K State

Well, the Sooners pulled out another defensive abomination last week and it couldn't have come against a more choice opponent. As down as I am on the Sooners this year I always hate texas so much. It's a treat to beat their asses, even if the game is as ugly as a sweaty FUPA. OU has established that they have zero ability to stop anyone. Offenses lick their chops to "get right" against the Sooner D. My buddy Larry aptly named the Sooner D the Red Carpet because A) they get walked all over, B) they wear red, and C) they lead offenses directly to the end zone. So they shall henceforth be referenced as so.

I know very little about K State. My guess is they play sound fundamental football, are well coached, and probably have half of the talent that OU does. They will be hyped for this game because these days K State still sees OU as a power. And beating a national power can define a season where little else is on the line. It's always tough to win in Manhattan, and the Sooners will be in for a test today. Can the Sooners continue to win 5 point games where both teams break 40? Hopefully, because that is their only chance.

Offense

Samaje Perine looked like an animal last week. He's one of my favorite Sooners ever for a host of reasons, not the least of which is his penchant for destroying texas. But he got his ass worked off last week and I think there is a mild hangover this week. The emergence of Dede "The Secretary" Westbrook adds a wrinkle for possible OPG, but I still think the Sooner offense butters its bread in the backfield. After an off week where he played probably his worst game of 2016, Joe Mixon has a day today. I like him to go off this fine Saturday.

Defense

Still nothing.

Score

I tried swimming upstream last week with my patented "everyone thinks shootout so it will be low scoring" method. However, I forgot to carry the 4 and to factor in that OU has the defense from Little Giants this year. This will be no different. Snyder will go home happy that conservative power I handoffs, screens and 6 yard passes to the TE finally puts up 40+ points. I think OU will be out-coached in this one, but I also think the talent level discrepancy is just too far in the Sooners favor. Another ass-burner today, Sooners win 47-43.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner

AT&T Red River Showdown ™

From the Texas State Fair website: When Burnt Orange collides with Crimson Red, watch out!

Indeed.

I'm a big fan of the intangibles in sports so this one is right up my alley. Each team is playing to save a coaches job. Charlie Strong for Texas and it should be Mike Stoops gainful employment on the line, at minimum, for the Sooners.

The Texas powers that be have been fed up with Charlie for about two years it seems. Last year beating the Sooners seemed to buy him another year. Houston's Tom Herman is probably already working out the details of his contract in the backroom of Houston strip club as we speak. I don't think Charlie can lose another game this year if he wants to stay. That's a tall task because they suck. That's why he's in this position after all.

For the beleaguered Mike Stoops he just can't seem to get his defense to improve. In fact, they seem to be regressing. If you throw out the Louisiana Monroe game (and they racked up 350 yards), the Sooners gave up 80 plays and 410 yards to Houston, 68 and 443 to Ohio State and 74 and 514 to TCU. And he's getting no sympathy from the masses.

Fortunately for Mike and unfortunately for Charlie, their teams offenses are headed in opposite directions. The Sooners have figured out, and are starting to behave accordingly, that Joe Mixon is probably the best player on the field for either team, every game, from here on out. The Texas offense is average at best. Their D is historically awful. This bodes well. But then back to those intangibles...

OFFENSE

As mentioned the Sooner offense did something resembling hitting its stride against TCU and played its best football of the year by far. So that's great news. Joe Mixon is in full on beast mode. Semarje looked like he benefitted from the off week and looked healthy again. Dede Westbrook had a great game. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off.

Until further notice, I'm going Joe Mixon for OPOG. Feed this young man the football. Dude is ready to go beast mode. Although, the Sooners love adding a new wrinkle for this game. Demitri Flowers would be a good dark horse bet for that pick.

DEFENSE

RB Chris Warren is out which helps curb the ground game. QB Shane Beuchele of the Beuchele clan is only a Freshman but seems to be the QB of the future. He's hitting 65% of his passes which scares the hell out of me. That season percentage is probably going to edge up higher after this week.

Charles Walker is out on account of being concussed. Tay Evans career is over for the same reason. Matt Dimon is out. Will Johnson is out. DJ Ward might play. This is a lot to overcome admittedly. Good luck accepting that when the freshman is torching the Sooner secondary and the D-line is getting zero push up front.

For grins I'm going to pick Neville Gallimore. I think he should play a lot anyway. But with all the injuries up front I think he can make an impact. I can't tell if this is even a remote possibility though because those shit-for-brains over at soonersports.com took down the link to the depth chart. I wish Yahoo! gave half the shit about privacy that these guys seem to think the game of college football requires.

THE GAME

I don't trust the Sooners as 12 point favorites. I don't trust that psychologically the Sooners can bring more energy than the Longhorns. I don't like that Charlie Strong is playing for his job.

I don't think the Horns can stop our offense either. This could be a game worthy of it's name and, if it goes down like last week, could be historically fun to watch.

I really think every game from here on out is going to be a shootout. I'll take the Sooners, of course, 45-38.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner.

texas

The 2016 iteration of the Red River matchup is upon us. For the last decade and a half or so, this game has been huge. With national title implications for one, or both, of the teams, the nation historically turns its eye to Dallas in early October. At 2-2, both OU and texas have fallen off this season from lofty standards. Not even network television is interested enough, as the game is relegated to cable tv back-burner, FS1. Nonetheless, two states will put down whatever they're doing to tune in. 

Charlie Strong is again coaching for his job in this one, and Stoops ought to be. Though the Sooners won in TCU last week, it wasn't exactly a confidence inspiring performance. I guess the hope will be to run into a defense each week that is (improbably) more atrocious than our own. I digress, I will lay off of the hate this week as much as I can. This game is too big and too fun to get caught up in that. This type of game is what makes watching college football so much fun. No matter the stakes, this game gets the blood pumping like no other for Sooner nation. 

This game should be a struggle in the sense that neither team is particularly good at football. Each has bright spots, and each are cancelled out by equally abysmal facets of the game. I don't exactly know what to expect in terms of how this game will play out. I do know that the atmosphere will be electric (as always), and the teams will be fired up. It's a good day to be a fan of both teams, at least until 11AM CST. 

Offense

Baker Mayfield looked like Baker Mayfield! last week. That was fun. Make no mistake, TCU has a terrible defense, but making big plays and scoring a lot of points is always a good time. Mixon is a beast, Perine is a beast, Mayfield is a beast; in short, we have a decent collection of beasts. Who will play well today? I say Perine. He's kicked some ass in this game in the past. He's been relatively quiet this year running behind the offensive line heretofore known as Pussy Olè. Today he gets off, and cements his name in Red River lore.

Defense

WDBWYS? (see last week's post). I should make a knitted bracelet.

Score

It seems everyone in the world is expecting a track meet. Rightfully so; neither team has much interest in tackling or covering. But I'm going with my patented move based on anecdotal evidence of the highest order (the only evidence I use) where the score flies in the face of expectation, and unlike recent weeks my heart can't be ignored in picking this one: Sooners 22-20.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner.

TCU

That Ohio State game was a debacle. A perpetually frustrating demonstration in lack of discipline and preparation. It somehow ended up looking much closer (still not close) than it actually was. The offensive line is shit, and the defense is something akin to an adult diaper made of gift-bag tissue paper, i.e. not holding much. From pre-season #3 (admittedly, that was awfully generous) to unranked in the span of 3 games. That's what happens when you get your ass kicked by the only 2 legitimate teams you play.

Les Miles was fired last weekend. Fired for failing to do more than win 8-10 games every season. Fired for failing to adapt to the changing game that is college football. Fired in spite of landing a top 5 recruiting class nearly every year, and sending multiple stars to the NFL each season. Sound familiar? Well, maybe not, the Sooners seldom have a top 5 recruiting class and almost none of their players star at the next level. Otherwise, that is OU, only with a shorter history of these failures than the Sooners. In my mind it's been at least 10 years since the hyper-athletic, dual-threat QB came in vogue. OU still has absolutely zero clue on how to even contain this variety of player, let alone stop them. That is the opposite of progress.

The Sooners have had two weeks to prepare for this game in Ft. Worth. I'm sure they're licking their wounds and what not after Ohio State. On paper, OU is probably as talented as, if not more than, TCU. The coaches have had ample time to prepare the team for a good horned frogs squad. OU had better come to play, because Gary Patterson (an underrated coach I think) will damn sure have his guys ready.

Offense

OU's only really strong area is at the skill positions in the backfield. Sadly, this is masked by an offense line who evidently hasn't been informed that defensive players move around, and it's good to get in their way on occasion. I will pick Baker Mayfield today. I really like him, and I feel bad for him that he's really toiling on a bad team. He's a good player and looks like he really leaves it all out there trying to win. I think he does some good things today, and his receivers don't let him down.

Defense

If someone passed you a plate of giant dog boners and asked you which one you'd prefer to suck on for three hours, how would you decide which one?

Score

I'm really tired of losing, and I'm really tired of the way they're losing (read: "Kicked, The Sooner Football Ass Story). I would love to see the guys go down, come out fired up, and fly around the field making plays. But I hate to say it, I just don't see it. Maybe if this game were in Norman, but I think OU plays it close in the first half and fails to adjust after the break. TCU 31, OU 17.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner.

OU vs. TCU

Welp I guess we are who we thought we were. The Sooners are coming off a working at the hands of the Buckeyes. tOSU is the better team. You could easily see the talent disparity. There seems to be a lot of prattle here in Sooner Nation about whether the issue is the players or coaches. If you say it's coaching then whoever you are talking to inevitably recites Bob's line about coaches not being on the field. I've used the same defense many times myself.

Something is way off though. At this point nobody would second guess Bob if he decided, right now, to send Brother Mike off packing. Mike Part II has been a disaster. And yes, Sooner fans got what they begged for. But Bob can't just fire his brother in the middle of the season. It would be untoward. And Bob can't get fired (But I saw a sign asking for it hanging from a balcony after the game). So hang on for the least exciting season of Sooner football in memory. Sorry.

Also, there are elite teams in college football. By anyone's standards, especially their own, OU is supposed to be an elite team. So nobody is off base with inflated expectations. If you want to be elite then look around at other elite teams. You know what elite teams do? They re-load. Someone leaves, someone enters, as an average across the board the overall quality of play remains the same. Elite teams don't rebuild.

The Sooners are in rebuild mode and, sadly, all it took was losing Sterling Sheperd, Zack Sanchez and Eric Striker. Three skill players with nobody filling their voids. There should be elite skill players tripping over each other on the sidelines. You hear coaches gushing about them in practice and the offseason all the time. You hear recruiting services and their minions talking about them as the next (insert all-time great name here). Why aren't they developed and ready to go when they get their chance? Are they actually elite? That's not, "on the field". That's a recruiting problem. It's a coaching problem. In college football the two are the same.

Anyway, if you care to buy into the propoganda the athletic department is spewing out, the Sooners still have a Big 12 title to play for. The race for Big 12 title number ten starts now. So let's move on, shall we?

OFFENSE

Joe Mixon

DEFENSE

Fuck off.

THE SCORE

I'm not real sure why we are favored other than it's related to the Oklahoma mythology mentioned above. We've proven we're not a top tier team. Our defense has stopped no one. If we win I think it's a shootout. I'll say 42-35.

Don't be surprised if we lose, look bad and Mike is no longer calling plays next week though.

The Ohio State

Greetings and welcome to the biggest non-conference home game since Notre Dame in 2012. Hopefully this one goes a little better, though I am not optimistic. On that note IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN OKLAHOMA!

My lack of optimism owes to the fact that last week was every bit the schlock fest I billed it to be in this very column. Sure, the Sooners, "Took Care of Business". But it was against a team so god-awful that we still have no idea who on this Sooners team (particularly defense) can and cannot play big boy football. B.D. Mayfield did distribute the ball to a number of receivers. That needed to happen. Former walk-on Nick Basquine showed that he might be able to help a little bit. I was impressed by the motor of Neville Gallimore (GREAT football name) but he was playing because Matt Dimon did something dumb so who knows if he'll get back on the field or not. Beyond that, are we remotely prepared to hang with Ohio State on the national stage, in primetime? If you say yes with confidence, you're high.

OFFENSE

There is a lot of pressure on the O-Line here. Against Houston, they made true freshman Ed Oliver look like an All Pro. Last week they didn't get challenged. The Sooners are in deep doodoo if B.D. Mayfield is scrambling around to throw the ball away and/or Samaje Perine can't get going. Perine is averaging 45 yards per game thus far. That's one drive for him in any game the last two seasons. I don't think his skills are diminishing either. I'm telling you the O-Line needs to get their shit together double time.

For my OPOG I'm going Baker Damn Mayfield. An easy pick, yes. But in big games you need your best player to be at their best. The offense lives and dies by him. Please live. Please.


DEFENSE

Our secondary is turds. It is inconceivable that through two games against average, at best, passers that the secondary has only one pass breakup and no interceptions. One pass breakup. I'm not convinced J.T. Barrett is a great passer either but I'm also not convinced we can keep him from looking like Drew Brees. That stat is alarming. The Sooners have five pass breakups total, one from the secondary. No INT's. They are not "getting their hands on a lot of balls" as Bobby Stoops likes to say. And I'm not buying any of this vanilla defense up until now nonsense either. We're neither smart enough nor good enough for such tactics.

Never mind the pass can we stop the run? So help me if we start getting gashed up the middle. J.T. Barrett can run and the Buckeyes have their own two headed monster in the backfield in Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel.

What I'm saying here is the Sooners have to play perfect on this side of the ball. They have to be disciplined both before and after the whistle. They can't be getting lost in the secondary. They need to create turnovers. So simple and yet, to this point, unattainable.

This is wishful thinking but I'm going with Ogbonnia Okoronkwo for player of the game. I hope he has a coming out party and plays, "In a great way".

THE GAME

It's bad that I'm counting on the intangibles as the Sooners best chance of victory. By that I mean how it's a home game at night. How the atmosphere will be Texas Tech 2013 electric (hopefully). How we play better as underdogs. I used to be a firm believer in the power of such things. But if we're as bad as I think we are on the O-Line and in the secondary all that gets wiped out by halftime.

I really hope I'm wrong and I will pick a score based on the belief that I am wrong and I'm just being crotchety. Let's see what we have.

Sooners 27, Buckeyes 17

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner.

Here come the Buckeyes

It's a big one, there's no way around it. The Ohio State Buckeyes come to town ranked #3 (or #4 depending on where you look) for a clash with the #14 Sooners. This is an opportunity for the Sooners to put their season goals back in front of them. A win would certainly get them back up in the rankings and back in the playoff discussion (albeit needing help). There was a time, roughly a dozen years ago, where the name Big Game Bob would be thrown about by the talking heads. A time where it wouldn't be shocking for this clash to turn into a laugher by half time with the Sooners high stepping to a 40 point demolition. Whoa, how those days have past. I read this week that no team in the nation has lost more games since 2009 when favored by double digits than the Sooners. Now, the Sooners aren't even favored, let alone by double digits in this one (the Sooners are a one point dog in this one). I do think that plays into the Sooners hands a bit.

I've talked at length about OU's woeful lack of preparation and inability to adjust in-game. Mostly this has come in games where historically the program OU is facing is much worse (see: Sooners vs. Houston et al, 2016). It also happens in big bowl games, or playoff games etc. Basically, Big Game Bob is now in the company of the Nebraska option offense and Notre Dame football. However, there is one area where the Sooners still show up from time to time. It's coming off a shitty loss, against a big time team, at home when nobody thinks they can win (wow, if that's the perfect storm needed to get them to prepare, good luck ever running the table again). Kind of, sort of, exactly like today.

Offense

I've not read a ton previewing today's game, but most of what I've read reduces this game down to Baker Mayfield vs. JT Barrett. Obviously, those two will play a big role (more on that in a minute) and have a major impact on the outcome, but if OU has any chance at all, they will need to run the ball very effectively throughout. Keeping that panty liner defense off of the field is crucial. I think Perine announces his national presence (again) and has a big day. Probably not in a highlight reel fashion, but I see more of a yeoman's work-like day with 25 carries, 90ish yards and a couple of scores. In other words, exactly what they need. 

Defense

The Sooners defense has looked pretty terrible so far. Don't bring up any ULM game references, everyone knows that's bullshit. I read that opponents with mobile/hybrid QBs 3rd down conversion rate goes up to nearly 50% against OU defenses over the last several years (that's a solid fact if I've read one), opposed to 40% vs. pocket guys. This does not bode well. JT Barrett fits the mold perfectly of every quarterback that OU struggles with. Oh, and he's also excellent against the blitz (aka the only way the Sooners ever generate pressure). Once again, there's no pick here. Someone has to prove they are hard on this side of the ball. I will happily pick it when I see it, but I'm no longer going to pretend.

Score

This game has me so fired up. My biggest fear is that OU really shits the bed and nothing remains to cheer for after the 1st half. The Sooners will be pumped and ready I think. The non-student fans may actually bring the decibels up to something above a Starbucks level. But, in an era of ever-increasing parity across the college landscape, Ohio State is maybe the only team (besides Alabama) to year-in year-out obtain elite and superior talent. Make no mistake, Barrett is great and the perfect QB to dismantle the OU D, but they are loaded nearly everywhere else too. OU will be ready and this will be a good one. Ohio State has too much, Buckeyes 31-Sooners 27.

Prove me wrong.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner