Tennessee Volunteers vs. Oklahoma Sooners

 Good afternoon, Sooner fans. It's a hot day and big weekend in Norman. The Sooners kick off their SEC era again Josh Heupel and this town is hyped. Tennessee fans are everywhere. This is big time.

It's so big I have to be brief here. This one feels like when Texas Tech came in thinking they would make a national statement in Norman, at night. The Sooners smoked them. I'm not saying the Sooners smoke the Vols today, but they are not going to run over, around and through the Sooners.

If we know nothing else, it's that being the underdog is when we play our best.

OFFENSE

Obviously, it's the O-line. That's the story for every game from here on out. The Sooners will have Nic Anderson back today. Taylor Tatum is emerging as a stud in the backfield. Jackson Arnold can get you out of a jam. But without that O-Line, we're toast.

Today for my OPOG I'm going Taylor Tatum. If OU can run and win the time of possession battle, we have a chance.

DEFENSE

I saw a stat that said the Vols average more rushing yards per game than OU's entire offense per game. Erego, vis a vis, suffice it to say, the Sooners have to stop the run. 

The Tennessee QB has never played a true road game. The crowd and the D need to frazzle him. 

My DPOG is R Mason Thomas. Dude is a beast.

THE SCORE

I really don't think the Sooners can match the offense of the Vols. But if they do, they will win by of score of, say, 31-28.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Tennessee

 This Saturday marks a new era in Sooner football. For the first time since the formation of the Big 12 our Sooners open up a conference play in The SEC. It’s a big deal and really solidified the SEC as the premier football conference in America (if it wasn’t already). Sadly, our Sooners open this new conference era with a murderers row of opponents. Our next 5 games are against teams all within the top 7 rankings currently. I guess this is what we can expect now. Unfortunately we’ve looked, um, pretty shitty as an offense so far. And while Tennessee is definitely a team more know for their ability to score, SEC football is defense first and then figure everything else out. This doesn’t bode well. 

Accordingly, Vegas has us a 7 point dogs at home. This is probably pretty fair and, honestly probably generous for us. The crimson and cream did manage to right the ship somewhat against Tulane but definitely didn’t put them away until the last few minutes and it was very much anyone’s game in the fourth quarter. Yikes, I’m not optimistic. 

I’d be remiss to not mention this as the homecoming of Josh Heupel. He was a great QB for OU and a very mediocre OC. I know he’s turned Tennessee around but all of this lamenting of his firing forgets the fact that that the Sooners offense was the epitome of mediocre and predictable while he has the reigns. He’s clearly grown as a coach (and a human—physically) since he left. I wish him all the best and I hope he gets a warm reception from the home crowd, but I also hope he loses. 

Offense

Jackson Arnold has been pretty bad. He was better last week, but damn sure not good enough to win against a better opponent. Tennessee plays as close to big 12 football as it gets in this conference. I suspect OU will try to control the ball and win time of possession. As such I am going with Taylor Tatum. He’s been very good, and I know he’s not the number 1 guy yet but I think this week he breaks out. 

Defense 

Who else? Stutsman, that’s who. 

Score

Whew, I’m really pounding the Sooners brew and looking through all the right lenses here. I’ll squint just right and turn my head to precisely the right angle to see OU em stunning Tennessee 27-24. 

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner 

Tulane Green Wave vs. Oklahoma Sooners

 The Tulane Green Wave come to Norman on a beautiful Saturday to take on our 2-0 Sooners. The Sooners looked like wet turd on offense last week in a much closer than the oddsmakers predicted 16-12 nailbiter against hapless Houston. The defense looked good and sealed the game. It looks like they may have to do that for the foreseeable future. 

Tulane gave a scare to Kansas State last week in New Orleans. The Sooners had better be ready to play.

OFFENSE

The offensive line is putrid. They got no push in the run game and they were undisciplined in the final moments with an inexplicable personal foul almost costing them the game. 

