West Virginny vs Oklahoma Sooners

 Today your 6-2 Sooners return home to face West Virginia. The Sooners have hopefully been alternately stewing in their juices and taking hard looks in the mirror. 

The hallmarks of a poorly coached football team have been on display these last three weeks. Stupid penalties, bad clock management and not taking advantage of your strengths. 

The Sooners barely escaped with a win against Central Florida and of course they've lost the last two. 

Today, the Sooners take on the Mountaineers and its a game that went from an assumed win to a genuine question. That question is can these guys learn from mistakes and take a step forward?

OFFENSE

Jeff Lebby is showing that he doesn't seem to care for success. Every time he finds something that works he has to outsmart himself and switch things up. 

Today he needs to use Gavin Sawchuk and Tawee Walker to set up nic Anderson and Drake Stoops. West Virginia can't handle this if we do it properly. 

Alas, were just as likely to trot into halftime with two timeouts in our pocket. 

Ill pick Tawee Walker again. It's will and hope is all I have. Of faith, there is none. 

DEFENSE

The Sooners will be well ahead if they can keep from getting sideline penalties. What the fuck is that shit two weeks in a row? Embarrassing. 

Similarly, the pass defense has been abhorrent for two weeks in a row. 

Jaren Kanek has looked lost and useless. Danny Stutsman is sorely missed. There's been no.pressure on the quarterback. 

The boys are in for another single score game if they can't find an edge and stop being their own worst nightmare. 

I'm going Billy Bowman today. They need big plays and he's a guy that can make them. 

THE SCORE

I don't like the 9 or 12 point spread, whichever it is. This team is at a breaking point and they might not be smart enough to work their way out of it. The crowd may be less than into also, although a night game with good fall weather might help. 

This could be Lebbys last stand. 

I'm pinching my nose and taking the Sooners 28-24. 

Boomer to the motherfucking Sooner. 

Bedlam: The Final Chapter

Happy Saturday, Sooner fans. The Sooners did not follow my gameplan last week and now find themselves in a familiar position, having to win out and get some help in order to back door their way into the playoff conversation.

The Sooners took a massive hit in Kansas as Danny Stutsman, the heart and soul of this defense, injured his ankle/knee and his status is questionable coming into this one. Offensively, the Sooners are already down Andrel Anthony and now just this week Jalil Farooq got himself arrested during a traffic stop. 

Meanwhile, the Cowboys are on a four game win-streak and have the nations leading rusher in Ollie Gordon II. If you thought Kansas was motivated to beat the Sooners, wait until you see the atmosphere in Stillwater. 

The best example of my hopelessly dumb homerism is my belief that someday the Sooners will understand that when opponents play Oklahoma it's the biggest game of their life, and that the Sooners will meet and exceed that effort level because they know if they lose the opposition is going to cry for joy, rip down goalposts and have stories they'll tell their grandchildren. Every time. 

I am telling you, today, it's the same situation in Stillwater and I have my doubts the Sooners will meet the moment.

OFFENSE

Last week Jeff Lebby's gameplan was conservative to say the least. They ran the ball 16 straight times at one point. Everything they did was telegraphed. The Gavin Freeman jet sweep needs to be ripped out or redacted from the play sheet. Not once did the Jayhawks defense look like they were on their heels. This is unacceptable. 

First, hopefully, Tawee Walker returns after getting banged up last week. He showed he's RB1. Second, I will lose my goddamn mind if Nic Anderson doesn't get six targets. Third, the Sooners have to try and go vertical. 

It's staggering to me to watch this offense not find ways to scheme their playmakers to an open part of the field to let them make plays. 

Finally, clock management has to be addressed. If the Sooners find themselves in a two-minute situation in the first half again, with all their timeouts, and they run out the clock, well, it's time for a change of some sort. What the fuck is that shit? Pull your nuts out of your throat and get aggressive. The Sooners cannot score enough points to feel secure in a game. 

I am hoping to will into existence some schemes for playmakers to make plays and, as such, am picking Nic Anderson as my OPOG. That guy is going to play on Sundays and Lebby and Dillon Gabriel need to get him the fucking ball early and often.

DEFENSE

This defense has shown that they are good most of the time, great some of the time and almost always their own worst nightmare. Their ability to keep themselves on the field via penalty is staggering. They can't have that shit today. 

More than the potential loss of Stutsman, the Sooners need to have Gentry Williams at corner. Things go downhill fast when he gets hurt (and he gets hurt almost every game). 

Beyond dumb penalties, the Sooners need to either rush the quarterback or play pass defense. No pass rush and no pass defense equals disaster. The Sooners have been proving that too often of late. 

Oh and they also need to tackle this Ollie Gordon II fella because he will run rough shod on the Sooners and do it six ways from Sunday if it appears we didn't wear our tackling pants today.

I'll pick Dasan McCollough today for my DPOG. He looks like he's getting real comfortable and ready to make a leap.

THE SCORE

Did I mention how nervous I am about this one? The odds of the Sooners having their act together in all phases of the game are non-zero but not much better than that. Trouble lurks everywhere so the Sooners really need their shit together in the following areas:

• No cute bullshit in the running game. Give it to Tawee Walker and let him run north-south.
• Find ways to get Nic Anderson the ball in space and give Jaden Gibson some chances one-on-one to make a play.
• Limit, reduce or, gasp, eliminate dumb fuck penalties on defense.
• Blitz
• Make field goals
• Learn clock management (coaches)

If the Sooners find a way to do these things I believe they can win by two scores. I doubt they do though and they get hit in the mouth, find themselves down early with Little Brother losing their goddamn minds. If that happens hopefully the Sooners can buck up and find themselves having a chance to win by a field goal.

I'll take the Sooners here 37-34 in a fitting thriller to end this Big Brother-Little Brother rivalry.

Boomer to the motherfucking Sooner. 

Oklahoma State or The Last Bedlam

 What a joke that last game was. Brent Venables' vaunted defensive mind managed to put out the exact same defense we've had for the last 20 years. Where is this mastermind strategy? How do we leave a receiver completely alone on 4th and 6 on the game winning drive? How many times can we watch an opposing offense make miracle play after miracle play before we realize that they might not be miracles, and just terrible defense? It's abysmal and it's the worst way to lose. And we've made it an art. The most undisciplined, out of position, collapsing defense: your Oklahoma Sooners. I've exhausted this topic over the years and yet I still fool myself into thinking it isn't happening any more. What a dummy. Aside from the defense, can we mention Jeff Lebby? That guy can't scheme a window open in his own living room. Does he have nothing in the playbook to call when we desperately need a first down? When we need 3 yards? It's pathetic. I think Gavin Freeman is a fun player. He's a gadget guy with some great speed. But that end around that famously went for a TD the first time it was called last season? It isn't fooling anyone anymore, so maybe let's not call that play 7 times per game. The players could've done more to execute last game. Danny Stutsman getting hurt was a huge loss. But that L on the schedule is squarely on the coaches. Having the ball with (I'm estimating here) 90 seconds left and a couple of time outs before the half is the time where your "high flying, fast paced" offense should be stomping on the gas to get at minimum 3 points. Just letting the clock run out was ludicrous to me in the moment and man did it ever look stupid late in the game when a few more points surely would've been nice. I just can't be more disgusted with the coaching staff. 

Oh yeah, Bedlam is today. And if you were to believe Mike Gundy they are discontinuing the Super Bowl. Only a Super Bowl where one team wins 91 times out of 110. I know this is the biggest game for OSU, and I truly do appreciate the in-state battle. But this is less of a rivalry and more of a game OU tries hard not to lose every year. It pisses me off no end when OSU wins this, but in the kind of way that it pisses a dog off when a flea bites it. OSU is an elite mediocre football school. Mike Gundy does just enough coaching and mouth running to not get fired. His good ole boy speak rings true to their fanbase but what has he ever really won? I'll save you the google search, since his hiring in 2005 OSU has one (!) conference championship. In short he has elevated the program to a proudly sustained not-exactly-shitty level that people somehow love. But, true to form, he has ran his mouth ad nauseam about OU and texas leaving the conference. I guess he will miss getting his ass beat 9 years out of every 10. 

Offense

I don't know what to do here. Apparently Jalil Farooq was arrested for traffic violations this week, I have no idea if he is playing or not. Dylan Gabriel continues to be himself (this is not a compliment), and the RBs are a dart throw as to who Demarco Murray has taken a shine to when he woke up this morning. The fact that we really have no go-to weapon says a lot. Not having anyone that consistently steps up and makes plays in the big moment is troubling. I'm going to say that Gavin Sawchuck is the guy today. He's been the best back we have so far, which means nothing in terms of how much he will see the ball today. Here's hoping...

Defense

Danny Stutsman, is my go to. Sadly he is "questionable". At the time of my writing this, he seems probable. Kip Lewis (shame on his parents for that) looked like a solid replacement when he stepped in last week. In the interest of picking someone who I'm fairly sure is going to play, I'll take Dasan McCollough today for a big game. 

Score

OU is favored by 6. I don't really see a way OSU fans aren't tearing down goalposts after this one. The only thing in our favor is we just got embarrassed by an average KU team. Another year, another terrible loss against a team that had no business winning. Death, taxes... So with that in mind, I'll borrow Mitch's crimson colored glasses for a moment and say OU win 31-30. I'm already not looking forward to hating this game.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner

Oklahoma Sooners vs. Kansas Jayhawks

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

OFFENSE

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

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

DEFENSE

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

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

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

SCORE

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

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

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Kansas

 I don't know if I will ever learn. Every time I start to get the inkling that our Sooners team might actually be decent, they look like absolute trash against a mediocre-bad opponent. After the texas win I expected a let down might be possible, but I also thought the extra week would give the team both time to prepare and a little bit of a buffer to let the shine wear off of that huge win. Yet, they came out and played completely piss poor on both sides of the ball. Yes, the kicker was terrible and they proved meaningful later in the game (as it generally does), but the offense could not move the ball at all in the second half, and the defense reverted to it's old ways of making the other team's QB look incredible and absolutely melting down on third down all game. It's the most frustrating variety of football to watch as a fan. 

Today the Sooners travel to Lawrence KS. A place where the Sooners have historically had a lot of success. Much of that is simply because OU is often a much more talented team. However, this Jayhawks club is on a major upswing and actually is a quality opponent for the first time in a long time. They had a big letdown two weeks ago against a good OSU team that, frankly, KU should've beaten. If our Sooners play anything like they did last week against a fairly bad UCF team, this will be comfortable win for the Jayhawks.

Offense

While Nic Anderson proved me right last week, the real MVP to me was Gavin Sawchuck. He basically put the team on his back in the 4th quarter when the offense had done jack shit the entire second half. Why Marcus Major continues to start is beyond me. If anything, Major has been the 4th best back on the team in my opinion. But, it always goes back to Dylan Gabriel. A true leader wouldn't have been so bad when the team needed them. I don't know if I'll ever be a believer in him, he just does too many bad things at bad times and has too many long stretches of bad football. It  is going to cost them at some point this year, I just don't know when. For my OPG I will go with Sawchuck today. I think (hope) his performance last week opened some eyes in the coaches office and I think he gets a lot of work today and keeps the KU offense off the field. 

Defense

Last week was very much an OU defense of the last 20 years. If you're unsure, that was not a compliment. I'm going Stutsman again. Until proven otherwise, he's the man on this D.

Score

OU is favored by 7 here. In my mind this has major upset potential. It's the KU homecoming, they've had an extra week to prepare, this is their Super Bowl. OU looked bad last week, and probably should've lost that one. My hope is that it was a wake up call. But historically, those types of wake up calls have not been heard. Still, I will hold out hope. Sooners escape again, 34-30.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner.

UCF vs Oklahoma Sooners

 Our boys did it, didn't they? They made a statement with a win versus the Longhorns. They had a goal line stand and a heartbreaker winning drive. You love to see it. 

Now they're in the driver's seat with a favorable schedule. All they have to do is TCB. 

It starts today with UCF. 

OFFENSE

Check out our man Dillon Gabriel, now in the conversation for the Heisman. I saw it coming all along. 

Today the Sooners need to find a replacement for Andrel Anthony. I think it's Jaquaz Pettaway. 

I also see the Sooners piling up the rushing yards. Like, Tawee Walker might get 150. He's my OPOG. 

DEFENSE

Well these boys exceeded expectations. They got way more pressure on Quin Ewers than I thought and the aforementioned goal line stand was baller. 

These guys are for real and it's a glorious feeling. 

They're going to be amped up today, at home and I look for someone like Billy Bowman to have a huge coronation party. He's my DPOG. 

THE SCORE

I think the spread is 19.5 as I write this, and the Sooners cover at home easily. 

I like the Sooners bigly, 49-14. 

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

UCF

Welcome back Sooners fans. What a fun time that Red River game was. It's always sweet to beat texas, but those years where they are highly ranked and "back", and we are underdogs and coming off a sweet loss, those are special. And then you add in the unbelievable last minute comeback to really stick a knife in their balls, well, that's a level all it's own. Sooner Magic made an appearance for the first time in I don't know how long and man was it wonderful. The off week afterward made it really nice to savor. But, with all of those glad tidings there is still a lot of football left in the season. And if OU football has drilled anything into my brain, it's that we have an amazing track record of taking a dump in our own picnic basket once or twice a year. This team feels a little different than the ones of years past, but I'm still extremely cautiously optimistic at this point.

UCF comes to town for a game that would feel like a trap normally. It still does in some ways, but I think the week off was well timed in that it allowed us all to savor texas without it distracting from the next game. The extra week was a "let's get back to business" reset in my mind. For those keeping score at home, what I think means less than zero. UCF is 3-3 and I couldn't know less about them. I do feel like these Florida schools at minimum have some really talented athletes and probably a few misfits that didn't latch on to a bigger school for whatever reason. My point being, they likely have some decent talent. The kind of school that could connect enough plays to hang around against any school. OU needs to shut them down with defense early, and just play their game on O. 

Offense

To the idea of giving credit where due, Gabriel's game winning drive was pretty incredible. 75 yards with no timeouts in less than a minute to win the biggest rivalry game of the year is pretty fucking awesome. I still have my quibbles with him, and I'm still confident his lesser traits will be a meaningful (in the bad way) factor in a big game, but he did it when he needed to against UT. So, naturally, I'm staying away from him this week. He's lost his top target in Andrel Anthony (wow, that one really hurts) but I'm going to say Jalil Farooq steps up and is my OPG for the game.

Defense

Let's not go trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel here. Stutsman for President.

Score

This feels a bit like it will be a high scoring affair. The spread is -19.5 for OU at the time I'm writing this crap. I think OU comes out slow, maybe even goes down a score, but rights the ship and pulls out a win 41-21.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner