Oklahoma Sooner vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane

 Greetings, Sooner fans. Our boys are 2-0 after a "little close for comfort" but spread beating win over SMU last week. SMU proved to be a worthy foe and it was nice test for the crimson and cream. This week, it's a "road game" for the Sooners as they travel up I-44 to face Tulsa. This is a road game in name only as the Sooner following in Tulsa is quite large and I'm sure many in OKC are happy to make a short little trip for this one. 

Tulsa is led by for Sooner coach Kevin Wilson and he, by all accounts, inherits a Tulsa football team whose cupboard is as bare as a Venezuelan super market. Wilson also led one of the least potent offenses of the Bob Stoops era. This one should be a blowout.

OFFENSE

Frankly, I'm a bit flummoxed by Jeff Lebby's offensive philosophy. He LOVES to run the ball and will do so, apparently, until someone wiggles the wires plugged into the back of his neck. Hey, I love running the football. It's a nice flex to be able to do it at will. But it also exists to open up the passing game. In Jeff Lebby's world this often means play action with a check down to some short slant.

Now, what I'm confused about is if this is Jeff Lebby's world view or is it what peak Dillon Gabriel looks like? It is flabbergasting how few shots down the field the Sooners try. I'm inclined to blame Dillon Gabriel but then you think back to last year and how the Sooners used Gavin Freeman. Every time he was on the field they ran a jet sweep with him and rarely, if ever, deviated from it or used it to set up something else. 

Last week, the Sooners brought in Jackson Arnold on 3rd or 4th and short. Every single time they ran Jackson Arnold. Fine, but why not use it to do something different? It never happened. It's predictable and that makes me think this is all Jeff Lebby.

Anyway, today I'd like to see some kind of evolution beyond running 19 times in a row and/or taking some shots off of play action. It would be blissful to see Dillon Gabriel go through some progression and take some chances. 

Or, here's my pet theory, continue to use Jackson Arnold but keep him in as the "hot hand" and let him run the offense for a series at a time. Maybe he'll keep Gabriel on the sidelines without straight benching him.

My OPOG today is Gavin Sawchuk. He hasn't had much of a chance to get on the field much since he's been working his way back from injury but I think today he gets some touches and makes the most of it. 

DEFENSE

These guys are playing well enough to get the job done. 11 total points through two games is stingy. Anything under 24 should be enough to win any game. This week they need to continue to find their playmakers and quit being their own worst nightmares.

SMU's best drives last week relied on the Sooners committing dumb penalties, including a sideline infraction in the middle of the damn play. You never see that and it's unconscionable. They have to clean it up today.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how excited I am for the future of this defense. They are markedly improved across the board from last year. And they are very young. The linebackers are looking great.

Keep in mind last week that the Sooners were without Dasan McCullough (So) and they lost their starting CB Gentry Williams on the first drive. They might Penalties aside, they didn't miss a beat.

Today my DPOG is Kip Lewis. He's one of those young linebackers that is looking really good. He's super fast and had 9 tackles last week, second only to Danny Stutsman who had 17 fucking tackles. He's a machine.

SCORE

OU is a 28 point favorite and that seems about right. I don't have confidence the Sooners will cover. See above my doubts about Jeff Lebby's football intellect. He seems like he's happy to run the ball so long as the Sooners have the lead. I hope I'm wrong. I hate that kind of football. No amount of points can ever be enough if you're a Sooner fan. We just don't trust the D enough yet.

The Sooners will win comfortably, however, something like 42-17.

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

Sooners v Tulsa

Well I'm in NYC watching this one with Navin R himself. So we recorded a podcast.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Tulsa

Over the course of the week I was able to go back and watch the ballgame. Youtube is the best by the way.  In hindsight I think the Sooners got pretty lucky. West Virginia had chances and they simply made one or two more mistakes than the Sooners. WVU had a dropped pass in the end zone, some wide open misses and, of course, their share of turnovers.

For the Sooners, Trevor Knight was lackluster (to put it nicely) in the passing game but he had help. There was that LaColtan Bester fumble after a nice throw and run for instance. The turnovers in the red zone were inexcusable, however.

So this week we have intrigue. Knight is dinged up with a "leg" and Blake Bell gets the start. Wink Wink Nudge Nudge Nuff Said. A good performance entrenches him. But if the passing game continues to suffer there may be chaos, panic and disorder. Kendal Thompson has even been cleared to practice and evidently will be the Belldozer's backup this week. Worst case you could halfway through the season and have literally no idea what you have at quarterback. I still don't miss Landry though.

OFFENSE

My thoughts on Josh Heupel are well documented but it is incumbent on him to get this passing game off the ground, so to speak. The run and gun offenses of years past thrived on quick slants, screens and outs. Oh, how we hated them back then when Landry would get the snap, turn and fire to Ryan Broyles et al. But now that short passing attack seems pretty good. Also, what about screens to these running backs or, gasp, Trey Millard? Something should be available given how teams will be forcing the Sooners to pass.

This offense is clearly strong like bull in the run game. It would make no sense to pick someone other than a back. And it would be crazy to really pick anyone besides Brennan Clay. That's who I'm going with. He seems to be a fine young man who deserves all the success he's enjoying thus far.

With the Belldozer working his way into the offense and Josh Heupel running the show this game could be simple and fast. The clock stays running and as little as possible is done to preserve a winning score. Read: Zone Read, Sweep Right, Quick HB Belly.

The Sooners are fucked against Notre Dame if they don't evolve offensively against Tulsa this week. Book it.

DEFENSE

This group has excelled against inferior competition thus far. Tulsa is no different so this should be enjoyable.

The biggest surprise through two games has to be the performance of the D-Line although with expectations as low as they were for this unit it would be difficult to not exceed them. That's your backhanded compliment of the week sponsored by, "Overbearing Dad" Magazine.

With that in mind I'm going to pick Jordan Phillips as my DPOG. I want to pick Chuka Ndulue but a beer buzz at the time of this writing is keeping me from it.

THE SCORE

The best thing I can say about this game is that it lines up perfectly to give me the opportunity to take my son to his first Sooners football game. Mild-ish weather, early start, cupcake opponent. I've been waiting a long time for this.

On the field I expect domination in the "not as close as the score would indicate" fashion. The Sooners offense beats up Tulsa, the D flies around enough to ward off too much damage and Michael Hunnicut leads the Sooners in scoring.

I hope I'm wrong and this is all a reverse jinx.

I like the Sooners 31-10.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner

Tulsa

This Saturday pits our beloved Sooners against the Tulsa, Golden Hurricane. Much has been made of how ridiculous it is that a school located so far from the threat of a hurricane should have such a name. Cue some asshole explaining how it's not really for a hurricane but for blah blah blah... Shut up. I've decided that a golden hurricane is something of a euphemism along the lines of a Cleveland Steamer or a Blumpkin. Basically 15-20 fat Japanese men binge on beer until each is nearing a bladder rupture. They then disrobe and form a circle. Then a young girl kneels in the middle of them. At this point they simultaneously unleash a furious deluge of urine, soaking her in a Golden Hurricane. I wish the on-field mascot reflected this better. 

Going into this campaign I knew there would be some growing pains. I assumed, given the plethora of returning skill position players, that the majority of said pains would be on defense. Oh how I was wrong. While the D has looked excellent (deceptively good I think, but I digress), it's the O that has been basically terrible. Trevor Knight was bad enough last week that the coaching staff replaced him in the 4th (knee injury or not I think) with Blake Bell. Moreover, they opened up the avenue that they might have been wrong about Knight, something that Bobby has not been wont to do historically. Bell did little to quell any fears pertaining to the passing game but did manage to be the tortoise to Knights hare, in that his slow and steady was effective at moving the chains late. 

I'm hopeful that Bell can find some kind of groove in the passing game. It's going to be rough (long term) if he can't and Tulsa feels like a good time to "get right". Defensively, I hope we can keep it up. Schematically I'm not sure we've been dramatically better than recent years, but I will say that the tackling has been light years ahead of last season. That alone is worth a nod to Mike Stoops. The spread has us giving 24, that seems generous given our struggles last week. Nonetheless, we play to win, if not cover, and I think we'll do that. 

Offense

Last week I picked the right position, but couldn't have been more wrong about the player. Brennan Old Steady Clay had a railroad spike between my legs all night. What a game. I still wish we'd spread the touches around the backfield more, ie Millard, but it's hard to argue with the two-headed monster of Williams and Clay. I would really like to go with Jaz "Hands" Reynolds or LaColtan Bester, but I just don't think Bell will drop back and throw enough to make that realistic. Perhaps this is a hindsight pick or betting on last race's horse, but I'm going Brennan Clay this week. He was just a total force all night, and wasn't stoppable even when I knew what was coming. I think that earns him copious touches against Tulsa and he responds with 100+ and 2 trips across the goal line. 

Defense

I really feel like Frank Shannon is becoming a huge difference maker on D. He's almost quietly been (arguably) our best defender. Credit where due as well: Gabe "gas rag" Lynn hasn't been completely abysmal either. That said I've got a new guy out there that is rapidly becoming one of my favorites this year, Charles Tapper (aside: can we just make his nickname "ass" now? It's too awesome to not have Charles "Ass" Tapper. Nope, it's done, Ass Tapper). I'm going with big Charles this week. I think he picks up a sack and is a force on the defensive front both against the pass and run. 