Today's OPOG has to be Jackson Arnold unfortunately. He has to figure out a way to manage this team and figure out a way to get some yards on first down. They can't be living in 3rd a long. This is the last week before it gets "real". With this offensive line, I have serious doubts.

It doesn't look like Nic Anderson is back yet, either, so JA has his work cut out for him.

DEFENSE

This group is playing hard and by and large doing the right thing. They had one bad breakdown last week which is going to happen.

That said they have to be better to cover this offense. That's wild to think in the modern era, but here we are. 

Today I like Gracen Halton for my DPOG. He's at 2.5 sacks thus far and he's a big, disruptive fella. Why not?

THE SCORE

It turns out that some concerning hallmarks of the Brent Venables era is a lack of discipline and poor ball control and clock management at the ends of halves.

I can't believe the lack of confidence in the Sooners offense at this point. Perhaps they can fill a hole or two on the line this week. 

I'll take the Sooners 31, Tulane 17

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner.

Tulane

This Saturday our Sooners host the Green Wave of Tulane University. Let us all hope it is a much better performance than the shitshow bs Houston last week. As this game was on SEC Network I was not able to watch it. But, everything I read after the game was over seemed as though the final score was an accurate depiction of how shitty the Sooners played. Some fun numbers: OU punted 8 times, Arnold was sacked 3 times, he threw an interception and only managed 176 passing yards on the day. If we’re playing Georgia, that seems reasonable (if disappointing) but against Houston it’s just terrible. I’m not sure how much of the blame also lies at Arnold’s feet but the OLine has been absolutely dreadful the first two games. 7 sacks vs 2 wildly inferior defenses. Yes, conference play is going to be rough. On the optimistic side of things, the defense seemed to play well. I can’t remember the last time the defense bailed the offense out, but again, this was against a really bad Houston team that got pasted by UNLV in the opening week. 

Tulane, sadly, looks to be a much tougher opponent (it’s all relative). They played very well against a K-State team that (at least according to the current rankings) is similar in quality to our Sooners. Tulane damn near beat us a couple of years ago in what should’ve been a Sooners blowout. Unless our guys really clean up the offensive line play and Arnold steps up, this could be an early upset. 

Offense

It’s really hard to get excited about anyone with the way the O line has played. I have no confidence in a running back behind them and it’s hard to see a big game from our QB as well. But I will go with a WR in Deion Burks and hope that he can sustain drives and get behind the defense once or twice as well. 

Defense

It’s Stutsman here. It’s just too hard not to pick him. He had 15 tackles last week. He’s an animal, he’s everywhere and he’s our best player on either side of the ball. What I lack in creativity is made up for by the fact that I’m right nearly every week. 

Score

Looking back at the numbers for the first two games, Arnold has simply not been good. His QBR was 40 vs Temple and 37.5 vs Houston. That’s pretty dreadful. He’s not had more than 200 yards in a game and his completion percentage is currently 63% vs two of the worst teams we’ll play all year. I just don’t see how we score a bunch with that. I think tulane plays us very tough and I will stick with our Sooners at home 24-20. 

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner 

Houston Cougars vs. Oklahoma Sooners

Welcome Sooner fans to a gorgeous late summer Saturday where today the boys take on the Houston Cougars in Norman. Last week the Sooners took care of business against an overmatched Temple team and, while there was a lot to like, it wasn't perfect.

The Sooners offense was poor on third down. Like, almost historically bad, going just 1-12. The offensive line was every bit the cobble together work in progress it was billed to be. But a win is a win and today they play for 2-0.

OFFENSE

Not only was the offensive line cobbled together, Center Branson Hickman went down with injury on the first series of the game. The Sooners have three weeks to get ready for Tennessee and Bill Bedenbaugh is going to have to earn his check.

The Sooners need to find a serviceable combo up front and they need to figure out a way to get to third and manageable. Then they need to run the ball. 

Today I'm picking Gavin Sawchuck. 

DEFENSE

Temple is not good, but the Sooner defense looked pretty darn good. They forced four turnovers in the first half and held the Temple offense to just 197 total yards. About 77 players had a tackle. 

They need to build on this and make it their identity. I'll go Kendall Dolby for my DPOG.

THE SCORE

I expect there to be some unexpected murmurs in the crowd stemming from poor offensive play. In the end, the Sooners figure it out. The defense is a welcome safety blanket. This will be a process working towards Tennessee and the heart of the schedule.

Sooners win going away, 45, 10.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Houston

 One week in the books and our Sooners did a classic TCB last week. It was a typically opening week matchup where OU really only had something to lose. While the game went well, Farooq was injured and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with “a foot”. That’s pretty rough to say the least as he was our most accomplished returning WR. But, it’s a position of depth and hopefully the other guys can step up. What concerned me more than anything in terms of game play was the O Line giving up 4 (don’t quote me on that number) sacks to Temple. This is not the 85 Bears or the 00 Ravens. I said going in that the offensive line was a big question mark and frankly the offense is fucked in conference play if that doesn’t improve. Here’s to hoping it’s just them getting to know each other, learning calls, assignments etc. the defense played well but we’ve seen this movie from venables defenses in the past. I’ll believe when a talented offense gets stopped consistently. All things considered it was a positive start and let’s look to keep it rolling and avoid any more injuries this week. 

Offense

It’s hard to argue with Arnold last week. While not the gaudiest of numbers they were very solid and a few drops made them look worse than they should’ve been. Furthermore he threw some absolute dimes while on the move into some tight windows. If he can get some consistency he is going to be really good. But, I’m going with an RB this week. I think we make it a point to try to pound Houston into submission. I like Gavin Sawchuck to have a big day and get in the end zone at least once. 

Defense

I have to go with Stutsman again. Is he our best defender? Is he the most consistent player on either side of the ball? Am I too lazy to put forth the effort to think of someone else? Yes, yes and emphatically yes.  

Score

Sooners are heavily favored in this one which is no surprise. But, I could see this being a little bit of a trap game. Houston, while not great, will have considerably more talent than Temple did. And I still have PTSD from that Ed Oliver game a few years back. Still, I like our Sooners today and though I see them letting Houston hang around a little early, I think we pull away in the second half. Sooners 44-17. 

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner 

Temple

Welcome back loyal reader(s)! Another season of the steamroller is upon us and that can only mean that Sooners football is set to kickoff once again. The Sooners have three unprecedented factors going into this one, it’s the first ever Friday night game for the Sooners, it’s the inaugural game of the first season in the SEC and it’s the first Sooners game I’ll have missed watching in 20 years (well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad —Meatloaf).

The Temple Owls come to town fresh off three years of being complete trash. The Sooners begin the year with former all-world recruit Jackson Arnold at the helm of the offense. The defense looks as though it has a glimmer of a chance of possibly not being total shit (a glowing review!). These are indeed exciting times. The schedule is daunting and dare I say it is a make or break year for Brent Venables. Let’s enjoy this season of Sooners football friends. On to the picks!

Offense

This unit gives me some anxiety as the offensive line is all new players (didn’t fact check that whatsoever but I think it’s close to true at minimum) and obviously everything starts there. But against temple I think they should be able to get tuned up and hopefully develop some cohesiveness prior to conference play. And while I’m a big fan of Javontae Barns and Gavin Sawchuck, I’m going with our man Jackson Arnold today. I think he played very well and gets Sooner Nation feeling all funny “down there”.

Defense

Absent of doing more research and finding other viable options, I'm going with Danny Stutsman here. Frankly, even if I cared to take the time to find out more about matchups, schemes etc., I would still go with Stutsman. Dude is unbelievable and our best defender, end of story.

Score

As I mentioned earlier, Temple sucks, or at least they have in recent years. I'm not sure a road tilt in Norman is their "get right" game. I like the Sooners big in this one 55-10.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin' Sooner