THE SAME BUT OH SO DIFFERENT

OKLAHOMA 16

WEST VIRGINIA 7

A COMPARISON TO THE NOT SO DISTANT PAST

 

The first Big 12 Conference matchup between Oklahoma and West Virginia took place last November...and it was a thriller. 

On that night in Morgantown last year, the two teams combined for 62 first downs, 1440 yards of offense, 13 touchdowns and 99 total points. The two teams averaged 8.5 yards a snap. Oklahoma QB Landry Jones threw for 554 yards. West Virginia RB Tavon Austin rushed 344 yards. Hell, I got credited with 7 yards rushing on 2 carries just for making the trip.  Punt? Yeah, right. You would’ve had a better chance of seeing Elvis, Big Foot or a Mountaineer fan with a full set of teeth on the field before you would've a punter.  

This year's Oklahoma and West Virginia rematch took place last Saturday night at Memorial Stadium in Norman...a thriller it was not.

Wow, what a difference 10 months, 1250 miles and two QB’s you have actually heard of can make.  If last year's game in Morgantown was the offensive equivalent of going to bed with Scarlett Johansson, then this year's game in Norman was like going to bed with Scarlett Fever.

Saturday night's clash between the two schools produced some startling divergent statistics.  There were 22 fewer first downs, 618 fewer total yards, 11 fewer touchdowns and 76 fewer points scored than there were in Morgantown.  In addition...the temperature was 68 degrees warmer, there were 12 more punts, 6 more turnovers, 5 more penalties and one more quarterback benching than there was at Pusker Stadium last fall. 

When you stop to consider the fact that the first matchup was only 5 games ago...it puts into prospective how quickly and drastically things can change from one year to the next in college football. 

The OAS PRESENTS

A VIEW FROM INSIDE THE PURPLE BAG...
THE OFFENSE



 

"I'm in favor of it" - Former Tampa Bay Head Coach John McKay's response to a reporter who asked him how he felt about the execution of his offense. 

I am hearing a lot of criticism being launched @ OU offensive coordinator Josh Heupel in regards to his play calling last Saturday night. I find that criticism to be a little unfair when you take into consideration what he had to work with.  Look, I'm not saying Heupel is above reproach, he would probably be the first to tell you that he has room to improve in some areas. But to criticize his play calling Saturday night is to infer that the calls he was making were incorrect or that there was some obvious alternative choice that wasn't being made.  I don't agree with that. Too often fans mistake a poorly executed play to be a bad call.  That's just not true.  If you are baking a cake and decide to add salt instead of sugar, you can't blame the recipe when the cake taste line a salt lick.

There are a few things that on offense that can really be a friend to the quarterback: 

A tight end.  A good tight end is like the QB's pacifier, his security blanket, his night light.  When he gets in trouble, the tight end is who he looks for.  Since our tight end is evidently in witness protection, this is not an option. The OAS Food Equivalent of:  Beets = Sucks

Mobility.  The ability for a QB to be mobile in the pocket and be a running threat can really help open up the passing game. It also can help make a big play out of a bad one.  But for this to be a weapon there has to be some sembalance of success throwing the football or the defense won't respect the pass and will stack the line of scrimmage to stop the run.  Trevor certainly has the mobility, but his inability to consistently complete a forward pass neutralized this advantage. The OAS Food Equivalent of: A Salad = Yawn

Early Success. Yeeeaaahhh, I'm thinking not so much. Trevor hasn't been able to do anything early to inspire confidence.  By the end of the third quarter, Heuple had more confidence in Stevie Wonder's ability to parallel park a Greyhound bus than he did in Knight's ability to complete a pass. The OAS Food Equivalent of: Tofu = Sucks

A running game. I was extremely impressed with how well OU ran the football against WVA.  The WVA defensive coordinator might have been born at night, but it wasn't last night.  He recognized the Sooners passing issues and in doing so, often had 7 or 8 defenders 'in-the-box,' yet still the Sooners ran the ball.  That is not an easy thing to do.  Running the ball successfully gave Heupel another weapon to help his young quarterback out with...the play action pass. Because the defense has to respect the running game, the fake is now taken seriously, which freezes the linebackers and opens up passing lanes.  Which is why the calls Heupel made were not bad, merely horribly executed. The OAS Food Equivalent of: Gravy = Awesome

The play action pass.  Should have worked like Brad Pitt in a chick-flick....unless of course your QB is staring down his receiver before he even starts the fake. When he does that, it becomes more like watching Joan Jett sing a gospel tune; you hear it, but you know something just isn't quite right about it. The OAS Food Equivalent of: Frozen TV Dinner = Decent idea but not good food.

When Trevor couldn't complete a pass even after the running game and play action gave him an added assistance to do so, the coaching staff had to make a change.  The truth is, with the situation being what it was at QB Saturday night, it was less about making the right call and more about making the least wrong one.

I hated to hear Trevor is hurt.  Hopefully he can use the rehab time to regroup and learn from watching.  He has talent; he just needs the game to slow down a little bit right now.

Tomorrow: Defense and Special Teams

Just the opinion of one mildly interested guy

The Overweight Armchair Sooner

Buddy Putty