Why Mizzou has a chance

[DocNice]

Mizzou fan here. Haven't been here since last year.

Hey, I'll be honest. OU scares the hell out of me. That offense is just unreal, and the defense smothered Texas Tech, and smothered us the last time we played. Add to this fact that we have a lesser receiving corps this year, having lost 2 to the NFL, and our biggest gamer Chase Coffman is injured, not sure why we should expect more scoring this year. We also just lost our best Cornerback to injury in the KU game.

But with my gold colored homer glasses firmly in place, here's why we have a chance.

OU plays a break but don't bend defense. From what I've seen, they smother teams at the Line of Scrimmage, stacking all their players within around 10 yards and daring you to beat them with the big play. Most times this works because of superior athletes. Only 8 teams in the last 3 years have been able to score 30 on you. But there's a common thread among those opponents, they all went deep.

If you look at the 7 games against non-Missouri opponents, 2/3 of the scoring drives had a play of 30+ yards. Every single scoring drive had a play of 17+ yards. Translation, if you want to score, go deep. If you get beyond the swarm of players within 10-15 yards, you'll probably go a long way. This of course does not count short field possessions from turnovers.

I think if Mizzou can protect Daniel long enough for his receivers to get downfield, and the coaches call an aggressive game, we could score 35-45.

Now, OU of course has been scoring 60 like it's nothing, so why do I think we can win? Because we're better on defense than Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Kansas, Kansas State and every other team you've beaten except possibly TCU, which held you to a respectable 35 (2 TDs in the final 3 quarters). I know you've gotten better since then, but my point is this, you won't be running for 9 yards every time Murray touches the ball like you did against Tech. We have the #2 scoring and rushing defense in conference play, and even if we're not as good as those stats sound, we're not bad.

Of course, you may have heard we're 117th in pass defense. To be sure, you will pass with success. But we're more talented than that number indicates. For one thing, we've given up a lot of yards to ticky tack short passing games. KU must have had 95% of their passes less than 7 yards. Same with ISU. And we've had a LOT of downfield breakdowns, but they seem to come and go, resurfacing last week against KU after taking a few weeks off:-) I'm hopeful but not confident that we will eliminate those.

If we do eliminate downfield coverage mistakes, I think we've got a shot. OU doesn't generally run ticky tack short passes. They like the deep ball, especially off play action. If we can limit your running yards, then you have to beat us with the pass. Of course, this hitch in all of this is whether we can get any pressure on Bradford. Nobody can cover all your future pro receivers for 5-6 seconds every time. That's the real key to this game defensively, and honestly I have no reason to hope for that other than perhaps Bradford is not as good of a scrambler as other QB's that have given us trouble (see Reesing).

So that's it. Go downfield on offense, stop the run, get some pressure on Bradford and limit the long pass and the TE up the middle and we probably won't get blown out too badly.

For OU the key is just keep doing what you're doing. Dominate the LOS and it's a pretty sure win. We're good enough to score even if you pressure Daniel, but not enough to keep up if Bradford has time to throw.

[Sabanball]

If your team could not stop or outscore the pokes, what makes you think you can stop or outscore Bradford and co.?

[Piware]

The Pokes have 1 1/2 running backs - we have 3, make it 4 if you add Matt Clap. The Pokes have 1 1/2 good receivers - we have 5. OSWho has midget defensive backs - ours are jumbo sized and fast.

Anything can happen but after the way the Sooners worked Daniels over last year (twice) I see no reason they won't do it again unless we simply fail to show up.

[PLaw]

What's the latest on Maclin and Coffman?

You didn't say anything about special teams - get ready, you're kickoff returner could have a career day.

BOOMER

[LRoss]

OU actually does a lot of wr screens and tosses to the rb's in the flat. They just LOOK like they're downfield in the stats because they often run for a long, long way after the catch.

Not saying that you have no chance -- that's why they play the game -- but there's really nothing the OU offense can't or doesn't do with almost shocking precision.

[Soonerus]

Of course Mizzou has a chance, nobody disputes that...

[southern sooner]

OUr D holds Mizzu to 21 or under...

[Soonerfan88]

IMO, the best thing in MU's favor is that they were on that crappy field just last week and know how to play on it. It may take OU a quarter or so to adjust so I suggest your team score early.

[sooner2b09]

Have fun trying to get pressure on Bradford.

[Soonerus]

Mizzou is a good team do not fool yourself...

[Sooner02]

Wasn't KSU 10-3 when we played them in the 2003 conference title? And they beat us by 28 points.

Missouri is coming in at 9-3. So of course they have a chance to win, there's nothing written in stone.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Those guys won't win unless the entire starting line-up decides to steal a coat.

[Jdog]

Wasn't KSU 10-3 when we played them in the 2003 conference title? And they beat us by 28 points.

Missouri is coming in at 9-3. So of course they have a chance to win, there's nothing written in stone.

agreed - this years OU team reminds me of the one that lost to KSU in KC.- it was our last BCS champ season and remember what happened in the Orange Bowl. It could be setting up for another big fall.

I hope our team is still believing in their Moto - "Just finish", and that they're not getting a big head from what people are saying about them in the press.

[Soonerus]

No, this team is better...

[Sooner02]

No, this team is better...
Wasn't that team already being crowned the "greatest ever" before that happened? The 2003 team was probably the best team until this one, and arguably one of the top few teams Stoops has had so far.

I just watched some old tapes from the 03 season over the holiday and they were an absolute machine until that Big12 title game. There are some differences between this team and the 03 (most notably a running game) but the defense was definitely better on that team, so I can't say which is better just yet.

[ouwasp]

any Sooner that attended that ungodly cold game back in '03 realizes a loss is a possibility. We called the long drive back that night our own "Trail of Tears"

[DocNice]

If your team could not stop or outscore the pokes, what makes you think you can stop or outscore Bradford and co.?

Because that was a fluke. OSU fans of course will argue, but we blew that game, plain and simple. We're better than that. And they didn't score that much. 3 of their 4 scores were long plays off defensive breakdowns. As I said, those are a problem, but potentially avoidable.

[Sooner02]

Because that was a fluke. OSU fans of course will argue, but we blew that game, plain and simple. We're better than that. And they didn't score that much. 3 of their 4 scores were long plays off defensive breakdowns. As I said, those are a problem, but potentially avoidable.
Even still the only Missouri win against a ranked team is Illinois, and they have gone on to have a dismal season. Other than that, there's no notable wins from Missouri this year. Plus they just lost to Kansas which further puts them in question.

[adoniijahsooner]

Wasn't KSU 10-3 when we played them in the 2003 conference title? And they beat us by 28 points.

Missouri is coming in at 9-3. So of course they have a chance to win, there's nothing written in stone.

Mizzou may win, but I can promise you it will not be by 28 points.

[adoniijahsooner]

agreed - this years OU team reminds me of the one that lost to KSU in KC.- it was our last BCS champ season and remember what happened in the Orange Bowl. It could be setting up for another big fall.

I hope our team is still believing in their Moto - "Just finish", and that they're not getting a big head from what people are saying about them in the press.

Yeah. Like our defense sucks, we screwed texas and have no business in the game in the first place, and bob stoops can't win a bowl game. If we get the bighead over those statements, I hate see how we would act over compliments.

[Salt City Sooner]

agreed - this years OU team reminds me of the one that lost to KSU in KC.- it was our last BCS champ season and remember what happened in the Orange Bowl. It could be setting up for another big fall.

I hope our team is still believing in their Moto - "Just finish", and that they're not getting a big head from what people are saying about them in the press.
A difference or 2 between then & now:

Everybody & their dog was telling that team that they didn't have to win the CCG to go to the NC game. There's no way on earth that that didn't have an effect on their mental state going in. It's only human nature to ease up on a step on the way to something bigger if you know you're allowed to stumble & still be allowed a crack at the biggest prize you're after. This year's team has no such luxury. In fact, judging by the experiences of the last 3 days, there are a truckload of people who are just DYING for OU to fail so they can shout it from the mountaintop. I fully expect a very focused effort as a result.

[Leroy Lizard]

I don't like having to play with a third-string MLB. Not good.

[jrboomersooner]

Of course Mizzou has a chance, nobody disputes that...

KX5jNnDMfxA

[Leroy Lizard]

Everybody & their dog was telling that team that they didn't have to win the CCG to go to the NC game. There's no way on earth that that didn't have an effect on their mental state going in.

If anything, it should have helped OU's mental state, allowing them to concentrate on the game at hand. We got beat, plain and simple.

[tommieharris91]

Has Mizzou's OL learned how to block stunting DLs?

[soonerboy_odanorth]

Blah blah. Blah blah BLAH.

BLAH. Blah blah. Blah blah blah.

Blah..... blah BLAH? Blah BLAH! Blah.

Blah blah blah blah blah, BLAH BLAH!

..................................

Sorry, you were saying something? Oh, ..... that! Yes, MIZZOU has a far better than even chance. And with our new D, you should expect a hair whisker of a game... given the might of pending Gators or Nittany Lions.

[SoonerJack]

Mizzou fan here. Haven't been here since last year.

Hey, I'll be honest. OU scares the hell out of me. That offense is just unreal, and the defense smothered Texas Tech, and smothered us the last time we played. Add to this fact that we have a lesser receiving corps this year, having lost 2 to the NFL, and our biggest gamer Chase Coffman is injured, not sure why we should expect more scoring this year. We also just lost our best Cornerback to injury in the KU game.

But with my gold colored homer glasses firmly in place, here's why we have a chance.

OU plays a break but don't bend defense. From what I've seen, they smother teams at the Line of Scrimmage, stacking all their players within around 10 yards and daring you to beat them with the big play. Most times this works because of superior athletes. Only 8 teams in the last 3 years have been able to score 30 on you. But there's a common thread among those opponents, they all went deep.

If you look at the 7 games against non-Missouri opponents, 2/3 of the scoring drives had a play of 30+ yards. Every single scoring drive had a play of 17+ yards. Translation, if you want to score, go deep. If you get beyond the swarm of players within 10-15 yards, you'll probably go a long way. This of course does not count short field possessions from turnovers.

I think if Mizzou can protect Daniel long enough for his receivers to get downfield, and the coaches call an aggressive game, we could score 35-45.

Now, OU of course has been scoring 60 like it's nothing, so why do I think we can win? Because we're better on defense than Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Kansas, Kansas State and every other team you've beaten except possibly TCU, which held you to a respectable 35 (2 TDs in the final 3 quarters). I know you've gotten better since then, but my point is this, you won't be running for 9 yards every time Murray touches the ball like you did against Tech. We have the #2 scoring and rushing defense in conference play, and even if we're not as good as those stats sound, we're not bad.

Of course, you may have heard we're 117th in pass defense. To be sure, you will pass with success. But we're more talented than that number indicates. For one thing, we've given up a lot of yards to ticky tack short passing games. KU must have had 95% of their passes less than 7 yards. Same with ISU. And we've had a LOT of downfield breakdowns, but they seem to come and go, resurfacing last week against KU after taking a few weeks off:-) I'm hopeful but not confident that we will eliminate those.

If we do eliminate downfield coverage mistakes, I think we've got a shot. OU doesn't generally run ticky tack short passes. They like the deep ball, especially off play action. If we can limit your running yards, then you have to beat us with the pass. Of course, this hitch in all of this is whether we can get any pressure on Bradford. Nobody can cover all your future pro receivers for 5-6 seconds every time. That's the real key to this game defensively, and honestly I have no reason to hope for that other than perhaps Bradford is not as good of a scrambler as other QB's that have given us trouble (see Reesing).

So that's it. Go downfield on offense, stop the run, get some pressure on Bradford and limit the long pass and the TE up the middle and we probably won't get blown out too badly.

For OU the key is just keep doing what you're doing. Dominate the LOS and it's a pretty sure win. We're good enough to score even if you pressure Daniel, but not enough to keep up if Bradford has time to throw.

You had right up until the statement I bolded.

How can you say your defense is better than three teams you lost to? To wit, KU, OSU, and TT. Plus, you guys barely beat Baylor.

[SoonerJack]

Because that was a fluke. OSU fans of course will argue, but we blew that game, plain and simple. We're better than that. And they didn't score that much. 3 of their 4 scores were long plays off defensive breakdowns. As I said, those are a problem, but potentially avoidable.

Doc, don't diss your past opponents in such a manner. The Cowboys came to Columbia and their defense played better than yours.

KU and TT also flukes? Just checkin.

[SoonerStormchaser]

Now, OU of course has been scoring 60 like it's nothing, so why do I think we can win? Because we're better on defense than Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Kansas, Kansas State and every other team you've beaten except possibly TCU, which held you to a respectable 35 (2 TDs in the final 3 quarters).


Sorry Doc, you lost me after this...care to back that up with facts/stats? Cause from what I've seen with Mizzou this year, they've given up yards in massive chunks.

[OU_Sooners75]

any Sooner that attended that ungodly cold game back in '03 realizes a loss is a possibility. We called the long drive back that night our own "Trail of Tears"

The good thing....
1. this is not 2003.
2. the weather will not be as cold as that freaking night. I was there and that was just ridiculous. I was not prepared for that cold!
3. This is Missouri team should not be taken lightly.

[OUAlumni1990]

I don't like having to play with a third-string MLB. Not good.

This scares the heck out of me too.

[SoonersEnFuego]

Those guys won't win unless the entire starting line-up decides to steal a coat.
Ouch, that hurts my parts!

[Partial Qualifier]

I'm not so worried about Balogun.

DocNice, thanks for the analysis.. and stick around -- it's great to see fans of other teams on the board.

[stoopified]

Hope springs eternal in the human breast.

[SoonerAtKU]

Mizzou also doesn't have a reputation for late hits and holding no-calls like that KSU team did. I swear, Bill Snyder must have pictures of someone doing something bad, because that era of Wildcat Football was a nasty piece of business that didn't get called out for it often enough.

[Blitzkrieg]

Doc, I think the espn hand wringing and preaching will serve to motivate OU to really come out sharp, this team has been able to prevent the letdown all year, the offense is that good.

MU has a chance, they are a legit top 5 offense, they do lack playmakers on defense. The field could be a big equalizer with our speed, and if dbacks fall down and line up wrong like we did against KU, Coffman and Maclin will light us up.

Coffman and Maclin are all american IMO. Both wil lgo on to have big careers on sundays, and oh the thought of Maclin sticking to that first verbal and coming to OU! That young man would be a clear heisman front runner right now!

I like OU big, we have scored 35 as a low, I dont see MU keeping us near that, so 49 is more likely. I am very curious to see if we can hold them to 24 or less.

[Tigerman550]

Mizzou is in a very good spot right now. There's no pressure on us to win this game at all. The feeling on campus is the "being led to the executioner" vibe...

If the weather is bad that night, the field conditions could level the playing field as far as speed is concerned. I just hope we keep the ball on the ground more. Any team that can run the ball effectively against the Sooners has a good shot of staying in the game. They better score EARLY too...

[DocNice]

Doc, I think the espn hand wringing and preaching will serve to motivate OU to really come out sharp, this team has been able to prevent the letdown all year, the offense is that good.

I like OU big, we have scored 35 as a low, I dont see MU keeping us near that, so 49 is more likely. I am very curious to see if we can hold them to 24 or less.

Thanks for the kind words. I think you're right. My honest gut feeling is 50-30 or thereabouts, but if we do better, then what you see above is why. As for motivation, I think that could work in our favor. While a focused OU is a bad thing, I don't honestly think your offense fears us. It's the defensive side of the ball that will be fired up. If they play over-aggressive, we could take advantage.

[JLEW1818]

Shut Down Jeremy Maclin and the game is over.

[NYC Poke]

Because that was a fluke. OSU fans of course will argue, but we blew that game, plain and simple. We're better than that. And they didn't score that much. 3 of their 4 scores were long plays off defensive breakdowns. As I said, those are a problem, but potentially avoidable.


:rolleyes:

eta: Has anyone else noticed that whenever Missouri loses it's a "fluke"?

[RacerX]

By the 2003 Big XII champ game Jason White played like he only had one receiver - Mark Clayton.

Take away Mark, shut down the pass game.

This team has about 5 different receivers that get monster yardage depending on what game it is. This team hasn't peaked yet.

[cvsooner]

If field conditions are bad I'll expect us to run the ball, probably fairly effectively. It's a shame we're both banged up: Sam's hand and Balogun playing MLB, English is iffy. Maclin is banged up and bruised and Coffman is struggling with a toe injury.

Our difficulties with a running QB this season puts a lot on Daniel's shoulders. I think he could be a big difference in this game. We've got to shut him down and get him aggravated (he doesn't play so well when he's aggravated).

Special teams are also an issue. I'd rather have Wolfert than Stevens/Knall, though Knall punted the heck out of the ball in Stoolwater. Where has that been all season?

I'm sure kickoff team got extra reps this week (again)...

All things being equal, we ought to blow Mizzou out. But...something in my gut tells me it won't be as big a blowout as it could be. Maybe something along the lines of OSewe...a Sooner win by 20. Whether that's 35-14 or 60-40, I can't say.

[cvsooner]

By the 2003 Big XII champ game Jason White played like he only had one receiver - Mark Clayton.

Take away Mark, shut down the pass game.

This team has about 5 different receivers that get monster yardage depending on what game it is. This team hasn't peaked yet.

White also was injured early and was not effective, which carried over to the Sugar Bowl. Still not sure how our defense folded like the French army, though.

[Dan Thompson]

Sorry, I couldn't any farther than this

OU plays a break but don't bend defense.

OU plays a bend but don't break defense.

[tommieharris91]

:rolleyes:

eta: Has anyone else noticed that whenever Missouri loses it's a "fluke"?

Curtis Lofton, this year's Texas team, Kerry Meier, and Todd Reesing all agree with you.

[DocNice]

Has anyone else noticed that whenever Missouri loses it's a "fluke"?

Well, there's one of two things going on here. Either Mizzou was the better team and should have won against OSU and KU, or we played badly because the other team was better and forced us to make mistakes.

Against OSU, there was certainly some of the latter. The pressure you put on Daniel and the shutting down of the run game was impressive. However, there was also a LOT of the former, and we still almost won the game.

Against KU, I think most Kansas fans I've seen on the Tigerboard admit they pulled the upset against the better team.

If you define how good a team is based on the games they've won and lost then you're absolutely right. If you define how good a team is based on the quality of the players and their history of performance for their whole careers, as well as whether they are playing near their potential, then Mizzou's losses so far don't mean a whole lot to the OU game.

[DocNice]

Has Mizzou's OL learned how to block stunting DLs?

That's obviously a concern. We've done better lately, but not against a quality DL like you guys have. However, I'm not putting too much stock in that, just because we still often move and score even with a lot of pressure. We moved the ball pretty well on Texas even with their intense pressure. It will obviously be a factor, but I don't think it necessarily means we won't score. However, if you DON'T get pressure, I would expect us to score 40+ for sure barring lots of turnovers.

[A-M]

Here are some stats (Big 12 only) you might like to see:

Rushing Defense
OU #2
MU #3

Scoring Defense
OU #3
MU #2

Pass Defense
OU #5
MU #12

Total Defense
OU #2
MU #8

Passing Offense
OU #2
MU#3

Rushing Offense
OU #2
MU #6

Scoring Offense
OU #1
MU #2

Total Offense
OU #1
MU #3

Punt Return
OU #9
MU #6

Turnover Margin
OU #1
MU #8

Don't know what all this means, but it looks like if both teams play as they have in the past the OU will be the winner. However, having said that, you just never know what will happen in a game.

[DocNice]

Doc, don't diss your past opponents in such a manner. The Cowboys came to Columbia and their defense played better than yours.

KU and TT also flukes? Just checkin.


You had right up until the statement I bolded.

How can you say your defense is better than three teams you lost to? To wit, KU, OSU, and TT. Plus, you guys barely beat Baylor.

I think both of you mean Texas, rather than TT. I never claimed we were better than Texas. And Baylor putting up their average doesn't bother me. You guys gave up 35 to KSU, does that bother you? Sometimes teams don't play their best.

I also don't see how losing a game, even if it were NOT an upset against a better team, means their defense is better. Games are based on special teams, offense and defense. So why are we better than OSU, KU and TT?

The stats indicate we're better than all 3 of them in scoring defense and rushing defense. I can almost guarantee you won't run like you did on Texas Tech. Half your runs were for long yardage with the starters in and you only had 1 negative yardage run. Anyone who watched the KU game can tell you our defense is better, even without the large disparity in statistics. OSU might be comparable and it wouldn't surprise me if the results were similar. That game was close until late.

But I think we're better. The stats show that we rank higher. We had far more conference honors on defense. And the head to head matchup gives evidence. OSU scored well below their average at 28, and while they had 4 TDs, they had zero sustained drives after the first quarter when we adjusted. Take out the single big run of 66 yards and we held them under 3 yards per rush.

[BoulderSooner79]

MU looks pretty decent using those stat comparisons. Something that skews the stats is that MU did that playing in the north division while OU did it in the south. MU lost 2 of the 3 games against the south and were tied with Baylor mid-way in the 4th before winning by 3pts.

Don't get me wrong - I totally believe MU is dangerous and college ball is unpredictable. USC would have beaten Oregon State 19 time out of 20 this year. But the Beavers beat the odds and USC is on the outside looking in. This game would be no where as big an upset as that one.

[NYC Poke]

Well, there's one of two things going on here. Either Mizzou was the better team and should have won against OSU and KU, or we played badly because the other team was better and forced us to make mistakes.

Against OSU, there was certainly some of the latter. The pressure you put on Daniel and the shutting down of the run game was impressive. However, there was also a LOT of the former, and we still almost won the game.

Against KU, I think most Kansas fans I've seen on the Tigerboard admit they pulled the upset against the better team.

If you define how good a team is based on the games they've won and lost then you're absolutely right. If you define how good a team is based on the quality of the players and their history of performance for their whole careers, as well as whether they are playing near their potential, then Mizzou's losses so far don't mean a whole lot to the OU game.

You're 9-3, we're 9-3. You lost to us in your stadium in front of a national tv audience (btw, the president of Sports Illustrated just happened to be in the bar where our NYC watch party was, and he came in and watched with us). You had turnovers, sure. Check the box score -- we had the same number of turnovers. If you want yours back, give us ours back, too.

Sorry to be calling you out personally on this, but I've seen an awful lot of excuse-making by Mizzou over the past 2 seasons, a lot of it by your QB. He said the Sooners got lucky last year, then recently said he was "deathly ill" before that game, and even more recently said that we got lucky against Mizzou (as opposed to UT, who he said beat you guys "fair and square").

Learn to have some class whether you win or lose. My team lost a game at home on before a national tv audience, too, and you don't see me making excuses about it (you may have noticed my avatar). The better team executed and won the football game.

If you haven't noticed, we're ranked more highly than you. Come bowl season, you may not even be in the Top 25. Calling your loss to OSU (at home) a fluke requires an extraordinary display of hubris. Quit smoking your own dope and realize that some other teams in the country play some pretty good football, also.

[DocNice]

You're 9-3, we're 9-3. You lost to us in your stadium in front of a national tv audience (btw, the president of Sports Illustrated just happened to be in the bar where our NYC watch party was, and he came in and watched with us). You had turnovers, sure. Check the box score -- we had the same number of turnovers. If you want yours back, give us ours back, too.

Sorry to be calling you out personally on this, but I've seen an awful lot of excuse-making by Mizzou over the past 2 seasons, a lot of it by your QB. He said the Sooners got lucky last year, then recently said he was "deathly ill" before that game, and even more recently said that we got lucky against Mizzou (as opposed to UT, who he said beat you guys "fair and square").

Learn to have some class whether you win or lose. My team lost a game at home on before a national tv audience, too, and you don't see me making excuses about it (you may have noticed my avatar). The better team executed and won the football game.

If you haven't noticed, we're ranked more highly than you. Come bowl season, you may not even be in the Top 25. Calling your loss to OSU (at home) a fluke requires an extraordinary display of hubris. Quit smoking your own dope and realize that some other teams in the country play some pretty good football, also.

Are you saying the better team always wins? 9-3 doesn't mean a whole lot when you play different teams. Yes, you won the head to head. You played better that day. I don't think you're the better team. If that means I display hubris, I guess it's just so.

Let's look at the game though. Mizzou took a while to get going on offense. Unfortunately this is a theme this year. If you want to say that defines how good we are, then so be it. But I would prefer to judge our potential based on how we play when we do get going. We moved the ball quite a bit in the second half, with nearly 300 yards of offense despite 3 turnovers. Of the 3 interceptions, at least 2 (if not all 3) would not be likely be repeated. One Chase just didn't get behind, and the other was off the hands of the receiver.

And on defense we also pretty much shut you down after the first quarter when we adjusted our play calling. You had nearly 250 yards of second half offense, but well over half that came on 3 big plays.You had a 66 yard run where we took bad angles, a 40 yard pass where the DBs got confused and a 30 yard play that was essentially a jump ball in the end zone. Not trying to take credit away for making those big plays as much as point out that you hardly drove methodically up and down the field on us the way we did on you. You only had 6 second half first downs.

Lastly, we left a lot of points on the field. Jeff Wolfert is among the best kickers in the history of college football and will probably hold the record for accuracy all time, and missed TWO field goals. What are the odds of that happening again? That's 6 points alone and we win. What are the odds of Chase throwing 3 INTs again? The dropped pass that was interecepted was in the red zone and we had been driving pretty consistently before and after that INT. That would have been at least a FG and probably a TD. That's 9-13 points and we win. We got robbed on the spot on the first posession which should have been a TD. That's 12-16 points. I mean, that's not even discussing if we had actually played better on offense or not had defensive breakdowns on defense or not thrown the INTs, especially the last one where we were driving. That's just hard points left on the field.

Sure OSU didn't play perfectly. But how can you compare forced fumbles to dropped passes that are intercepted? And your fake punt was a bad idea, but that was probably 20-25 yards of field position. Not insignificant, but hardly a turnover. And we had zero points off of your turnovers and only one of them came anywhere near the red zone, so you can hardly say you left points on the field the way we were defending you.

The fact is, it's hard to imagine us playing much worse, and any one of many plays wins us that game. While you could have played better on offense, you probably could not have played better on defense, and even if you did on both sides of the ball it probably wouldn't have changed the outcome much.

[NYC Poke]

In other words, you think you have the better team because you think you have the better team. Got it. Congratulations on your imaginary unbeaten seasons.

[DocNice]

In other words, you think you have the better team because you think you have the better team. Got it. Congratulations on your imaginary unbeaten seasons.

I'll bet you didn't even read my post. I think we're the better team because once each coaching staff made their adjustments, we marched up and down the field against you and shut you down. We had nearly 300 yards of 2nd half offense even with the turnovers and you only had 6 first downs.

You say OSU didn't play perfectly either so it's equal to Mizzou's mistakes, but I showed you how Mizzou gets another 20 points even WITH Chase's bad throws AND the defensive breakdowns. Just if we did some very basic things. Forget if we played at our potential. It wouldn't have been close.

I think this because I look at second half stats and I see your median play was 3 yards versus 7 yards for Mizzou. I see double the number of plays for more than 5 yards. I see 2 unforced second half turnovers. I see avoidable defensive breakdowns. I see sloppy first half play. And even after all this, I see that we almost won.

But of course, you could also call me a homer and just say that Missouri did all these bad things because of OSU. But what about national sportswriters from ESPN and College Football News that said Missouri lost the game because of mistakes? Are they homers too?

