TEXAS TECH RECAP: PART I

 

 

#15 OKLAHOMA 38

#10 TEXAS TECH 30 

 

 GROUNDHOG DAY II 

"It's like deja-vu, all over again" -Yogi Berra

 

 

 

 

October 22, 2011

Where: Owen Field - Norman, Oklahoma

When: Saturday - late October

Who: Texas Tech Red Raiders

Why: Kickoff delayed 94 minutes due to violent area storms

What:  The Red Raiders strike first to take an early 7-0 lead, but OU ties the score at 7 with a TD drive soon after

October 26, 2013

Where: Owen Field - Norman, Oklahoma
When: Saturday - late October
Who: Texas Tech Red Raiders
Why: Kickoff delayed 75 minutes due to violent area storms
What:  The Red Raiders strike first to take an early 7-0 lead, but OU ties the score at 7 with a TD drive soon after

 

BIG 12 CLASSIC

This one had a little bit of everything... lightning, thunder, scoring sprees, big hits, reverses, fog, rain, blunders, lead changes, big plays, long drives, penalties and enough attempted deception to make David Copperfield jealous. 

 

The game was part smash mouth, part finesse; part beauty and part beast.  The two teams treated momentum like Elizabeth Taylor did husbands...often obtained but never retained.  

 

Every time one team seemed poised to deliver a knock out blow...the other would fight back with a flurry of points to get back into the game or even take a lead.

 

It was almost eerie how similar the weather and the first quarter of the game were to the last time these two teams met in Norman.   Look, I have gotten use to the fact that strange stuff is going to happen when the Sooners go to Lubbock…but that voodoo b.s needs to stay out in west Texas. Thankfully, for OU fans at least, this version of OU-Tech Gridiron Groundhog Day had a different ending than the 2011 version. The Sooners were able to come out on top in a hard hitting, entertaining and exciting game…

And who says the sequel is never as good as the original?

THINKING OUT LOUD...

 

OU Double Jeopardy

The OAS: “Alex, I’ll take ‘There’s Only One’ for $500 please.”
Alex: “These ‘Raiders of the Loss’ handed the #3 ranked Sooners their first defeat of the 2011 season. Their win over OU ended the Sooners nation’s longest home winning streak and still stands as the only time that a Bob Stoops coached OU team has lost a home game in the month of October.
Contestant #1:(bing) "What is long –winded answer?"
Contestant #2:(bing) What is how did all that fit on your card?
The OAS: (bing) Who is Texas Tech?
Alex: Texas Tech is correct...The Red Raiders are still the only team to win in Norman in the month of October.

Targeting or Turtling?

It was a very physical, hard hitting football game on Saturday…but the best hit of the day may have been when Aaron Colvin took out his own head coach. Stoops was standing about 5 yards out on the field arguing that the pass Tech had just thrown should be ruled a lateral. A lateral of course would make it a fumble and live ball instead of an incomplete pass. Meanwhile, Aaron Colvin, who is actually supposed to be on the field, is working off the same optimistic premise that Stoops is, so he picks up the ball and starts to run. He didn’t make it very far. I guess you could say he got ‘Stooped’ at the 35 yard line.

I don’t know, I could be wrong…but I would think when arguing a call with a referee, it would be more effective if done so from the sidelines. It would seem to me that your argument would tend to lose a little of its effect when your laying on your back at the near hash mark, kicking you’re arms and legs up and down like a turtle flipped over on his shell…but hey, what do I know.

There is no Kneed for This

Trey Millard’s season ending ACL injury is another huge blow to the Sooners. News of his injury really casted a pall over what should have been a celebratory post game Sooner locker room. Millard’s versatility was invaluable to the Sooners offense. Hell, most chiropractors don’t see as many back positions as Millard did. Whether it was fullback, halfback, H-back, bar back, Nickelback, Back to the Future, Back in Black, back to back or backgammon...Millard could play them all.  
I don’t think I have ever seen someone who could block as well as Millard coming out of the backfield. Equally important, is that by all accounts he seemed to be a good dude and one of the most popular guys on the team. 
If your keeping score at home, you can now add the name Millard to a list that includes Peterson, Bradford, Broyles, Gresham, and Nelson of players who had their Sooner careers ended prematurely due to injury.

Tomorrow Is Yesterday

Remember the last time the Oklahoma Sooners had two true freshman linebackers on the field at the same time?  Yeah, me neither.  The duo of Alexander and Evans combined with redshirt freshman Eric Striker is a terrific foundation for a bright future at linebacker. They are making some mistakes from time to time, but they can play.

Give Both Arms to Do That

Nice game by Gabe Lynn with 9 tackles and a pick. But Gabe has become a poster boy for one of my biggest pet peeves…the armless tackle. Why do defensive backs insist on tackling like they are in a strait jacket? This isn’t soccer!  There is no penalty for using your arms and hands...so wrap up, so I don't melt down.  Thank you

Not So Special Teams

Let’s start with the punt team.  Is there some new minimum weight requirement rule that a punt coverage team must adhere to that I don’t know about? If not, then why do we have three sumo wrestlers and a guy that looks like he has to go to the feed store to weigh himself out there trying to cover kicks? You would think that of the 85 guys on the team, there would be at least 10 who could both cover kicks and be able to tell you what a salad is. One of the deep protection guys could lose 25 pounds and knock a full second off his forty-time just by stopping into Super-Cuts. Seriously, if those are the best we got, then someone needs to get Floyd the barber and Jenny Craig on the phone because something has to change. If a punt returner gets past the first wave of guys all that is left between him and the goal line is four plates of biscuits and gravy and our disinterested punter. Not good. (I will talk about the Tech fake punt in tomorrow’s update…genius.)

One for Me, One for You

The Sooners win on Saturday was the first time in 8 seasons that someone has won 2 in a row. Which I guess makes the win twice as nice.

A NUMBER OF THINGS TO SAY

Texas Tech 725 Oklahoma 0

When it comes to who had the best tight, this was no contest. The Tech tight end is an All-American who came into the game already having 725 receiving yards. The OU tight end is just an American that zero receiving yards because we have instructed our QB's to only throw the ball to people that are actually in the game.
Want to find a way to help your young QB? Then get him a woobie, a pacifier, a teddy bear or some sort of security blanket...like a tight end. A young Jason White had Trent Smith. Redshirt frosh Sam Bradford had Jermaine Gresham. Landry Jones had…well, he had a bad porn ‘stach and some mobility issues…but I regress. Just get a tight end damn it!  

16 of 18

The Sooners ran the football on 16 of their last 18 plays. To be able to control the football and run the clock is how you win football games. Overall the Sooners ran the ball 50 times for 277 yards while throwing it 22 for 249. In my opinion, that is the kind of ratio that gives us the best chance to win right now.

8 of 15

A little over 50% on 3rd down conversion rate will take that every time.

8 for 55 = 6.9

Evidently, Roy Finch has gone from forgotten man to being the OU closer. All of Finch’s eight carries and 55 yards came during fourth quarter crunch time. Don’t get me wrong, I like Roy Finch. It has always puzzled me as to why the coaches haven’t found more ways to get him the ball during his career here. That being said, I find him to be a curious choice for this roll. You would think it better to pound the opposing defense with a bigger back whose running style will take its toll on a tired defense. Finch is a water bug not a bruiser. You would think his style of running would also be more susceptible to fumbling, but hey…I also thought OJ was guilty, so what the hell do I know.

Up Next...Part 2
"6 Yards Away From Shreveport"

Just one mildly interested guys opinion

The Overweight Armchair Sooner

Buddy Putty