If you though that last weekend’s Bedlam win was an indication that things were once again back on track then this game was a clear indicator that there’s still a ton of work to be done. As it turns out, Oklahoma State was just bad and OU’s sixth win, last weekend, was a smoke screen for some season-long issues that are still lingering. The Sooners racked up nearly 700 yards of offense, and put 48 points on the board, but lost by a field goal. Why? Well, there are lots of reasons but before we jump on the coaches we should probably look at untimely penalties, poor defensive angles, missed tackles, and dropped passes.
My first thought here is that those “miscues” were all bigger factors than any decision made by a coach in this game. Granted, the coaches were not/haven’t been perfect but critical errors by player personnel often dictate the trust a coach has in his squad and that is reflected in the calls that are made. Mistakes were all around which means there’s plenty of blame so to try and place it all on the shoulders of one person, or even a handful of people, isn’t going to get you anywhere.
Close Doesn’t Cut It
Oklahoma’s last three losses have all been by a field goal.
Texas Tech 51-48
West Virginia 23-20
Baylor 38-35
There are multiple ways to look at this. First, the Sooners were a combined 9 points away from being 9-3 instead of 6-6. That’s a bit of a positive spin but it’s true. The second was to look at it is that the little things (mentioned above) still haven’t been fixed and have cost this team greatly. That’s probably closest to being true. Finally, you could say that with a little bit of good luck, rather than bad luck, the season could have been drastically different. That’s just wishful thinking.
The OT Throwback To Dillon Gabriel Was Unnecessary
I’m not as heavy on the Jeff Lebby criticism as most folks are but this was an unnecessary play call. Oklahoma’s offense was humming in the fourth quarter and it seemed as if the only thing that could have stopped them was themselves. Unfortunately that’s what happened here. I get that it would be a historic play if it goes for a touchdown but it didn’t and in cost OU a ton of momentum. I would have much preferred to see a stretch play to Eric Gray, a play-action pass, or even a zone read. A close second to those would have been for Drake Stoops to recognize that the safety didn’t bite and then just throw the ball at Gabriel’s feet.
Could The Field Goal Have Been Good?
I really don’t know anymore. It still looks wide left to me but I’m certainly not going to argue with you if you think it was good and the officials missed it.
Everyone Is Upset And Deservedly So
For the second year in a row Oklahoma won’t participate in the conference championship game. The Sooners are in danger of finishing with a losing record for the first time since 1998. Things aren’t great in Norman. As a fan I’m not happy, and I know many of you join me in that, but imagine how frustrated the coaches and players must be as well. This was a season that is certainly below the “standard of excellence” for OU Football so no one should be happy with how things have shaken out. I’d be more worried if we weren’t upset and bothered by it.
We Saw The Best Versions Of Marvin Mims And Theo Wease
Speaking of frustration, this hasn’t been the season we anticipated for Marvin Mims and Theo Wease. Mims has certainly had his moments but he’s also had his share of drops and Wease has pretty much been a non-factor this season. That said, they were both spectacular in Lubbock! Mims finished with 162 yards, and two touchdown, on five catches (32.4 YPC). Wease racked up 123 yards, and a score, on just three catches (41 YPC). They both hauled in amazing catches.
Defense Is Still Behind The Offense
Again, I don’t want to jump into criticizing coaches to the point where we’re calling for heads to roll. However, Oklahoma’s defense regressed from the version that we saw a week ago in the Bedlam game. Texas Tech had 599 yards of offense to go with those 51 points. Missed opportunities, blown assignments, bad angles, and poor tackling were all on display once again. When they say, “It’s not about the X’s and O’s but the Jimmy’s and Joe’s” this is what they’re talking about. Far from perfect, Oklahoma’s offense put the team in position to win. They failed but at least they were in place to get the win. The Sooners’ 48 points came on the back of 672 yards of offense at a pace of 7.85 yards per play.
Those extra bowl practices are going to be huge for both sides of the ball but the defense seems to have a little more work to do.
The Bowl Game Is Going To Be Important And Here’s Why
The Cheez-It Bowl seems to be the most likely destination for the Sooners. Heading into the bowl season at 6-6 guarantees that OU will either be a game above or a game below .500 when all is said and done. That means that one of Oklahoma’s most prideful streaks is going to be on the line in the postseason. OU is the only Power Five team that hasn’t had a losing record since the start of the 1999 season and the result of the bowl game will determine if that streak lives or not.
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Could they run some wishbone
Haha…Nice! I’m not sure they have enough running backs for that though.