of the Game this week on Jordan Wade. It all starts up front as "they" say.

THE SCORE

We're 0-1 playing a PPV tilt against a stank team. I can't remember (and maybe I'm alone here) a less exciting home opener since the Blake days.

Let's kick their ass and hope they are more inspired than me while they do it. There is an actual big game next week and if nobody wants to get embarrassed it's time to get down to business.

Sooners 49 - Warhawks 17

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Clemson - The Semi(wood)'s

Well sports fans, here we are at the penultimate game for college football. The Sooners come into this game having Steamrolled (it's the name of this blog) the Big 12 powerhouses in a November that can only be described as badass. Somehow, after losing to a decidedly shitty texas squad in October, the Sooners "got their shit together" and kicked everyone's ass thereafter. So much so, that even though Clemson is #1 and undefeated, OU is favored in this game and also predicted by many to win it all. I, not surprisingly, have less confidence. Lest we forget, this same Clemson squad demolished OU but 1 year ago. Hopefully, the locker room bulletin board is overloaded with reminders of this.

The matchup is a wet dream for the NCAA and media outlets everywhere. The rematch, the balanced teams, the coaching undertones with Venables, the undefeated darlings, and the old time power all simmer together and make the most delicious matchup. I'm nervous, the Sooners have a recent history (approximately the last decade) of wilting when the lights are hottest. Clemson, no doubt, feels slighted that they, the #1 and undefeated team, come in as underdogs. There is no shortage of motivation for either side, In short, this is huge.

Offense

All week, the story has been Mayfield and Watson. I even read an ESPN puff piece on Mayfield's intramural days at OU. Both are dynamic and both will probably influence the outcome of this game more than any one player on their respective teams. That said, I'm not going with Mayfield here. Perine and Mixon are going to both be huge, they are as essential to the hopes of Sooner nation as Mayfield. But, one player has scarcely been mentioned all week. I think Sterling Shepard hauls in 10 balls, and scores twice. I think Clemson doesn't have an answer for him tonight.

Defense

Whoa doctor, this is where the rubber meets the road. Deshaun Watson is as dynamic of a player as there is in college football. I was looking at some advanced metrics on him and in most categories his two most similar comparisons historically are Cam Newton and Russell Wilson. Yikes. The idea is simple, the execution? Nearly impossible. Shut down Watson and OU will win this game. Who will step up for the Sooners today? Whew, my hope is everyone but if pinning it down to one individual, I'm going with Charles "Ass" Tapper. He's really developed into a monster this year. I think his foot is squarely in Watson's ass all day.

Score

Many years ago, my buddy Mitch and I were driving around in my home town, during a weekend I had coaxed him to make the drive 4 hours up I-44. It was cold, and with little else to do, we stopped at a Blockbuster Music Store and purchased a CD (ladies and gentleman, my submission for most dated sentence of 2015). Why do I remember this apparently mundane sequence of events so vividly? It was both of our first exposures to a band called Parliament. I'm not saying I remember everything perfectly after that point, but I do know we listened to it on repeat about 5 times. Last night I had the great pleasure of seeing George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic live. As I proceeded to boogie, my mind turned to that long ago night, and I only felt good vibes for Sooner nation. Sooners beat Clemson today 34-24.

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!

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Tech

Well it looks like the doom and gloom was a bit premature. The Sooners looked like they were launched out of a cannon last week and very little of their performance bore a resemblance to the product that was fielded against Texas. I cannot believe such a drastic change was possible. Now of course there's the woulda coulda shoulda's and why-for's wasn't this how they played against Texas. Texas is done. It's over. As the Tulsa World beat writer Guerin Emig said on Twitter during the game (I'm paraphrasing here) Sooner fans should be relieved the same team didn't show up against K-State, not confused or upset. 5-1 looks a hell of a lot better than 4-2 at this point.

Seriously though, the offense looked dynamic. It was fast getting to the line, the ball was going somewhere quickly and the K-State defense was continually on its heels. They had 30 first downs. This was the offense everyone was hoping for when Lincoln Riley came to town.

Defensively the Sooners held K-State to 110 yards. That's PlayStation Rookie level stuff. They tackled. They forced three turnovers.

Now the Sooners have some nice momentum going again, they're back at home and they've got some built in motivation with the Baker Mayfield - Texas Tech revenge factor. I'm back in baby and I just got a big whiff of some Red Raider ass beat.

OFFENSE

Obviously, more of same from last week here. Move your playmakers around, get the ball to them quickly in space and let them go to work. Baker Mayfield needs to stay calm. The Red Raiders give up yards in chunks so let's take them. The O-Line got a shake up and they looked good. They need to build on last week as well.

You know who I really want to pick? Mark Andrews. But it's not his time yet. Here in a few weeks we'll figure out good things happen the more he's on the football field. But for now, I'm going Joe Mixon. I just have that good old feeling today that he's going to do something awesome.

DEFENSE

Shutting anyone out is a big deal. The Sooner D made the K-State offense look Class B. The best thing to say, I guess, is they were ready willing and able to try new looks and personnel and it paid off. Getting Hatari Byrd off the football field to make way for Steven Parker full time worked. Someone named Will Johnson stepped in at the Nickel and looked pretty darn good.

What's coming this week is a different class of quarterback, however. It was dumb for Klifford Kingsbury to not give Baker Mayfield a scholarship but Patrick Mahomes is pretty solid. He, like Mayfield, seems to have "it".

I wish I could figure these guys out. They are trash one week, treasure the next. No one seems to epitomize this more than Zack Sanchez. Last week he was great. I hope he is this week also so I'm picking him. Don't sleep on Charles Walker though. It seems like that guy has been stepping up of late which, if true, is huge.

THE SCORE

The Red Raiders are easy to hate. They have a super inflated sense of self worth based on a history of mediocrity and tortilla tossing. Klifford K Kingsbury is an A-hole. The Sooners are going to be pumped. The home crowd is going to jacked up. It's going to be a fun game.

The Sooners pull it out going away 49-28.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Kansas State (brace yourself, this isn't a feel good "piece")

Call me a bad fan, call me fairweather, call me doughy ginger, I don't give a shit what you call me. I'm tired of this same routine every season. I'm officially calling for Stoops ouster. It's the same story every year, the same lines about competing for conference championships, the historical win/loss record, hell he's the winningest coach in school history. But there is no accountability, no one questioning his status. We haven't been a realistic national title contender since 2009. If you follow recruiting, and I really don't to be fair, it seems like the guys we sign have it narrowed down to Kentucky, Central Florida and OU, not  even on the big programs radar. I'm tired of it. OU isn't in the business of competing for championships with the word "conference" in front of it. For the record, it's now been more years since our most recent national title, than it was before Stoops delivered us to the promised land in 2000.

It's maddening, and I'm sure a plethora of assistants will be fired after this season, if not sooner. There has been a very consistent lack of fundamentals for years now. If this is just anecdotal bullshit in your eyes, I submit this quote from Bob Stoops after embarrassing themselves in the Cotton Bowl last week: "You can put it all on me, but I don't play." What kind of coach says that, out loud, to the media? That is just absurd, and really demonstrates his line of thinking and attitude toward the team.

The Sooners travel up to Manhattan, KS this weekend to take on Bill Snyder's Wildcats. Speaking of coaching, that is someone who might do more with less than anyone else. I'm not wishing for KState's program, but I'd be delighted to have a coach who got the most out of his players like Snyder does. KState is fresh off a near upset of Top 5 TCU. We all know what the Sooners are coming off of. I don't expect the offensive line issues to be solved this week, so I expect another dose of Baker Mayfield running for his life from the moment the ball is snapped. Hopefully, he can revert to getting out of the pocket more as opposed to last week when he seemed content to let it collapse on him. Hell, maybe he's just tired of running. This has the makings of another Sooner loss. Going on the road and playing a disciplined, fundamentally sound team, and bringing neither of those traits with them. Should be interesting.

Offense

I went with Baker Mayfield last week and that certainly didn't pan out. He did as well as could be expected I guess, given the "protection" he had. My hope is that the Sooners try to slow down the 7 yard dashes of the Wildcat front by throwing a few screens and maybe some well timed draw plays. With that in mind, I am going with Joe Mixon. No, he never plays. No, there isn't a good reason for this that I know of. But, if I'm going to unleash my kiss of death on anyone, I prefer someone who will be on the bench most of the game.

Defense

This feels a bit like last season where I just threw darts at the defensive roster. No one really played well last week, and that crap they called "tackling" was just reheated post-mexican food shit. I'm not sure who informed everyone on the defense that they were Ronnie Lott and wrapping up was ancillary in light of their menacing hitting prowess, but they were full of shit. Again, fundamentals, basic pee-wee league type shit that has clearly not been taught. Anyway, with the fact that I'm obligated to pick someone, I will pick Jordan Evans. Because...might as well.

Score

OU probably will end up losing this game for the plethora of reasons I mentioned above. However, we are the ranked team, and we do only have one loss (however awful it might be). We can occasionally do some things well. I think the Sooners will do enough of them to sneak out of the Little Apple with a W. Sooners take it in an ass-clencher, 31-30.

Apologies for the overriding negative vibe in this post. It's telling that I still feel this way, writing this with a week to chill. It's been building for a few season, and I've just had enough. Still, I root on and hope for the best.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner. 

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

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. 

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

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Akron Zips

Praise His name the season is finally here. I couldn't handle another puff piece about how Toby used to help his sister raise the family horse and how that work ethic and team first attitude caught Coach Stoops's eye while he was driving his kids to school one day and led to Toby landing an invitation to try and walk-on at the University of Oklahoma.

There are lots of intriguing storylines to pay attention to here for the Sooners in Week 1. Lincoln Riley debuts his Better, Faster, More Offense. Mike Stoops gets to heap his verbal abuse from the safe distance of the press box. Bob Stoops gets a chance to redeem himself and show that he can make in-game decisions worthy of his $5 million dollar salary. Joe Mixon makes his much anticipated debut. Can the Defense hold a wet fart? Can the Sooners go a season (or a game) without calling a timeout on a kickoff or on the backside of a TV timeout?

The Akron Zips are terrible which makes for a nice opportunity for the Sooners to get accustomed to game tempo and let some newcomers settle in to some big time college football. The Zips for their part get an ass-beat, a fat game check and, presumably, some sympathy beej's when they get back to Ohio. So good for them (sarcastically slow clapping).

OFFENSE

It's pretty obvious the Sooners need to lube the ol' offense and get some good reps in at this new pace ASAP. I'm expecting jitters and glitches at the outset. Baker Mayfield gets his first start, there's a new left tackle, it's a new playbook. But if the Sooners can get into the groove as the game goes on and avoid an overabundance of penalties that's a nice day. Scoring is not going to be an issue. Stepping on their own shoe strings may be.

There's many ways to go in choosing an offensive player of the game here. Does Baker Mayfield go crazy? Does Sterling Shepered and Dede Westbrook gain 100+ yards each? Can Semarje pick up where he left off last year? Does Mixon get everyone's forgiveness for being a lady beater? I'm going with Baker Mayfield. I don't think his numbers will be gaudy but I think he'll justify his being named the starter. This alone will put this offense ahead of any point in time last year.

DEFENSE

Mike Stoops is on notice. He's been relegated to the press box and he's lucky he didn't get canned last year. His unit needs to step up in a great way and I'm not seeing anything on paper that leads me to believe it's drastically improved. People like Steven Parker, Ahmad Thomas, Jordan Thomas (aka The Secondary) all have to make the leap. You get no coffee if your name isn't Eric Motherfuckin Striker,  Charles Tapper, Zack Sanchez or Dominique Alexander, basically. Coffee is for closers.

Per tradition and in light of the previous paragraph I'm going Eric Motherfuckin Striker here. We don't know who's starting for the Zips but one of their options "is not a running threat". That bodes well not only for the entire defensive unit but for Mr. Striker as well.

THE SCORE

The over-under for this one is 57.5. I'd load up on the over if I was a sinner and gambled. I like the Sooners big here, just huge. I'm going to say 52-14.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner.

The 2015 Oklahoma Sooners Offensive Preview

Josh Heupel is gone.

The Heupel era was marked by painfully conservative play calling. It was like watching a fireworks celebration and looking forward to the big finale and then it never coming because, “a little bit of fireworks is better than too many fireworks at once”. Heupel routinely out-smarted himself by doing such forward thinking things as “don’t call a run play for three straight series to start a game with a sub-optimal passing QB on the road” and “Don’t start Semarje Perine until forced at knife point by my boss”. He also played as if any lead was safe thus putting a heavy burden on a below average, at best, defense. He was so bad I would not have been surprised if his play sheet was a Shoney’s children’s menu.

To put it a little more bluntly, I was considering giving up my season tickets if Josh Heupel wasn’t fired after last season. I have never been so underwhelmed by any coach of the Stoops era.

So, in with wunderkind 31 year old Lincoln Riley and the magic elixir to cure all that ails.

Everyone is asking, “Can Lincoln Riley adapt his ‘Air Raid’ offense to include the immense talents of Perine and Joe Mixon”? Look, I love the forward pass and I’ve never played or coached a down of tackle football on any organized level. But even I could figure out a way to take advantage of what is the glaring strength of the offensive side of this football team. And if I stubbornly ignored those strengths in favor of my philosophy then I never should have been hired in the first place and should be replaced forthwith in the second. What I am saying here is if you are seriously asking that question then you are a Grade A Fuckwit. Only Josh Heupel, a Grade A Fuckwit, would overthink this and “outsmart” the defense by not using the run game to his advantage and he’s back in Utah. No, I am not worried about Riley’s having a “run package” in this offense.

I am intrigued to see how much faster the offense operates over the Heupel years and what degree of autonomy the QB’s have to make reads and calls without having to consult the press box.

Baker Mayfield is going to be an improvement over Trevor Knight at Quarterback. This is not optimism. This is a low bar. Trevor Knight has played one brilliant game in his career and that was two years ago. Since, he’s been ineffective enough (14 TD - 12 INT) he got the Landry Jones Apologists all foamy-mouthed with their, “I told you so’s” and “careful what you wish for’s”.

In Mayfield the Sooners have some swagger, a guy who plays with the proverbial chip on his shoulder, and a guy who can keep the team fired up. He seems to have “it”. Nobody is asking him to score all the points and win by himself. In this offense there should be an easy (easier) play somewhere. He just needs to be smart enough to find it.

This is an offense playing in a league where it could average 50 points a game. There are playmakers everywhere. Semaje Perine, Sterling Shepard, Dede Westbrook, Joe Mixon.

Perine was a man among boys last year. He won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year but that didn’t seem to matter much last year either. Everyone and their dog knew where the ball was going and still teams had to tackle him. That’s where they ran into problems. Dude is beast mode after contact.

We didn’t get to see Mixon in the Red-White Game but fall practice reviews have done nothing but raise already lofty expectations. Someone compared him to Adrian Peterson for chrissakes. There is also a rumor floating around he might return punts which sounds hazardous (later debunked, as of this writing, by the release of the depth chart). But, if true, then he is clearly versatile. So, if we’re going to set lofty goals I’d be happy with a homeless man’s DeMarco Murray.

It seems ludicrous but Sheperd might actually be flying under the radar a little bit. With the rise of Perine, the expectations around Mixon and Sheperd's own injuries last year, people might be forgetting that Sheperd could be the love child of Mark Clayton and Ryan Broyles. Health permitting, he’s poised to thrive in this new offense. He’s important enough and injury prone enough that I cannot fathom why he’ll be the starting punt returner but, alas, I’m not the highest paid state employee either so such decisions are clearly above my pay grade.

Dede Westbrook was the fastest guy on the whole field during the Red-White game. Looking at this two ways, either the Sooners are collectively a slow football team or Westbrook is a burner. I am giddy about this young man’s future and cannot wait to see this guy catching slants in the middle of the football field.

Another player who caught my eye during the Red-White game was Mark Andrews. He’s a huge target who can get up the field in a hurry. He was able to catch balls in traffic by virtue of his size. I see many opportunities for him. The only downer is he was recruited as a TE, a position which doesn’t exist in Riley’s system. There’s a place for this guy though because of his speed. He starts off the season as Sterling Sheperd’s backup which is odd to me simply because of the differences in height between the two (5’10” vs. 6’5”).

Of course the line has to do its part to make this whole thing go. On paper, it looks decent though it seems devoid of established stars. There are three seniors in Josiah St. John, Ty Darlington and Nila Kasitati. Freshman Brick Shit House Orlando Brown starts off as the No. 1 Left Tackle. Brown goes 6’8” 340 making him the early favorite for my father in law to spend his time focusing on during pre-game stretch.

I really think this offense might average 45 to 55 points and be a hell of a lot of fun to watch. There’s enough here to not only offer a glimmer of hope but to get excited about watching even if you’re only a casual fan. These guys are going to have some fun.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner.