#3 Oklahoma 35 Kansas St 38
Well, that sucked.
Scattershooting…Whatever happened to the Sooners 39-game home winning streak?
Only in 2020 … Corona Virus Count: Game 2: 8 Players / Season Count: 24 Players
Not Exclusive to 2020 … Well, we finally found something the Corona-virus pandemic couldn't have an affect on in 2020 … the Oklahoma Sooners defense. Saturday, as is the norm, the defense gave up 400 total yards, 336 of which came through the air. But they tried to make up for it by creating zero turnovers. But in defense of the defense … it's hard to intercept a pass when your not close enough to the receiver to be in the television camera when he catches it. The good news: at least there wasn't an end-zone celebratory photo pose this week.
Expect the Unexpected … The Sooners season took an unexpected detour with Saturday’s home loss to double-digit underdog Kansas State. But should it really have been all that unexpected? After all, Saturday’s loss to K-State marked the 6th straight year the Sooners have lost a game they were heavily favored to win.
So You’re Saying There’s a Chance … Going into Saturday, teams that were (1) ranked in the top-5 (2) playing at home (3) against an unranked, double-digit underdog opponent and (4) were leading by double digits entering the 4th quarter were 571-0. Make that 571-1. Yes, There’s Only 1 Oklahoma.
Over/Under 35 …You would think that 35-points would’ve been enough to have won the game on Saturday, but it wasn’t. The truth is, 35-points hasn’t been good enough to win, or at least win enough to call yourself an elite program, for a while now. Since 2015, the Sooners are 58-10 (not counting 2020), which is an average of 11+ wins and 2 losses a year. If the Sooners lost every game they allowed their opponent to score 35 points, their record drops to 43-25 (Avg. 8.5 wins/5 losses). While it would still be better than Texas overall record (35-29), it is far from elite.
Back When I Was Growing Up … From 1965-1995 (31-seasons) an Oklahoma Sooners opponent score 35-points: 18-times. From 2014-2019 (6-seasons) it has happened 29 times. Yes, the game has changed, but wow.
You Just Can’t Make This Shit Up … Wildcat kicker, Blake Lynch, who use to work as a janitor in the K-State athletic department to pay for school prior to receiving a scholarship in 2018, had never made a 50-yard field goal prior to Saturday and missed two of his 3 tries against Arkansas St. in the Wildcats season opener. So, naturally, the 5’ 5” 140 lbs. retired custodian hit it flush. It was a Fantastic kick that looked like a Comet coming off his foot, wiping clean what was once a 21-point lead. If only he’d grown up in area code 409! Sorry, just trying a little custodian humor to put a shine on your day. But in all seriousness, congrats to that young man for not only making the kick, but for his perseverance to earn a scholarship. Well done.
Isn’t That a Kick in the … Lynch making his first 50 yard+ field goal, brings up the question of … when was the last time a field goal kicker missed a field-goal against the Sooners (in a game that matters)?
Brace Yourself Kid … Did you notice that, unlike the first game, Rattler was wearing a knee brace on Saturday? From the way our offensive line played on Saturday, he may want to consider bubble-wrap and a body guard against Iowa St. Speaking of the offensive line …
Holy Holding Penalty, Batman … Coming into the season, everything you read or heard indicated that the strength of this football team would be the offensive line. Well, if that’s the case, then this football team is in big time trouble. Bottom line, the Sooners offensive line was flat out horrible on Saturday. We interrupt this rant for a word from this writer:
Annual Disclaimer: Over the years of writing this blog, I’ve become more and more conscious in regard to trying hard to not call out individual players. They’re kids. Mere student athletes doing the best they can and doing it at a level that I can only dream about. They also didn’t ask for some 54-year old guy whose name rhymes to live vicariously through them. But sadly I do.
So, as my grandfather use to say, “Jesus H. Christ on a popsicle stick,” are you f-ing telling me that there isn’t anyone on this team wearing a number over 49 that isn’t better than Swenson, Robinson, and Hayes? I’d be one thing if we we’re trying to open a law firm but we’re not; we’re trying to open holes and protect our QB for f***-sake.
Granted, she has a good swim move, but Swenson couldn’t block my mom. Hell, even when Robinson holds, which is practically every f-ing play, his man still get to the QB. Hayes, well, he’s just glad that Robinson & Hayes are in the game because that means he won’t be the worst lineman on the field, maybe. No wonder Rattler came out wearing a knee brace after playing ½ of a college football game.
What happened to ‘this offensive line group is deep and talented and there will be real competition for playing time?’ Please tell me that the deep and talented assessment didn’t come from watching them go against our defensive line in practice every day. Just because Pee Wee Herman can whip up on Richard Simmons on a daily basis doesn't make him a bad-ass. Okay, I’m through now.
Play Calling & Defense … I'm sorry, I can't address the play calling, the defensive ineptitude and the offensive line play in one blog entry without going over my quota limit in regards to negativity and length. But it would be safe to assume that I wasn't a fan of all three.
The Rattler Report. Yes, as the mass media pointed out ad nauseum, Rattler did indeed throw 3-interceptions. I saw them all. But let’s pull back the curtain on those 3-picks. The first interception was a tipped ball, which is more an unfortunate break than an indictment of his play. As a great philosopher once said, "Shit happens."
Admittedly, the second interception was one that Rattler would probably like to have back. The ball was under-thrown and into tight coverage and made worse by the fact that he had Stogner and Stoops breaking open underneath. Spencer isn’t the first young QB to eschew the safe stuff underneath in favor of going deep, nor will he be the last. Look, I’m not trying to be a mother-hen homer here, as obviously I’d prefer that our QB, whether he is young, old or Eric Moore, to not turn the ball over; but despite the two picks – he’d played well enough to have the Sooners up by 21-points with a quarter and a half to go in the football game. And oh by-the-way … the other 27 passes he’d thrown? He’d completed 26 of them for 4 touchdowns. I have limited math skills, but I'm thinking that's pretty damn good.
But every Sooner hater and talking head in the country will point to the third interception as the reason the Sooners lost the game. But before I address that ridiculous notion – let me preface by saying this: Ever since Y.A. Tittle was a pup, the QB has always received the majority of the credit or the lion share of the blame – earned or otherwise. It comes with the job, especially when your a 5-Star recruit who was last seen on his own reality TV show. Proof? Just last week, Rattler was the talk of college football. His performance, which was relegated to one-half of football against Un-Huh State, resulted in him appearing on Heisman watch lists. This week … those same people are using terms like ‘poor-vision, rattled and over-rated.’
Bottom line, yes, it would’ve been nice if he had orchestrated a game winning drive on that last possession. If he had, the 2-previous interceptions’ become merely a footnote... like if you woke up next to Scarlett Johansson, the fact she had bad breath would probably be lost in the story you told your buddies. But he didn’t …
Frankly, his throw to Drake Stoops over the middle that resulted in the game-ending interception, was both late and off target. Hello third INT, good-bye #3 ranking. An interception or turnover at the end of the game will always be magnified, but regardless, the loss was far from his fault.
Spencer Rattler, playing in his first real college football game, completed 30 of 41 passes for 381 yards and 4-touchdowns. Even with the picks, Rattler played well enough for the Sooner to win on Saturday. He just didn’t play well enough to overcome the multitude of reasons that the Sooners didn’t.
But I do have one question for you Spencer … Dude, what the fuck is up with that hair do?
Just the Opinion of One Mildly Interested Guy
Buddy Putty - The Overweight Armchair Sooner
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