#19 OKLAHOMA 55 KANSAS STATE 0

“Best Laid Planes”

Due to mechanical issues with three different airplanes, the team’s departure from Will Rogers World Airport was delayed by over 8 hours Friday night.  Instead of a short 45 minute flight into the Manhattan Municipal Airport that would have them on the ground around 4:00 PM, the team didn’t arrive until Saturday morning about 12:15 AM. 

“Salute to the Ole Ball Coach”

As a salute to Steve Spurrier, who announced his immediate retirement during the week, Bob Stoops elected to forgo his usual OU game-day visor on Saturday.  The OAS also elected to forgo his usual OU game-day visor for the KSU game, but to be honest, it had nothing to do with the old ball coach calling it quits.  My usual game-day visor was simply unavailable due to the fact I hurled it out my car window onto I-30 when I was driving home from Fair Park the previous Saturday night.

“Things that make you want to go, huh?”

Look, Bill Snyder is obviously a great coach.  But that being said, how could he and his coaching staff look at last week’s Texas film and decide that the best way to attack the Sooner defense was through the air? Well, all I can say about that is….thank you.

“Can I Be Frank with You”

Frank Shannon finally got onto the field for more than a play or two, subbing in for an injured Jordan Evans.  Shannon had four solo tackles.  I’d still like for somebody to explain to me why Shannon, who lead the team in tackles in 2013, can’t get on the field more in 2015.  Of course, I’d also like for someone to explain to me why woman always…oh hell, forget it. Nobody has that kind of time.

 "Home Not So Sweet Home"

The road team has won the last 5 times in this series.  Bob Stoops is now a perfect 6-0 against Kansas State in Manhattan, with all 6 being by a double digit margin

Bipolar Sooners

A week after their pathetic effort and performance against Texas, the Sooners go on the road and completely dominate what had been a very competitive Kansas State team, by turning in one of their best all-around, total team performances in years.  While some, and rightfully so, will wonder where the hell that type of game plan, effort and execution was last week…I’m just impressed that the Sooners were able to put last week behind them and move forward.  Losing to Texas in the manner in which they did, this team could’ve pouted and gone into the tank.  The fact is, all the pre-season goals this team set for itself are still achievable.

64-86-99

Time in seconds of the Sooners first three scoring drives

Sophomore Defensive Back William Johnson

“Changes, They Are a Comin’”

After the Texas debacle, you had to figure the coached might shake things up a little personnel wise, and they did.  On Offense:  Against the Wildcats, OU offensive line Coach Bill Bedenbaugh gave freshman Dru Samia his second start of the year in place of senior Josiah St. John at right tackle and put sophomore Jonathan Alvarez back at left guard in place of senior Derek Farinok. Somehow, Ty Darlington was still the starter at center and Nile Kasitati was still the starting right guard.  On Defense: The big move was moving sophomore defensive back Steven Parker from nickel back to free safety in place of junior Hatari Byrd and inserting sophomore cornerback Will Johnson in at the nickel back or Roy Back.  I’m not going to lie, I had to look up who the hell Will Johnson was.  Turns out he's a 4 star recruit from New York state.

Start of the game: Score: OU 0 KSU 0.  There was a crowd of 52,867 packed into Bill Snyder Family Stadium.  Start of the 4^th Quarter: Score OU 48 KSU 0.  The crowd consisted of The Wildcat Band, the majority of the KSU student section (which was impressive) and 48,000 people disguised as seats.  Not sure I’ve ever seen a stadium look as empty on TV as that one did.

 “You’ll Have Nothing!”

The shut-out against KSU was the first against a conference opponent for the Sooners since 2010 when they blanked Iowa State 52-0.

“No Complaining Here”

Bitching about anything when a team whips a quality opponent on the road 55-0 is like waking up with Angelina Jolie and then complaining about her breath.  Since I would never do that, I won’t mention:

• Down 7-0, the Sooners busted a coverage that left a Wildcats receiver running wide-open down the right hash on a fly pattern, but got away with it when the K-State QB missed him by 15 yards.
• The revamped O-line still gave up 3 sacks, and this despite the fact that the Wildcats rarely blitzed. 
• Still no 100 yard rusher for the Sooners.

“The Best of Saturday”

• Eleven different Sooners caught passes on Saturday
• The Sooners made three interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown by Sanchez
• Total yards: OU 568 KSU 110
• The downfield blocking by the wide receivers was excellent
• Sooners had 6 sacks on the day
• Enjoy Sterling Shepard while you can, he is a special football player and even better person

Hell of bounce back win Sooners.  Now it’s time to get ready for Texas Tech. 
Boomer Sooner!

Just the Opinion of One Mildly Interested Guy

Buddy Putty – The Overweight Armchair Sooner

LONGHORNS STRONG ARM SOONERS

#10 OKLAHOMA 17 TEXAS 24

  110th EDITION OF THE RED RIVER RIVALRY

THIS IS JEOPARDY!
SPECIAL RED RIVER RIVALRY EDITION

This is JEOPARDY.  Now entering the studio are today’s contestants:

This former Iowa Hawkeye defensive back has been the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners since 1999.  From Youngstown, Ohio, meet Bob Stoops. 

Fired from his head coaching position at the University of Arizona, recently demoted from co-defensive coordinator, this 53 year old OU outside linebackers coach is now required to watch games from the press-box because of anger management issues. Also from Youngstown, Ohio, meet Mike Stoops.

Recently fired after having spent 7 years on the Sooners coaching staff, this 52 year old Iowa Hawkeye alum is now calling plays for the Texas Longhorns. From Madison, Wisconsin, meet Jay Norvell.

 

And now, here’s the host of JEOPARDY! – Alex Trebek.  

TREBEK: "Thank you very much.  "On behalf of all of us, welcome to this special edition of Red River Rivalry JEOPARDY! 

You’ve met the contestants, now let’s take a look at today’s categories":

    DYSON’S & HOOVER’S                                STOOP-ID HUMAN TRICKS

   Things that sucked on Saturday                          Facts About the Stoops Brothers

                                                   POTENT POTABLES

        RHYMES WITH BUCK                               DUBIOUS DIGITS

TREBEK: I’ll remind our contestants that their responses must be in the form of a question. Which shouldn’t be too hard for Bob & Mike, since they clearly didn’t have any answers on Saturday.  Jay will start us off today…Coach Norvell, please select a category…

JAY: “I’ll try STOOP-ID HUMAN TRICKS for $100 please.” 

TREBEK: “The Sooners have lost only 45 times in Bob Stoops 17+ seasons. But inexcusably, Saturday was the 15th time a Stoops coached team has lost as this…” (Buzzer) 

BOB: “You know, uh, you guys in the media, uh, like to blame me when, uh, its the players who play the game” (X- incorrect). 

JAY: “What is a double-digit favorite?” 

TREBEK: “Correct.  Go again.”

JAY: “STOOP-ID HUMAN TRICKS for $200 please. 

TREBEK: “Temper, frequenting strip-clubs and running QB’s.” (Buzzer) 

BOB: “You know, uh, we deal with that stuff internally, but uh, I’ll say this, we’ve won 7 Conference Championships, uh, I’d say that’s pretty good.” (X- incorrect). 

MIKE: “What are things that make me drink?” (X- incorrect).  

JAY: “What are three things Mike Stoops has never been able to control?” 

TREBEK: Correct. Coach Norvell, that puts you up by two scores early in this game...which should sound familiar…choose again.

JAY: I’ll take DUBIOUS DIGITS for $200 please. 

TREBEK: Despite a Longhorn defense that ranked 123^rd in the country in this area, the Sooners were successful on only 3 of their 12 attempts at this.... (Buzzer) 

MIKE: “What is touch Marcus Johnson with both hands when he scored in the first quarter?” 

TREBEK: “Let’s check with the judges…” (X- incorrect).  I’m sorry, that may be but we’re looking for a different task you failed at miserably.” 

JAY: “What is convert on third down?”

TREBEK: “Correct.  You're not even having to pass much at all”

JAY: “I’ll take DYSON’S & HOOVER’S for $200 please”. 

TREBEK: The only thing more frustrating than watching him miss block after block, is trying to dog cuss him when you can’t pronounce his name. (Buzzer) 

MIKE: “Who is, the entire OU offensive line?” (X- incorrect).  

TREBEK: “More specific, please.” 

JAY: “Who is Nila Kasitati?”

TREBEK: “Correct.  Starting to look like the OU coaches can't adjust to the blitz....still you're call Coach Norvell.”

JAY: “I’ll take DYSON’S & HOOVER’S for $300 please”

TREBEK: This Sooner lineman’s three point stance gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “Cow Tipping”. (Buzzer) 

MIKE: “What is Toby Keith's Should Have Been a Cow-boy?” (X- incorrect). TREBEK: “Seriously, are you drunk?”

JAY: “Who is Josiah St. John?” 

TREBEK: “Correct.  Jay, it’s still your board.”

BOB: "Uh, wait, who is that?"  

JAY: "He's one of your offensive tackles, Bob"

JAY: “Let’s go with RHYMES WITH BUCK for $500 please”. (Daily Double) TREBEK: “That our daily double…Jay, you’re the only one with money at this point, how much would you like to wager?” 

JAY: “Hell, just like Saturday, I don’t have anything to lose, I’ll go all in” 

TREBEK: “Our daily double is in the form of a video…please watch

TREBEK: “What expression, containing word that rhymes with buck, was used by the entire south end of the Cotton Bowl during and after D’onta Foreman’s 81 yard run?” 

JAY: “What is, 'What the Fxxx?” (Ding, ding, ding) 

TREBEK: “That’s correct…We would've also accepted "What is, 'Now we're fxxxxx" "What is, 'We fxxxxxxx suck" or "What is,'I can't fxxxxxxx believe this"

Looks like we're all out of time today, which brings an end to this edition of Red River Rivalry JEOPARDY!....Much like the Sooners undefeated record, top 10 ranking and hopefully, Mike Stoops job. 

SOONERS TOP MOUNTAINEERS TO MOVE TO 4-0

#15 OKLAHOMA 44 #23 MOUNTAINEERS 24

The Sooners moved to 4-0 after their 44-24 win over #23 ranked West Virginia this past Saturday.  This was a good win, against a quality ranked opponent…and as a result, the Sooners find themselves ranked in the top 10 for the first time this season as they travel to Dallas to play the Red River Rivalry game against Texas at the Cotton Bowl.

THE OAS ON ALL THINGS OU-WEST VIRGINIA:

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

“We didn’t tackle well today, but we made up for it by not blocking”

– Former USC Coach John McKay

11:00 AM KICKOFF

11:00 AM kickoff’s suck. Still.

RUSHING DEFENSE

While the defense was much improved, The OAS is still very concerned about the fact that the Mountaineers racked up 258 yards rushing on the day (Stats show 196 yards due to 62 yards in sacks)….but then again, The OAS is also very concerned about the fact there are only 8 pop tarts in box when clearly there’s room for 12.

3^RD DOWN SUCCESS BAD

Mountaineers were able to convert on 8 of their 20 third down attempts.  Allowing 40% conversion rate on third down means your defense can’t get off the field.

3^RD DOWN SUCCESS GOOD

The Sooner offense only converted 2 of their 11 third down attempts.  Converting only 18% of your third downs means your defense can’t get off the field

TAKE NO PRISONERS

For the second straight week, the Sooners had an opponent down big and on the ropes, only to let them get back in the game. This team needs to develop more of a “step on their neck” mentality when they have an opponent down early on. 

12 for 134

CHEATERS

The Sooners were flagged 12 times for a ridiculous 134 yards on Saturday.   Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never found it to be a good thing when a team racked up more penalty yards than it does rushing yards (107). The OU defense gave up 45 yards on one drive alone.  On one play during that drive, Charles Tapper was flagged for jumping off-sides, then made up for it by receiving a personal foul penalty for slamming down the West Virginia QB about 3 minutes after the whistle had blown.  Hell, at that point he should’ve gone ahead and stood over the Mountaineer QB and taunted him…after all, how often does a player get the opportunity to register a “penalty flag hat-trick” on a single play.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Wow. How much longer do we have to watch Ty Darlington & Nila Kasatati continue to get abused? Darlington has just been flat-out dominated all year long…and the only times that Kasatati isn’t getting driven into his own backfield, is when he’s turned around watching the man he didn’t block make a tackle there. 

WELL DONE

“I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence”

– Rickey Bobby in Talladega Nights

AUSTIN SEIBERT

OU won the field position battle because of punter & place kicker Austin Seibert.

Seibert the Punter: The freshman averaged 43 yards per punt, but more importantly, he pinned the Mountaineers back at their 6-, 10- and 14- yard line on three different occasions. West Virginia had eight possessions in the first half and never started a drive past its own 25.  Seibert the kicker: He also connected on three field goals of 40, 25 and 44 yards.

QB ABUSE

For the first time this season the Sooners were able to consistently put pressure on the opposing QB.  On the day, the Sooners sacked Mountaineer QB Skyler Howard 7 times and pressured him on several other occasions. 

TURNOVERS

Coming into the game West Virginia had the decided edge in the turnover margin, but OU turned the table on the Mountaineers by picking off three passes and recovering two fumbles.  Jordan Evans returned one of the fumbles 41 yards for a touchdown, the first for the defense this season.

BRIAN BOSWORTH

I loved seeing Brian Bosworth honored at the end of the first quarter for his being named to the College Football Hall of Fame.  The Irving, Texas product (1984-86) was a 3x All Big 8 selection, 2x Butkus Award winner, and a 2x Consensus All-American who dominated from his strong-side inside linebacker position.  Brian Bosworth was the best college linebacker these bloodshot Sooner eyes have ever seen.

ERIC STRIKER

Striker played his best game since the 2014-15 Sugar Bowl game against Alabama.  On the day, the senior from Seffner, Florida had 13 tackles (3 for a loss), 2 sacks, a forced fumble, chalked the field, sang the national anthem and played trombone for the Pride at halftime.

JORDAN THOMAS

After sitting out the Tulsa game for violating team rules, sophomore cornerback Jordan Thomas was back in the lineup this week…and in a big way.  Thomas had two of the Sooners three interceptions on the day.

THE PLAY

“Baker saw something and gave me the signal to do a little up-and-go and I ran right past their corner and safety and Baker laid it right there for me to catch. It was an easy catch and run and it was fun getting that open.” – Durron Neal

“It was a huge momentum shift and it killed their confidence…we put a dagger into their gut.” – Baker Mayfield

Play of the Game: The Mountaineers had just cut the Sooners lead to three (27-24) when with a minute to go in the third quarter, Baker Mayfield hit Durron Neal on an out and up pattern for a 71 yard touchdown. 

JOE MIXON

Mixon had a nice 35 yard TD run.  I would like to see “Little Joe” get the ball a “Little More”…but then again, the way Darlington and Kasatati are blocking, he may not want it.

BEAUTIFUL SIGHT

OKLAHOMA 44 WEST VIRGINIA 22

IT’S TIME FOR TEXAS…

Just the opinion of one mildly interested guy

Buddy Putty

The Overweight Armchair Sooner