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| Latest OU Commentary |
| 2 SEP OU 24 UAB 17 9 SEP OU 37 UW 20 16 SEP UO 34 OU 33 * 23 SEP OU 59 MTSU 0 7 OCT Texas TBA 14 OCT Iowa State TBA 21 OCT Colorado TBA 28 OCT @ Mizzou TBA 4 NOV @ Texas A&M TBA 11 NOV Texas Tech TBA 18 NOV @ Baylor TBA 25 NOV @ OSU 1430 (FSN) 2 DEC BIG XII CG 2000 (ABC) |
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| Preseason - #4 Oklahoma (8-4) 3O/7D/1K
Why? Adrian Peterson (221/1104 YDS/14 TD) returns as a legitimate Heisman candidate. Last year's effort was hampered by injury and poor line play, but he still rushed for over 1000 yards after setting the all-time freshman rushing record in 2004. He�s bigger and faster, and if he can stay healthy, he may again have a shot at over 2000 yards. His self-stated goal is 2200. The Offensive line has improved dramatically in the offseason, both with the addition of some JUCOs (Sherrone Moore and Brandon Walker), and with the return of 3 players that had starting experience last season. The defense will be one of the nation�s best. The DE rotation could be the best in the NCAA. CJ Ah You and Larry Birdine are both on the Hendricks watch list. The DT rotation is among the deepest and most talented in the Big XII. The secondary should be worlds better with a plethora of talent and experience returning. The depth at CB (DJ Wolfe, Reggie Smith, Lendy Holmes, Marcus Walker) is enviable to say the least after being a weakness for the past two seasons. The Sooners moved Reggie Smith (Thorpe watch list) to Corner, where he seems a more natural fit. He is extremely talented, and will see time at WR on Offense as well as on the punt and kick return teams. Rufus Alexander is one of the best LBs in the country (Bednarik, Lott, and Lombardi watch lists) and Zach Latimer isn�t that far behind him. The Sooners could have gone at least 10-2 last season with the right breaks in close games against TCU and Texas Tech. Factor in the way the UCLA game ended, and it�s even possible that the Sooners� may have only lost to National Champion Texas last season. Why Not? Rhett Bomar, last season�s starter had shown some real promise before being booted from the team for accepting improper compensation from Big Red Sports/Imports (BRSI), a Norman area car dealership. His loss came as a shock, especially with the strides he had made since his rocky debut against TCU. The line, although likely improved (how could it not be?), is still a huge flashing question mark. Losing JD Quinn in the BRSI scandal may have hurt more than losing Bomar. Punter Cody Freeby got kicked off the team early for skipping class. When games come down to field position, he too may be missed. The Sooners could very easily have gone 4-8 last season, with 4 wins coming by a TD or less. A tough early game against Oregon, the annual fight with Texas, and trips to Kyle and Faurot fields to face the Texas A&M Aggies and Mizzou Tigers respectively make this one of the tougher schedules in the country. Bottom Line � The Sooners had more injuries last season than they have ever had in the Stoops era, started more freshmen than any other time in Sooner history, and began the season 2-3, but battled back to win 8 games. Fewer injuries this year could make a huge difference, especially with so much more experience returning. The jury is still out on Paul Thompson, who shifted back to QB after a stint at WR. He has the leadership, but his mechanics and accuracy are still at issue. The Sooners remain #4 for me because I don't think the dropoff will be as dramatic as most think at QB. However, with a defense as stalwart as the Sooners�, a brilliant receiving corps, an improved line, and arguably the best RB in the nation, he may only need to limit mistakes and keep defenses honest to be truly successful. Bob Stoops remains the trump card for this program. If he returns to his early form as a risk-taker and great decision maker, the Sooners could be a serious darkhorse candidate for Glendale. Impact Recruit � Jermaine Gresham, TE � He is a physical specimen. The Sooners will be in dire need of a safety valve for QB Paul Thompson. The 6�7�, 250 lb Gresham could be that easy target. He already has impressed Sooner coaches with his speed and catching ability. If he can block, he will be the best in a long while. Some are comparing him to Keith Jackson. |
| Preseason - Paul Thompson: 'I'm your man, coach.' |
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| Week 1 - AD makes a cut toward a TD against UAB |
| Week 1 - OU (1-0) 24 UAB (0-1) 17 This was a very frustrating but somewhat encouraging game for the Sooners. A month to the day after dismissing Rhett Bomar for receiving compensation for work not completed, QB Paul Thompson (who was at receiver before Bomargate) had a pretty good game. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 227 yards and two TDs. He also threw 2 INTs, which amounted to 3 turnovers in the first half, 4 overall. Much of the onus falls to the receiving corps who, with the exception of Joe Jon Finley (who also had a monster block on UAB LB Orlandus King to spring AD for the 69 yard TD pass reception), seemed to have rock hands most of the game. A sure TD to Juaquin Iglesias was dropped at the end of the 3rd Quarter. JI also dropped several very catchable passes throughout the game. He has great talent. He just needs to work on catching the football. UAB's option offense, with strong running QB Sam Hunt and very talented RBs Corey White and Dan Burks, gave the Sooner D fits. Poor tackling, bad position, and over-pursuit doomed the vaunted Sooner D. Only the LBs seemed to have a very good game, with both Zach Latimer and Rufus Alexander tying for the team lead with 10 tackles and Alexander adding a sack and TFL to his credit in the game. Overall, the Sooners showed promise and exceptional talent, with the special teams returning to a status of special once again, but made too many mistakes to stay in the top 10 this week. With a good outing versus Washington this week, the Sooners could be back in the top 10. With another outing like this past Saturday against UAB, they will be lucky to escape with a win. As Bob Stoops said, 'you can't commit four turnovers and expect to win.' Next: v. Washington (1-0) |
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| Week 2 - AD plows through UW on the way to the endzone |
| Week 2 - OU (2-0) 37 Washington (1-1) 20 This was another frustrating week...for the first half. Defense was missing assignments, dropping INTs, missing tackles, and pretty much the same thing as week 1. The difference this week is that everything changed after the half. The D, especially up front, got intimidating after the half, only giving up a garbage TD after the half. Paul Thompson continued to improve, throwing for 272 YDS on 21 of 33 passes with 2 TDs. He threw another INT and had a fumble in his own endzone, but he looked very, very good this week, especially when he could find Malcom Kelly, who led the team with 121 YDS on 6 receptions and 2 TDs. AD lit it up again, rushing for 165 YDS on 32 carries with 2 TDs. Washington came out executing and took an early lead. OU answered each time, but the score was 13-13 at the half with OU having just as many if not more questions than they did last week. It was ugly. The second half transformation was something to behold. The D-Line was getting pressure, the LBs were making tackles (not that they ever stopped), and the offense seemed to open up a little more. The decision to replace DJ Wolfe came after he was toasted by Isaiah Stanback on a long pass. Lendy Holmes came in to replace him, and he looked a little like Ontei Jones with that #11 flying around making tackles. The D improved significantly after the change. Jason Carter came in late as a safety and he had a few sure INTs that he managed to drop. This D still hasn't figured out the turnover game. They still have a long way to go to live up to their potential. I am hoping they can play 4 quarters next week in Oregon. The Ducks play pretty well at Autzen, especially against top teams. Next: @ Oregon (2-0) |
| Week 3 - Oregon (3-0) 34 OU (2-1) 33* Oh good lord. I would have liked to have posted something in here about the 211 yard rushing game that AD had. I would have liked to talk about escaping Oregon with a win. I can't. I also can't add to the discussion of the officials' failure to make the right call both on the field and in the replay booth with regard to the two critical calls in the last two minutes of the game that essentially stole the game from Oklahoma. I would prefer to forget about it, even if the college football world won't. They missed the call. That's the bottom line. Time to drive on. The defense played a pretty good game, despite giving up so much yardage to the ducks. The first quarter and the last 2 minutes showed poor defense and poor tackling. The rest of the game was solid. Mental mistakes, poor playcalling. Overall, this was a sloppy, sloppy effort, and the Sooners still haven't played to anywhere near their potential. We better be able to tune up against MTSU this week, because Texas will come to play in the Cotton Bowl. *If you don't know what the asterisk is for, you live in a cave. Watch. Next: v. Middle Tennessee State (2-1) |
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| Week 3 - Nothing says it better than this picture. Take a knee and end the ball game or give the ball to Oregon with all the momentum in the universe in front of their home crowd? Your choice zebra. To see or not to see, that is the question... |
| Week 4 - Oklahoma (3-1) 59 MTSU (2-2) 0 If I gloat about this, it would be pretty pathetic. Nobody expected this to be a game. It wasn't. From the opening kickoff (fumbled by MTSU), nothing went right for the Red Raiders. It was hardly fair, of course. Oklahoma is an immensely talented team that was robbed the previous week. We were out for vengeance. OU was out to prove the team could play a complete game. OU was out to dominate. And boy, did we. The OU defense looked really great, but then the MTSU offense looked absolutely pathetic. This was just what the doctor ordered for the Sooners, who needed a big win over somebody to get over their funk. We looked worlds better than we did against UAB in the opener, especially on D. The D came out hitting. The D came out wrapping up (something that was a problem for the previous 3 games). The D came out with a chip on their shoulder and a mean, nasty attitude. MTSU got obliterated in the process. The Sooners scored on O a lot. We scored one on D. We scored one on Special Teams. This was a complete game. We better hope we bring the same thing to Dallas in two weeks. Next: Bye |
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| Week 4 - Malcolm Kelly has his second 100-yard effort of the season |
| Week 4 - The whole D punishes Blue Raider QB Clint Marks. OUch! |