Score

As I said, 24 seems like a reach with our O. I think this one might be painful to watch though I don't think it will be in doubt too terribly much. I like OU 28-10. Bell gets the ground game rolling and the ghosts of Bud Wilkinson smash their way to a win. 

Time to roll heads. Early start, early finish. 

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner 

OU vs. Tulsa Highlights

Stellar highlight package and, in keeping with the theme of "all homer", only the good stuff from OU

There's a lot of nice action here but I enjoyed two plays in particular.

At the 1:57 mark Dominique Whaley breaks tackles, takes some punishment and carries the pile. He'll be facing a lot more contact against FSU and I hope it looks like this.

At 7:49 Lonnie throws a frozen rope to James Hanna. This Lonnie/Hanna connection looks like Mitch/Navin in the park last fall.

The Oklahoma Sooners vs. the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

Welcome to the 2011 season everyone. It's the last year of the Big 12 as we know it. Collegiate Armageddon is unfolding. It feels like the perfect time for the Sooners to win Number 8.

On the heels of Navin's pointed discussion I'd like to propose a slogan for the Steamroller; "All of the Homer, none of the Homework". It really seems to fit.

I know nothing about this Tulsa team and couldn't give two craps less. I know that when I was a yute in Edmond, Oklahoma,Bill Blankenship was at the helm a then juggernaut Edmond Memorial Bulldog squad. He is now coaching the Golden Hurricane and this represents his first game coaching at the FBS (that moniker makes me want to puke) level. This bodes well for our Sooners.

Here are some other things that I like. We don't lose at home. It's the opening day of the pomp and pageantry of college football. Clear blue skies. BBQ smoke wafting through campus. Everyone in the state has been counting the days to today.

I also like the Sooner offense's potential. You start with a now veteran offensive line, mix in not one but two Heisman candidates, badass wide recievers and a stable of running backs who each bring a different style. Now give Josh Heupel the headset and it all adds up to long days for opposing defenses.

I'm really pumped about honoring Austin "Soggy" Box's memory by choosing a defensive player to sport Box's number 12. This week it's Tom Wort's turn which is a brilliant choice. Not only does Wort play Box's position but last year's "Gas Rag McGee" award winner needs to step up his play. If wearing Box's number 12 inspires Wort to do so, no better time than right out of the gate.

I'm nervous about our defense though. As Navin said, we like to give up big plays and do ill-timed, "dumb things" early in the season. This will be a good test but no way can Tulsa keep up. If Tulsa kicks field goals you can start breathing a sigh of relief.

Know what else I want to see? The Sooner kickoff coverage being worth half a shit. That would make me real happy.

OFFENSE

On offense I've got a Semi to watch Lonnie Jones fire lazerbeamz all over the football field to a slew of talented wide receivers. It's truly an embarassment of riches. Ryan Broyles is a man among boys. Kenny "Fuckin Shitbag" Stills is poised to improve on what was a stellar Freshman campaign. And a defense can't afford to sleep on DeJuan Miller, Jaz Reynolds, Trey Franks or Tight End James Hanna.

I'm even more intrigued to see how the Running Back situation plays out. Brennan Clay bears all the marks of being the next Old Steady. Roy Finch is my personal favorite. You can feel the collective breath of 85,000 fans get held every time Finch touches the ball. Roy is also a receiving threat which means lost jocks and soiled britches for defensive backs in the open field.

For my player of the game I'm going with Lonnie. He's the leader of this offense. I think he's finally ready to be the steady force this squad needs. I wouldn't be surprised to see him complete in the neighborhood of 70% of his passes today. It will be surgical domination.

DEFENSE

For all the veterans returning to this unit there are still a lot of areas that need proving. For instance, the interior defensive line. Also, how will the LB's, much less the entire D, play without their leader, Travis "Old Steady" Lewis?

The good news for Brent Vanables is that the talent on this side of the football is prodigious. To hear Venables tell it he's had a difficult task finding room for all his exceptional playmakers.

The choice for Defensive Player of the Game has to come from Ronnell "The Hammer" Lewis, Corey Nelson, Tony "Motherfuckin" Jefferson, Demontre Hurst or Jamel Fleming. I can't in good conscience stray from Tony M.F. Jefferson in the opener. Navin and I picked him for a reason and I'm eager to see how much bigger, faster and better he is this year.

THE PICK

Tulsa's offense could be God's gift to football and they still won't be able to match the Sooner offense on this day. The Sooner D will have its' unfortunate share of foibles. In the end the faithful go home early and happy.

OU 55, Tulsa 24

Don't forgot to drink your PBR Tallboys

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner