Texas A&M

My original title for this post was "Johnny Footbal...er Texas A&M", but Mitch beat me to the punch on that one, so-to-speak. This is always a bitter-sweet post for the season. It's the last until a long summer, football void. Yet, it's generally preceding the most important game of the year. Although this isn't a BCS bowl (NIU more than proved their worth by kinda hanging with an underwhelming FSU team for nearly 3 quarters), it's certainly the cream of "the rest" if you will. In fact, apart from the National Championship and last night's (in hindsight) less-than-competitive Fiesta Bowl, I don't think it's reach to say this is the most interesting matchup of this bowl season. That fact alone has me pumped for this one.

This is the end of an era of OU football. It's the last game for an icon, the hero to all who've ever done less with more, the master of hurrying under center then standing up and looking to the sideline to see what he should do, JC's favorite son, Lonnie Jones. Needless to say, my mention of this post, and the game it pertains to, being bitter-sweet certainly alluded to Lonnie regarding the "sweet" part of it. I'm not sad to see him go, not even a little. When he inevitably throws a terrible pick this evening, I'll get some small bit of satisfaction knowing it's the last game I'll have to endure it.

However, this might also be our last year of real contention for a bit. We stand to lose quite a bit in terms of personnel. Too much to even begin to highlight really. This doesn't even include the underclassman who may leave early. I know we probably have some pretty decent young guys who will step up next season, but I think there are going to be some rough times next year. I digress however, tonight is a huge challenge and I am not sure if I've had this much doubt going into a game in a long time.

We all know about Manziere (Can I say that this nickname is number one on my list of disappointments as it pertains to conference realignment? It's too perfect, we could even alternate in "The Bro" from time-to-time. Such a bummer), he's an absolute animal. Not to mention, if you were to have Japanese scientists design a cyborg QB tailor-made to shred every OU defense of the last decade it would be this guy. This alone is terrifying, but throw in an all-world offensive line (including a possible #1 overall NFL draft pick/4 year starting LT) facing a subpar and now depleted DL and things look very grim indeed.

Our best chance in this one is to hope that we can keep pace with their scoring, we get a couple of more turnovers than them, and that Mike Stoops is able to work some of his old magic (read: don't count on it). This is getting depressing, on to the picks!

Offense

Last game of the year and I haven't given this too much thought really. I've thought about the game, but not who I think will step up. There are several people who I'd like to see step up, in fact I hope they all do. I'd love to say Justin Brown in his last collegiate start, or Fuckin' Shitbag who may also be suiting up as a Sooner for the last time, but I'm not. I'm going to go with Damien Williams. I think tonight is his coming out party on the national stage. It's high time everyone else got a look at the guy we've known was hard all year. I like him to break off at least one long one and show that extra gear. It will be awfully fun if he does.

Defense

I have about as much confidence here as I have any other game this year, that is to say none. I really wish David King or one of the guys up front really put on a clinic tonight and keep the Manziere in check. Sadly, I don't see it. For no other reason than I'm going with my heart here, I'm picking Tony Motherfuckin' Jefferson. He's gotten to the point, I think, where he's so consistent that it's hard to notice how much he does. Tonight, I think we get a taste of how dominant he can be. I've got a bad feeling this is his last game as a Sooner. I think he knows it, and I think he steps up accordingly.

Score

As I said, I've got an awful feeling here, I really do. But, I also have faith and I think if we play as well as we're capable of that we can win. They're good, but they've got the same number of losses that we do. I think the offense does it's thing, and the defense does just barely enough. It's a close one, and it comes down to the fourth quarter. Sooners pull it out (tee hee) 31-30.

Now, for the last time this season, let's roll some motherfucking heads and show these rotten bastards that they're lucky to have left the Big 12.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner.

OU vs. TCU

Well that was exciting wasn't it? It was easily a top 5 Sooner game I've seen in person.

For grins, my top 5:

5. OU vs. Texas 1996. It was my Freshman year at OU. Only RRR game I've been to. I bought my ticket the day I enrolled. My seat was about 3 rows behind the texas bench and on the 50 yard line. OU was shit that year but won in overtime. First walkoff win I saw until...

4. OU vs. Oklahoma State 2012. A puncher's brawl. No Defense. Last team with the ball wins. OU had the ball last. Unbelievable game by the Sooners. If half the teams of the Stoops era had this team's guts, Stoops would probably have 3 titles.

3. OU vs. Nebraska 1985 - Being but a wee lad I had no idea what was on the line here. Winning seemed as natural as Saturday morning cartoons. I don't have much memory of the game except for sitting in the North End Zone with my Dad and freezing our asses off. This, along with parking cars for money to buy tickets, are my first memories of Sooner football.

2. OU vs. Nebraska 2000. The cherry on top of the cake that was Red October. Best football atmosphere I've ever felt. First time I physically felt electricity in the air.

1. The National Championship game versus Florida State 2001. The culmination of a boyhood following the Sooners. Grew up during the good times, went to OU during the bad. Standing at the doorway of the real world back on top.

Back to last week.

Man, what a game against OSU. No Defense except when it mattered. A classic Lonnie game. One stereotypical costly pass and gaudy numbers otherwise. Two double digit comebacks. Then an awesome celebration that made you remember these are just college kids. The wind was so strong up in the 103 that my eyes started misting over.

So now TCU. It's TCB Saturday Part Deux. Win and a BCS game invite is all but assured. (Great question posed by friend Lucas Howard. Do you want the Sooners to go to a BCS and face Oregon? Holy smokes. I like their chances against Kent State.) Potential letdown maybe? Sure, but this team has shown over the course of the season that they can take a punch. According to Rocky that's what winner's do.

OFFENSE

Man I want to throw Landry a bone here but I can't. I dare not even speak of what he's been doing the last couple of weeks. Instead I go Justin Brown who's been as reliable a receiver as any of the greats the last few years. He's gathered in something ungodly like 30 catches the last three weeks. Sure handed, hard to bring down, great blocker. Damn, sure do wish we had this guy another year.

PS. Please, dear Baby Jesus, don't let TCU see the tape what happens when you get pressure on Landry.

DEFENSE

It seems ludicrous to say, but maybe the boys are getting their sea legs back under them. Sure, they've given up yards in chunks and they're as soft up the middle as a three dollar tart, but they made plays when they had to last week and they need to hang their hats on these modest victories.

That said, TCU does not have the kind of offense that can score 50 points against average defenses. Even these supposed experts who say the Horned Frogs rush the ball very well are being kind at best and paranoid at worst.

TCU is not that good. I can't believe I'm doing this but I'm going Javon Harris here. If he makes me look like an asshole then it will be no surprise. But, if he can turn 3 whiffs into tackles, the defense just got about two touchdowns better. It's time for him to be a difference maker in a good way.

THE SCORE

TCU comes into the game being able to exploit the soft run defense of the Sooners. But can the Sooners take away the pass and make TCU one-dimensional enough to lock in on the run? Is the historically great TCU defense good enough to keep the Sooners offense off the field?

Maybe and no.

The Sooners are too much of a load on Offense and this could be almost like a home game for the Sooners. Fort Worth is an over 50 Sooner fan's wet dream. The only better regional location is Branson.

All things bode well for our Sooners.

OU 31 TCU 17

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner

Oklahoma State

Bedlam is back for it's 2012 incarnation, pitting the Sooners against inferiority complex saddled OSU. At one point this might have been the most lopsided "rivalry" in history. OSU had beaten OU something like 4 times since WW2 to around 2000. Recent years however, have shown much more parity. From the Rashaun Woods game that was a fluke to last year's assbeat in Stoolwater, the Sooners have had much fuller hands with the pokes than any Sooner fan would like. Speaking of last year's embarrassment, I'm hoping the team has a little payback on their mind. Lonnie was never more Lonnie than that game last season, it's his chance for atonement.

OSU comes in with a pretty solid defense which is out of character. Their offense is good as usual. They've lost three on the season and apart from losing to what seems to be a terrifically bad Texas squad, they've been pretty good. It will be a tough test and if we bring the same defense that we brought last week there are going to be a lot of unhappy people in Sooner nation after the game. I'm not going to spend time rehashing that game. While a lot of fun to watch, my coronaries and my sphincter aren't up for a repeat. Suffice it to say, the Sooner defense doesn't seem to be much better than last year, if at all. I'm hoping for a little ball control offense to limit OSU's possessions and maybe we can sneak it out that way.

Offense

I went for Justin Brown last week, hindsight shows that Stills would have been the guy. What a game by Fuckin' Shitbag. Mitch went for Damien Williams who had a really nice night also. I would be happy with either of those two repeating this week. But I'm going a little different route today. I'm going with the forgotten man, Trey Millard (can we agree that Millard is the overwhelming favorite to be a beast in the NFL leaving everyone wondering why we never gave him the fucking ball while at OU?). I'm not sure why he doesn't get the ball more, I guess because there are only so many touches to go around with all of our weapons. Nonetheless he's probably the most difficult matchup we have and he rarely gets touches. Just a hunch, but I think that Heupel remembers him in this one and he steps up big.

Defense

I should just start drawing a name out of hat, because I'm essentially doing that now. In light of the fact that he's a Senior and just that he's one of my favorite players on the team, I'm going with Casey Walker. I hope he crushes their QB at least once, and I'm hoping by the end that he's been in the backfield enough that they're looking for him in their huddle.

Score

I'm nervous. Our D couldn't be looking worse right now. They can score, and actually play solid D. That said, I like that this is a home game, the first in two years it should be noted. I'm sure Sooner fans are ready. I am hopeful that the players are still gargling to get the taste of last year out of their mouths. Nothing will wash it away better than a thorough drubbing. I think it will be close, but I think revenge + home crowd is enough that we get it done. Sooners take this one 38-28 in a tough one.


Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner

West Virginia

Well friends, this game isn't exactly what it looked to be before the games were played. I don't think I'm alone in saying that I thought this might be a game with two top 5 teams playing with a trip to the national title at stake. Instead, WVU after a hot start has plummeted out of the rankings thanks to a defense that appears to be looking for flags to pull off of opponents waist bands. Our guys on the other hand are a solid team, but not exactly the national title contender we thought they might be before the season (see: OU v Kansas State/Notre Dame et al). Nevertheless this is a big game in the conference, and our first trip to Morgantown as a conference opponent. I'm pretty excited to see it as they have a good atmosphere, and it will no doubt be crazy there tonight. The combo of night game + big conference opponent + the fact that WVU is one of the few universities that sells beer at their games = apeshit crowd. This will be a factor.

In spite of all of that WVU has been the cure for what ails any offense so far. The Big 12 offensive player of the week has come at the expense of the WVU defense for a few weeks in a row now. Let's hope that trend continues today in a Sooner offensive explosion.

Offense

As I said, this looks as if someone will be putting up big numbers today. It's probably a good sign that this is hard to pick. I'm going with a WR today and I'm going with Justin Brown. He's really turned into a damn good target and one that Lonnie looks to often. I think he gets behind the defense a couple of times today and gets in the endzone at least once. I like him for 100+ yards and a TD.

Defense

This is once again a crap shoot. As poor as the WVU defense is, their offense is solid. Dana Holgerson coached offenses have torched us pretty regularly in years past. Hopefully Mikey will do a better job getting us ready than Venables ever did. They pass a ton, so I'm looking to the secondary to do something special tonight. That said, I'm going with the same guy two weeks in a row, Aaron Colvin. I think they'll come after him a little and I think he'll respond.

Score

This looks like it's going to be a shootout of sorts. I hope that we'll be able to score regularly and more importantly I hope that we'll be able to get some stops and at least slow them down enough that we can get out of their with a win. Though national and conference titles are no longer on the table for us, this one still means plenty in our continuing to cling to the outside hope of getting a BCS bid. I like the Sooners today 54-38. Let's get these bitches.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner

Baylor

Good morning fine ladies and gentleman. My post today comes to you from the sunny locale of Sedona, AZ. A far cry from my decimated home city of New York. Sadly, I'll be returning there tomorrow but for now it's sunshine and lollipops for Natey. The Sooners face a solid Baylor team this Saturday afternoon. Seems odd that a few short years ago this game had a W placed next to it sometime in April, or as soon as it was scheduled. Now however, it's not Alabama but it's no gimme either.

No one is forgetting last year's barn burner where the boys in Crimson neglectfully left their defense on the bus. This Baylor team is notably lacking one RG3, but let's hope that we line up 11 conscious players on the defensive side of the ball this time (looking at you Javon G.R. Harris)*. Baylor does score points pretty well, however the one thing they are better at than scoring points is allowing them.  Besides, in spite of two losses, it feels like our defense has been better than it was last season. At the very least, it doesn't get torched with regularity anymore.

*This G.R. is noting his moniker as Gas Rag which is bestowed for his propensity to be burned easily and with regularity. This is a unilateral move by me, but I'm sure Mitch won't put up too much of a fight. While Harris does make some nice plays on occasion, he makes some real dumbshit moves as well. I'll take consistently solid over feast/famine any day of the week. Read: I really dislike Javon Harris.

I like our chances today, the team looked good against a pesky ISU team last week and avoided a let down after the emotional Notre Dame loss. It seems as though we've got a pretty decent shot at beating the Baylor Bears. Provided we can make them earn their points with long, multi-play drives and we can keep their offense off of the field with a solid ground game I think we'll win.

Offense

Mitch continued his startlingly good, season-long impersonation of Nostradamus last week with a Brennan Clay bullseye. While I'll concede that Clay was the player of the game on offense last week, I didn't do too shabby with a (less impressive) Justin Brown pick as he went for 7 and 107 with 1 TD. Let's hope we both pick different players today, and that both players proceed to dominate as they did last week. You see, readers, having two really good players on offense statistically, is better than having only one (stay with me). Today I'm going with Jalen Saunders, if for no other reason than the guy is damn fun to watch out there. I like him for several great runs after the catch, and at least one TD.

Defense

This side of the ball has proven to be a bit of a crapshoot as not only has it been hard to pick a player of the game before the game, but it's not been easy to pick one after either. Today, I'm going with Aaron Colvin. He's really developed into a damn fine DB and one that seems to be as adept in the run game as he is in providing coverage. I'd love to predict that he forces a turnover today... so I will. Either a pick or a forced fumble, but I won't decide between the two (listen, I'm no Keith "Ms. Cleo" Mitchell over here).

Score

As I said before, the Baylor fellows can score some points. As I also said before, they can give up some points too. I like the Sooners today in a bit of a shootout. We control the ground game enough on offense and the passing game enough on defense to win. Sooners 38-24.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner.

OU vs. Texas Tech

I'm skeered. I am Chicken Little to my rotten core this week. The Sooners are pretty much terrible in Lubbock. The Red Raiders went to work in Norman last year. Obviously the Sooners got exposed last week. So on and so forth.

(Mumbling to myself: I will believe that nothing carries over week to week. Years past do not matter. Revenge has nothing to do with anything and Saturday is a new day.)

There truly is very little on paper to lead a Sooner fan to believe that victory is in sight. The Red Raiders are one of a handful of teams in the country who rank in the top 10 both offensively and defensively. Tech has had success through the air and on the ground as well. I predict the Sooners call a defensive timeout during the first series.

The Sooners, on the other hand, were their own worst nightmare against K-State. One can only hope they value the football on the road. With any luck Landry's obilgatory INT will come early, be on a deep toss on 3rd down (essentially making it a punt) and Tech goes three and out.

OFFENSE

This offense isn't exactly anemic. Take away the turnovers and there were some positives against K-State. Sterling Shepard "arrived" for instance. So let's put all that crap behind us and choose an Offensive POG from one of the following athletes. Dom Whaley (solid but underwhelming so far - due for a breakout?), DD Williams (possible home run with any touch), Kenny Fuckin Shitbag (Gets his hands on a lot of balls), Justin Brown (Just been delightfully good) and Sterling Shepard (See: "Arrived").

I'll mention Roy Finch for fun just once, the same number of times Toby Rowland probably will. He averages 10 yards per carry if you're keeping score at home.

I'm going with Justin Brown. I've just been real impressed by this youth thus far and I think he's ready to go beyond solid to making some game changing plays.

DEFENSE

According to my crack statistician, Gene Morgan, the Sooners have force one turnover so far. Not exactly the ball hawks we all looked forward to. This unexpected turn also makes selecting a Defensive POG something akin to throwing darts.

In that vein I can only choose by process of elimination. I probably can't pick an interior lineman. Tom Wort made me look like an asshole when I picked him for K-State. Nobody has exactly looked like a man amongst boys.

I guess I'll say Aaron Colvin just for grins. I mean, what the hell?

THE SCORE

In spite of my fear and doom and gloom I do realize that someone needs to knock the smirk of Tommy Tuberville's face. He's so smug. I think he feels like he's playing chess vs. checkers having come from the SEC. Screw him.

If anyone should do it it should be our Sooners, damnit. And they will do it. The defense plays just well enough and the offense exposes a defense that's played nobody.

Sooners 31, Texas Tech 27

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner