ONE HELL OF A 'KNIGHT' IN THE BIG EASY & 2014 FORECAST

SUGAR WITH A SIDE OF BOURBON STREET

I'll be honest, even after the comeback win against OSU, the thought of OU going to the Sugar Bowl, or any BCS Bowl for the matter, never crossed my mind. And why would it?  This isn't official, but I'm pretty sure some combination of the following had to occur for the Sooners to end up on Bourbon Street:

OU had to rally to beat OSU in final 1:47 with their 3rd string QB ● Peace had to break out in the Middle East ● Unbeaten Ohio State had to lose to Michigan State ● Democrats had to agree to reduce taxes ● Unbeaten Northern Illinois had to lose to whoever the hell they were playing ● The SEC had to admit that they aren't the best football conference ● Baylor had to beat Texas and the Kardashian’s had to announce they are boycotting publicity.

But sure enough, there is was on ESPN: 

2013-2014 All State Sugar Bowl: 

Alabama vs Oklahoma

Gulp.  Come on....Admit it.  You were thinking the same thing I was.  Mixed emotions...like watching an ex-spouse drive off a cliff in your brand new Porsche 911. 
Yes, it was nice to be in a BCS Bowl, but now there is a pretty good chance we might get our ass kicked in front of the entire nation.  

No one gave us a chance. No one. I didn't and you didn't either.  If you're reading this and saying to yourself...that's not true, I thought OU would beat Alabama! Then please email me as to what kind of meds you were on because I need to get me some of that.  
Your optimism was based on what?  

• Stoops track record in BCS games (3-5 only because you have to count UConn)?  
• OU's recent success against SEC teams in Bowl Games (1-4)? 
• All the experts thought we were going to win?  
• You thought we matched up well with the Tide?  
• Our stable QB situation? 
• You just had a feeling?  
• You have a fortune teller?
• You flew over a corn field in Iowa that formed the word Trevor?

The fact is, not many, if any outside of the OU locker room thought we had an ice cubes chance in hell of winning that game.  
But the players and coaches believed.  When Alabama took the opening kickoff and methodically shoved the ball down our Schooner for a touchdown, nobody on the OU sideline dropped their heads or pouted....like the entire team did when Mark Bradley muffed the punt against USC in the 2004-05 Orange Bowl.  The Sooners went three and out...but still no panic. They KNEW they were going to win.

Obviously, Trevor Knight had one hell of a game.  In my opinion, it was the best performance by a Sooner QB that I've seen in the Stoops era...An era that includes two Heisman Trophy QB's in the last ten years.  Jason White's game in College Station against the Aggies in '04 was very good and maybe great, but still a distant second.  The back to back games that Landry Jones had in 2013 against WVa and OSU were great and worth mentioning, but both of those were against defenses that had more holes than the back end of a shooting gallery.  

I don't think it's a stretch to say that going into the Sugar Bowl, the opinion on who should be the Sooners starting QB was divided.  After a record breaking, MVP Sugar Bowl performance by Trevor Knight: 32 of 44 for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns...that opinion has been united...especially since Thompson is a Utah Ute and Bell is a tight-end.  But don't we need to tap the breaks just a bit on our expectations when it comes to this red-shirt sophomore QB?

Look, I'll admit, there is much to be excited about with Knight.  Yes, the way he played that night was unbelievable, especially when considering who was on the other side of the ball.  Just the confidence he gained from the Sugar Bowl, which is everything for a QB, that alone will make him better in 2014.  He also played well in the KSU game and was holding his own against OSU before he got hurt as well.  It's also the opinion of those considered experts on such, that the largest amount of growth and improvement for QB's occurs in their second year.  Sam Bradford has a Heisman that would give that some validity.

But I'm not going to lie, there's so much optimism that the expectations on Trevor Knight seem a little over the top. FOUR quarters ago, the entire Sooner Nation thought our choices at QB consisted of Larry, Moe or Curley.  Thirty-two completions later and Trevor Knight is being mentioned as a Heisman candidate.  Whoa, shouldn't we slow down there just a bit.  That GED is nice, but it don't necessarily mean that you're ready for Stanford.

First of all, he's started only 5 games. Of those five games

• 2 he left because of injury (OSU/WVa)
• 2 he played well (Bama/KSU)
• 1  he was marginal at best (La-Monroe)                        

Our offensive line should be a strength this year, which will help, but it's not when he's in the pocket that he gets hurt, it's when he's running around that shit goes foul for him.  When you have a QB that hasn't finished 40% of the games he started due to injury...and your back up is either a tight-end or someone who's never been on the field...that makes me nervous.   

Then, what if his Sugar Bowl performance was the QB version being the 4 Non Blondes?  It's not like he is going to get a month to prepare for anyone on our schedule. What if he's an injury prone one hit wonder?  I don't think he is, but it was a fun way to work the 4 Non Blondes into the conversation.

The most encouraging thing to me when it comes to Knight, is the fact that he doesn't have to be a Heisman candidate for this team to be really, really good.  Yes, he needs to be good and maybe real good...but not Heisman good.  Our defense should be much improved...that is as long as our linebackers don't suffer any injuries or try to take anymore girls home to the dorms. 
Our special teams will miss Jalen Saunders, but there are a lot of talented people that will get a shot to replace him.  
I don't really have anything concrete to offer as to why I feel this way, but I get a sense that the coaches seem a little more into it than they have been in a while...like maybe they sense something special.  It's just a feeling...could just be gas, but until otherwise corrected, I'm going with 'the coaches are focused.'

Last...our schedule sets up very well.  It has some tricky moments: We get a little early test with Tennessee, but we should take care of them at home.  We have to go to Fort Worth the week before Texas, which is a Gary Patterson trap waiting to happen.  The week before TCU is a trip to Morgantown that I think could be scary.  Since Knight will be making his first OU-Texas start you never know what could happen there.  Blake Bell proved that you can have success in other bright lights, but those at the Cotton Bowl are just different.  But we get OSU, K-State and most importantly, Baylor at home.

My thoughts on 2014?
Knight and LB's stay healthy: Final Four at Jerry's World.
Knight gets hurt...and this time next year I might be talking about how well Cody Thomas played against the Purdue Boilermakers in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Just the opinion of one mildly interested guy

The Overweight Armchair Sooner

Buddy Putty

ONE LAST LOOK BACK AT 2013 / PART III

2013
Unpredictable, Unusual & Unforgettable

Part III

#18 OKLAHOMA 33 @ #6 OSU 24

Starting QB: Trevor Knight

Second half starter: Kendal Thompson

Closer: Blake Bell

When you can't call something a rivalry…You call it Bedlam

"Oklahoma vs. Nebraska.  OU vs Texas...now those are great rivalries. OSU, are you serious? That's not a rivalry game for Oklahoma.  Just because it doesn't take us very long to get home after we kick your ass doesn't make you our rival" - Barry Switzer

OSU was ranked #6 in the country and they were on a roll, having won seven straight, the last two having been over #23 Texas and #3 Baylor.  The Cowboys had two weeks to prepare. The game was @ 'The Boone' in Stillwater.  The Pokes were double digit favorites...and just in case beating OU wasn't motivation enough, a win would give the Pokes the Big 12 Conference Title and a BCS Bowl berth.  Yep, wheat was gonna wave. Bullet was gonna run...and Pistols were gonna…Umm, hold up there Pete. 
When you can't call something a rivalry…You call it Bedlam

Rival: (adj) having the same pretensions or claims when competing

The Sooners unstable QB situation would soon reach new heights after starting QB Trevor Knight gets knocked out of the game just before halftime.  When the OU offense takes the field to start the second half, the QB replacing Knight isn’t the experienced Blake Bell...instead its redshirt freshman, Kendal Thompson.  

Wow.  A mere 14 days ago, the stance among OU coaches was that Kendal Thompson wasn’t ready to play yet…an opinion that seemed substantiated by the fact that Thompson had taken the same number of snaps up to that point of the season as I had…which before you go to the effort of looking it up, is zero. But thirteen meaningless snaps against Iowa State later...and suddenly he’s the guy Stoops thinks gives his team the best chance of winning a game where they're on the road and tied at half against the #6 team in the country.

What does offensive coordinator Josh Heupel have Thompson do on his first play from scrimmage?  Why throw the ball deep and into the wind, of course.  “Alex, I’ll take stupid play calls for $300, please”  Yep, wheat was gonna wave. Bullet was gonna run...and Pistols were gonna...Umm, hold up there Pete

When you can't call something a rivalry…You call it Bedlam

"Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they've hit a triple" - Barry Switzer's response when asked why OSU fans thought they were going to beat OU that year

Thanks in part to a goal line stand by the defense, a Jalen Saunders punt return for a touchdown and a touchdown pass to the kicker on a fake field goal…OU found themselves leading 20-17 midway through the fourth quarter.  But when Desmond Roland scored from one yard out to cap off a 7-play, 89-yard drive to give OSU a 24-20 lead with 1:47 to play…it didn’t look good for even the most optimistic OU fan.  Why you didn’t ask?  Becasue the Sooners would need to score a touchdown, which was something they had yet to do on offense all game.  Yep, wheat was gonna wave. Bullet was gonna run...and Pistols were gonna...Umm, hold up there Pete

When you can't call something a rivalry…You call it Bedlam

"Winning is a habit.  Unfortunately, so is losing." -Vince Lombardi 

So who do the Sooner coaches ask to save the day? Yep, Blake Bell.  Wow, you have to wonder exactly how that conversation went down, don't you?

“Hey, Blake...can you put down that clip board, find your helmet and come over here for a minute? Great, thanks. Uh, remember a few days ago when we basically told you that you sucked by demoting you to third-string? Well, we were just kidding. Look, you need to forget what a kick to the nuts that was to your confidence and ego, alright? I know that you didn’t get any reps this week in practice being third string at all, but practice is overrated.  Oh, and earlier when we put Thompson into the game instead of you to start the second half…well, don’t take that personal either.  One other thing, be confident, just because some walk-on holder named Grant Bothun has thrown more touchdown passes today than you have doesn't mean a thing…I know you can do it. Now get out there and win the game!”  Yep, wheat was gonna wave. Bullet was gonna run...and Pistols were gonna...Umm, hold up there Pete

When you can't call something a rivalry…You call it Bedlam

"I don't blame em for being excited. Some of those people out there

 weren't born the last time they beat us, and there's a pretty good chance they might not live long enough to see it happen again"

- Barry Switzer

When asked about the OSU fans celebrating

 their upset win over OU in 1976

OSU had a 24-20 lead with 1:47 to play.  The only thing between the Pokes and a Big 12 Title and BCS Bowl game was a third string QB and an offense that hasn’t scored all game. A few plays later, your best player has his hands on the ball and a chance to end the game. It was all right there for the taking. 

But instead, your best player drops the ball. Given new life...a few plays later our future tight end hits Jalen Saunders in the back of your ugly orange end-zone for a game winning touchdown with 17 seconds left. 

In typical OSU fashion, you use that time to add insult injury by finding a way to let us score again.  The only way it could be better is for the rules to be different so we could have gone for two.

Wheat was gonna wave...Bullet was gonna run...and Pistols were gonna fire...but you forgot something didn't you Pete?  You forgot that your OSU.  You forgot about 84-17-7. You forgot that it's the most lopsided in-state football series for a reason. You simply forgot that:

There's Only One Oklahoma

Now go get your shine box.

Season Excitement Meter: I didn't think it could get better, but I was wrong.

Next Up...The final chapter of 2013.  PART 4: The Sugar Bowl

ONE LAST LOOK BACK AT 2013 / PART II

2013
Unpredictable, Unusual & Unforgettable

Part II

(#18) OU 34 @ Kansas 19

Starting QB: Blake Bell

Yawn.  Rock, Chalk…when does basketball start? Thank the scheduling God’s for this one because if OU had been playing anyone but the Chickenhawks, the Sooner season might've ended in Shreveport instead of The Big Easy. 

One quarter into this game and OU had 23 yards offense and had given up more rushing yards to KU than the ‘Hawks normally averaged per game. Score 13-0.  

What sparked the Sooners? A blocked extra point and a beautifully thrown touchdown pass from…LaColston Bester…a wide receiver, of course.  Bell had a 121 yards passing with an interception, but none to a lineman on the opposing defense. Trevor Knight, unless you count when he was running to and from the locker room, never got on the field. 

That sound you hear…that’s the cry from the Sooner Nation for Kendal Thompson.

Season Excitement Meter: 6-1 (unchanged) 
The equivalent of watching a C-Span rerun

@ (#17)   OU  38 (#10) Texas Tech 30

Starting QB: Blake Bell

The Red Raiders arrived in Norman with a new rock star cool head coach and an undefeated record.  Unfortunately for Tech fans, what wasn’t new was the way their team plays defense.  Big time plays from LaColston Bester and Jalen Saunders helped the Sooners rack up over 500 yards total offense.  The Sooners ran the football on 16 of their last 18 plays…which took time off the clock and kept the Tech offense off the field.  Bell was better, 250 yards and 2 TD’s with no INT’s.  Trevor Knight and Kendal Thompson = Clipboard and headset.

Season Excitement: 7-1 (couple upticks) 
You want to believe, but you kind of know better.  It’s like playing Black Jack with a hand of 20…but the dealer has an Ace showing and of the last eight cards dealt…none were face cards. 

(#12)  OU  12 @ (#5) Baylor 41

Starting QB: Blake Bell

What the hell & why QB: Trevor Knight

QB Witness Program: Kendal Thompson

This one was there for the taking.  The big stage and bright lights seemed to have the Bears a little to jacked-up for their own good.  Senseless personal foul penalties combined with a knee injury to stud running back Seastrunk and an effective defensive game plan from Mike Stoops had Baylor fans restless and the Sooners in position to steal one…for a while anyway.  The Sooners actually lead 5-3 in this one before the wheels came off (Yes, that's right: 5-3).  

A key penalty, OU’s inability to score inside the Baylor 5 yard line and what might have been the worst pass ever thrown by a Sooner QB lead to Baylor scoring 14 points in the final minute of the second quarter to take a 21-3 lead to the locker room.  Basically, it was all over but the bad dancing in Waco.

Blake Bell’s QB rating in that game was 5.7.  That’s on a scale of 1-100 by the way, not 1-10. 5.7…How the hell is that even possible? He might’ve gotten a higher rating by not even playing.  I got a 1.7 QB rating just for successfully driving to Waco; or maybe that was my blood alcohol level...but regardless...5.7 sucks. 

Trevor Knight…remember him? He was the guy that ‘won’ the QB battle in fall camp.  He came in to the game 5 times.  Every one of those time were obvious running situations, all five times he ran.  Tricky.  Who knows where we’d have been without those 15 yards. How bad must Kendal Thompson be if he can’t even get a snap? But, hey…there is a bright side for KT. Three hours of  doing nothing every week gives him plenty of time to fill out his transfer paperwork.  

This just in: Waco still sucks.

Season Excitement Meter:  7-2 (falling)
On scale of 1-10 = 2.  Driving home you want to fire Stoops, cancel the remainder of the season, then hope they give up football all together. Then the next day when you sober up and calm down, you remember that you should be thankful because it could be worse…you could be an OSU fan.

@ (#22)  OU  48 Iowa State 10

Starting QB: Blake Bell (hurt in second quarter)

Because you’re not Kendal: Trevor Knight

OK, are you happy now: Kendal Thompson

Senior day. Bell gets hurt.  Knight runs wild.  Thompson sets down paperwork and goes in for mop up duty.  Whatever, it’s Iowa State.  Three OU QB’s combine to produce the following passing stats: 12 of 23 for 118 yards for an average of 5.1 yards a heave.  Almost enough to make you long for Landry.  Almost. 

Season Excitement Meter: 8-2 (unchanged)
Hey, at least it’s not soccer.

(#22)  OU  41 @ Kansas State 31

Because someone has to start at QB: Trevor Knight

Brennan Clay rushes for 200 yards and Zack Sanchez returns an INT for a touchdown, helping the Sooners hold off the Wildcats on a cold, windy day in Manhattan, KS.  Trevor Knight was efficient if not effective.  On the day he totaled 181 yards and a score through the air and another 82 and a TD on the ground.  In what has become a consistent theme, the big play ability of Jalen Saunders plays a huge role in the win.
QB Blake Bell: out with injury.  QB Kendal Thompson: His consecutive game streak over at 1.

Season Excitement Meter:  9-2 (a few upticks)
The win made you feel bad that you momentarily emotionally abandoned these guys two weeks ago…but you also can’t help knowing that a gutsy win over teams like Tech and KSU makes us nothing more than the “King of the melting pot of mediocrity.”

PART III to follow

ONE LAST LOOK BACK AT 2013

ONE LAST LOOK BACK AT 2013 

Unpredictable, Unusual & Unforgettable

Part 1

@ (#16) Oklahoma 34 vs. Louisiana-Monroe 0

Starting QB: Trevor Knight

Duck Dynasty was in the house as the Sooners opened the season at home against an opponent from the Sun Belt Conference...fitting since the temperature at kickoff was somewhere around 137 degrees, give or take a heat stroke or two.  The defense throws a shut-out, which seemed unlikely no matter who the opponent based on 2012 performance.  Trevor Knight was the anti-Landry Jones, finishing with more yards rushing than he did passing.  All in all, Knight was very average at times, very mediocre at others…but mostly…it was just hot. (1-0)

Season Excitement Meter: The equivalent of eating left-over meatloaf, you’re not hungry anymore…but far from satisfied. 

@ (#16) Oklahoma 16 vs. West Virginia 7

Starting QB: Trevor Knight

Finishing QB: Blake Bell

Five games ago these two teams played a Big 12 style thriller in Morgantown that the Sooners survived 50-49.  This one was no thriller.  If the 2013 game was Scarlett Johansson…then the 2014 version was Scarlett Fever.  Trevor Knight was having a horrible game when he got hurt, whether it was more than his feelings, only he really knows.  Regardless, every fans favorite player, the back-up QB…came to the rescue.  The Trevor Knight era = 1.75 games.  Next up: Blake Bell. (2-0)

Season Excitement Meter: The equivalent of having to sit through a Michael Bolton Concert…but with a hot date.  It sucks, but you hope it pays off later. 

@ (#14) Oklahoma 51 vs. Tulsa 20

Starting QB: Blake Bell

Blake Bell dispels rumors that the Sooners had thoughts of reverting back to the wishbone.  Bell breaks Sam Bradford’s record for most yards passing in their debut as starting QB with 450+ yards and four touchdowns.  “So much for your QB controversy,” said Bob Stoops to the media after the game.  Uh, hey Bobby…you might wanna tap the breaks on that whole no QB controversy thing. Even Sugar Hill Gang had a moment in the sun with Rapper’s Delight.  Might be better to wait until he's played a game on the road against someone we don't have to pay to be on our schedule before annointing him the man.  In the words of the Sugar Hill Gang:

I said, “You need a man who’s got finesse and his whole name written across his chest.  He may be able to fly all through the night, but can he rock a party ‘til the early light?) (3-0)

Season Excitement Meter: The equivalent of recording a top 10 finish at the Albertsons Boise Open on the Nationwide Tour…its nice, but what happens when you tee it up against the big boys? 

(#14) Oklahoma 35 @ (#22) Notre Dame 21

Starting QB: Blake Bell

Cameo: Trevor Knight

Sooners go to South Bend and play maybe their best game in years and knock off #22 Notre Dame.  The Sooners were physical on offense, opportunistic on defense and impressively resilient when the Irish made a push in the second half.  Bell threw for 240 yards to compliment the 200+ yards the Sooners had on the ground.  There was even a Trevor Knight sighting.  Knight jumped off the back of the milk carton and into the game long enough to make a sizable contribution on a scoring drive.  The Sooner Nation has a whole new attitude…things are suddenly great…maybe even thoughts of #8? 

(4-0)

Season Excitement Meter: The equivalent of getting bumped up to first class where you find a super model sitting in the seat next to you who admits she has a fetish for vice ridden, middle aged, over-weight, narcissistic divorced guys who’s first and last names rhyme.  

@ (#11) Oklahoma 20 vs. TCU 17

Starting QB: Blake Bell

A reality check in the form of Gary Patterson and the TCU defense.  Despite not having a first down at halftime, the Frogs were very much in the game late in the fourth quarter.  It was a trap game, right?  After Notre Dame, before Texas? Throw in a little mad scientist Gary Patterson and you can make the case that the Sooners did what they needed to do…win and move on to Dallas and a date with the Longhorns. (5-0)

Season Excitement Meter: The super model has bad breath…but so what.  Just because she could use a tic-tac doesn’t make it a deal killer, right? 

Dallas: (#12) Oklahoma 20 vs. Texas 36

Starting QB: Blake Bell

Ending QB: Maw Bell

You’d think having the experience of playing well on the road in front of Touchdown Jesus and a national television audience would have helped reduce the jitters associated with making your first start at QB in the Red River Rivalry.  You’d think.  But despite the experience in South Bend and the fact that he’d played in this game the previous two years…Blake was completely unnerved from the minute he trotted out of the tunnel.  Look, I use to throw-up before every 2A Oklahoma High School football game I played in.  If I’m yacking up lunch because I’m about to play the Atoka Wampus Cats, then I'd probably need the entire cast of Gray's Anatomy waiting for me at the end of the tunnel prior to taking a snap against Texas.  But that’s why he gets a free education and an opportunity and I get to pay to sit in the upper deck and drink.  OU came in to Fair Park as an 18 point favorite.  They left the Cotton Bowl embarrassed, exposed and with their season at an unexpected cross-road.

Season Excitement Meter: Turns out the super model was a cross dressing transvestite with irritable bowel syndrome. The flight attendant just informed me that there is no more alcohol on board and the movie that is about to play is Cannon Ball Run II. (5-1)

PART II TO FOLLOW