St. Louis Sooner
10/10/2008, 02:48 PM
It's quite a compliment when you're featured in this periodical. I like his pick too!!!
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FAST TIMES IN OKLAHOMA
By DARREN EVERSON (Wall Street Journal)
To watch the Oklahoma offense is to see a serious, meticulous operation at work. The Sooners are so intent on playing at a fast pace that their players aren't even supposed to high-five each other. In film study, the coaches have shown the players clips of how such slacking slows the pace. "You don't have time to celebrate; you don't have time to high-five; you can't play to the crowd; you can't get mad," says offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, who talks as fast as his offense plays. "We need to play."
After each down in last Saturday's game at Baylor -- a matchup the No. 1-ranked Sooners won 49-17 -- the Sooners hustled into formation for the next one. Often they'd wait for the coaches to signal instructions, but sometimes they snapped the ball immediately, catching the opposition off guard. The Sooners mostly ran the ball, but when they threw, the receivers were often shockingly wide open, as they've been all season. Oklahoma had the ball four times in the first quarter, scored four touchdowns, and that was that.
It's time the rest of the nation took note of flyover land. From places like Oklahoma's campus in Norman to nearby Stillwater, from Columbia, Mo., in the north to Austin, Texas, in the south, there's a revolution going on. The best offenses in college football -- the highest-scoring, the most advanced -- are all located here. They're running aggressive attacks that take advantage of new NCAA clock rules that allow them to play at warp speed. "It's a nightmare week in and week out," says Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill.
The center of the country takes center stage Saturday as Oklahoma plays No. 5 Texas in Dallas and third-ranked Missouri plays No. 17 Oklahoma State. While these are just a few of the many teams that analysts and broadcasters are talking about in the race for the national title, the schools in and around the Great Plains -- in particular, those from the Big 12 Conference -- are leading college football in innovation and offensive production.
The top six scoring offenses all belong to teams from Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Of them, the Oklahoma Sooners stand out. Most elite teams possess playmakers adept at either running or receiving, but the Sooners have hybrids -- tailbacks who can play receiver, fullbacks who play tailback, tight ends who play receiver or fullback. The versatility is confounding to defenses, who are often left with mismatches as they try to tackle running back DeMarco Murray, cover versatile tight end Jermaine Gresham, or pressure quarterback Sam Bradford, who is among the country's most accurate passers. This season, the Sooners have gone to a no-huddle offense, forcing defenses -- which desperately need to substitute players to match up, or to make adjustments -- to play at a breakneck pace.
"They make you make decisions quickly," says Texas Christian coach Gary Patterson, whose team gave up three touchdowns of over 50 yards in a 35-10 defeat to Oklahoma Sept. 27. A major reason for that, he says, was the pace: While he was pondering defensive calls, the Sooners were snapping the ball. "When I quit trying to be a guru, we played much better."
Oklahoma's fast pace capitalizes on the new NCAA clock rules that took effect this season in a bid to speed up games. When a play ends, the officials now spot the ball for the next play and quickly get out of the way, enabling the offense to snap the ball immediately if it chooses. (Previously, the offense had to wait for the referee.)
The result is an offense that's so frenetic that it seems to make Oklahoma's coaches behave like overbearing parents. During Saturday's game, despite the lopsided score, the coaches were on the field nearly as much as the players. During most plays, two or three staff members stood well beyond the sideline, a couple of yards onto the field, signaling and shouting like soccer dads.
Oklahoma's head coach, Bob Stoops, started the transformation of the Big 12 in 1999, his first season with the Sooners, with the hiring of offensive coordinator (and current Texas Tech coach) Mike Leach, a passing mastermind. Since then, high-powered offenses have proliferated throughout the league and the region. While the national median for points per game entering this week was 26.6, five Big 12 teams are averaging more than 47. "Everybody's scoring so many points," Texas coach Mack Brown says. "It's putting a tremendous amount of pressure on all of our defenses."
Statistically, the Sooners -- who rank fourth nationally out of 119 teams in scoring (49.6 points) -- are neither the highest-scoring team in the conference (that's Missouri) nor even their own state (Tulsa, which plays in the lesser-regarded Conference USA, is first nationally). Texas is no slouch either; the 5-0 Longhorns have averaged 47.2 points per game.
But as the national-championship race starts to take shape, look for Oklahoma to tighten its grip on the top ranking. Missouri twice lost to Oklahoma last season with much of the same personnel, and Texas, which has played only lightly regarded opponents thus far, has mostly struggled against the Sooners during Mr. Stoops's tenure.
One dark-horse threat to an Oklahoma title: Oklahoma State. The Cowboys have the Sooners at home Nov. 29, and they, too, have a high-octane attack, although it's more geared to taking time off the clock. Against Oklahoma, that sort of offense may be the best defense.
Write to Darren Everson at [email protected]
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FAST TIMES IN OKLAHOMA
By DARREN EVERSON (Wall Street Journal)
To watch the Oklahoma offense is to see a serious, meticulous operation at work. The Sooners are so intent on playing at a fast pace that their players aren't even supposed to high-five each other. In film study, the coaches have shown the players clips of how such slacking slows the pace. "You don't have time to celebrate; you don't have time to high-five; you can't play to the crowd; you can't get mad," says offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, who talks as fast as his offense plays. "We need to play."
After each down in last Saturday's game at Baylor -- a matchup the No. 1-ranked Sooners won 49-17 -- the Sooners hustled into formation for the next one. Often they'd wait for the coaches to signal instructions, but sometimes they snapped the ball immediately, catching the opposition off guard. The Sooners mostly ran the ball, but when they threw, the receivers were often shockingly wide open, as they've been all season. Oklahoma had the ball four times in the first quarter, scored four touchdowns, and that was that.
It's time the rest of the nation took note of flyover land. From places like Oklahoma's campus in Norman to nearby Stillwater, from Columbia, Mo., in the north to Austin, Texas, in the south, there's a revolution going on. The best offenses in college football -- the highest-scoring, the most advanced -- are all located here. They're running aggressive attacks that take advantage of new NCAA clock rules that allow them to play at warp speed. "It's a nightmare week in and week out," says Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill.
The center of the country takes center stage Saturday as Oklahoma plays No. 5 Texas in Dallas and third-ranked Missouri plays No. 17 Oklahoma State. While these are just a few of the many teams that analysts and broadcasters are talking about in the race for the national title, the schools in and around the Great Plains -- in particular, those from the Big 12 Conference -- are leading college football in innovation and offensive production.
The top six scoring offenses all belong to teams from Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Of them, the Oklahoma Sooners stand out. Most elite teams possess playmakers adept at either running or receiving, but the Sooners have hybrids -- tailbacks who can play receiver, fullbacks who play tailback, tight ends who play receiver or fullback. The versatility is confounding to defenses, who are often left with mismatches as they try to tackle running back DeMarco Murray, cover versatile tight end Jermaine Gresham, or pressure quarterback Sam Bradford, who is among the country's most accurate passers. This season, the Sooners have gone to a no-huddle offense, forcing defenses -- which desperately need to substitute players to match up, or to make adjustments -- to play at a breakneck pace.
"They make you make decisions quickly," says Texas Christian coach Gary Patterson, whose team gave up three touchdowns of over 50 yards in a 35-10 defeat to Oklahoma Sept. 27. A major reason for that, he says, was the pace: While he was pondering defensive calls, the Sooners were snapping the ball. "When I quit trying to be a guru, we played much better."
Oklahoma's fast pace capitalizes on the new NCAA clock rules that took effect this season in a bid to speed up games. When a play ends, the officials now spot the ball for the next play and quickly get out of the way, enabling the offense to snap the ball immediately if it chooses. (Previously, the offense had to wait for the referee.)
The result is an offense that's so frenetic that it seems to make Oklahoma's coaches behave like overbearing parents. During Saturday's game, despite the lopsided score, the coaches were on the field nearly as much as the players. During most plays, two or three staff members stood well beyond the sideline, a couple of yards onto the field, signaling and shouting like soccer dads.
Oklahoma's head coach, Bob Stoops, started the transformation of the Big 12 in 1999, his first season with the Sooners, with the hiring of offensive coordinator (and current Texas Tech coach) Mike Leach, a passing mastermind. Since then, high-powered offenses have proliferated throughout the league and the region. While the national median for points per game entering this week was 26.6, five Big 12 teams are averaging more than 47. "Everybody's scoring so many points," Texas coach Mack Brown says. "It's putting a tremendous amount of pressure on all of our defenses."
Statistically, the Sooners -- who rank fourth nationally out of 119 teams in scoring (49.6 points) -- are neither the highest-scoring team in the conference (that's Missouri) nor even their own state (Tulsa, which plays in the lesser-regarded Conference USA, is first nationally). Texas is no slouch either; the 5-0 Longhorns have averaged 47.2 points per game.
But as the national-championship race starts to take shape, look for Oklahoma to tighten its grip on the top ranking. Missouri twice lost to Oklahoma last season with much of the same personnel, and Texas, which has played only lightly regarded opponents thus far, has mostly struggled against the Sooners during Mr. Stoops's tenure.
One dark-horse threat to an Oklahoma title: Oklahoma State. The Cowboys have the Sooners at home Nov. 29, and they, too, have a high-octane attack, although it's more geared to taking time off the clock. Against Oklahoma, that sort of offense may be the best defense.
Write to Darren Everson at [email protected]