[NYC Poke]

Look, you whiner from a team with a finalist for Heisman of whiners, I don't want to clutter up a Sooner message board with a bunch of stuff about the OSU/MU game, so I'll let you have whatever last word you want. I'll just look at the scoreboard.

Oh, and this.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Oct/1011slideFOOTBALL/26.jpg

[The Walk-on]

I was there in KC in 2003. It was a nightmare. I put blame on the Mike Stoops/Venables situation that night. If you remember, Mike was in street clothes because he had already take the AZ job. Snyder in his endless hours of film study had detected a tendency by our D to blitz the ends on every 3rd and long. Our ends crashed in and our backers spread out to cover the edges that the ends had vacated. Snyder played us like a fiddle getting into 3rd and longs over and over again and dumping the little screen over the middle to that little midget who went to YAC heaven on us. Whoever was in charge of the D should have shut that play down but from what I understand the players weren't sure who was in charge that night.
Pinkel is not smart enough to scheme like that against us and the only coordinator who has taken another job at this point was wearing black and gold last week.

[76soonergrad]

I think that the weather will be s big a factor as Missouri Saturday night.


Cold hands, hard football, slushy footing can cut down D speed. Haven't seen us play in cold muck yet. Hanging 60 is doubtful--I'd love it, just saying.





______________________________
Boomer!

[Jdog]

A difference or 2 between then & now:

Everybody & their dog was telling that team that they didn't have to win the CCG to go to the NC game. There's no way on earth that that didn't have an effect on their mental state going in. It's only human nature to ease up on a step on the way to something bigger if you know you're allowed to stumble & still be allowed a crack at the biggest prize you're after. This year's team has no such luxury. In fact, judging by the experiences of the last 3 days, there are a truckload of people who are just DYING for OU to fail so they can shout it from the mountaintop. I fully expect a very focused effort as a result.

I would maybe agree with if it weren't for the game against USUC

- and as for this week. I've been in BAMA, New Mexico and I live outside of Fort Worth. Everything I've heard and read has been about how awesome our offense is, how cool slinging Sammy is under presure and how many points we've scored.

[Iam4OUru]

any Sooner that attended that ungodly cold game back in '03 realizes a loss is a possibility. We called the long drive back that night our own "Trail of Tears"


...and this one's on the same field on the same date...5 years later. :eek:

[Jdog]

...and this/ one's on the same field on the same date...5 years later. :eek:

Wasn't at that game - how cold was it?
funny how we play Big 12 games in a domed warm stadium in Houston and San Antonio (in the South) and how we play games in the fridge cold open air stadium in KC (in the North) - somehow seems backward.

[RedstickSooner]

I don't like having to play with a third-string MLB. Not good.

He was a third-string MLB months ago. Clearly, at this point, that's not a fair assessment. I think, at worst, you could call him second-string, maybe string-and-a-half, by the time the CCG gets here.

He didn't play badly in the game, he was great at the junior college level, and some guys don't shine in practice or scrimmage -- so, really, we have a straight-up unknown at MLB. I'd rather have a known, but I don't think what we have is anywhere near a lost cause.

[TexasEx4OU]

Are you saying the better team always wins? 9-3 doesn't mean a whole lot when you play different teams. Yes, you won the head to head. You played better that day. I don't think you're the better team. If that means I display hubris, I guess it's just so.

Let's look at the game though. Mizzou took a while to get going on offense. Unfortunately this is a theme this year. If you want to say that defines how good we are, then so be it. But I would prefer to judge our potential based on how we play when we do get going. We moved the ball quite a bit in the second half, with nearly 300 yards of offense despite 3 turnovers. Of the 3 interceptions, at least 2 (if not all 3) would not be likely be repeated. One Chase just didn't get behind, and the other was off the hands of the receiver.

And on defense we also pretty much shut you down after the first quarter when we adjusted our play calling. You had nearly 250 yards of second half offense, but well over half that came on 3 big plays.You had a 66 yard run where we took bad angles, a 40 yard pass where the DBs got confused and a 30 yard play that was essentially a jump ball in the end zone. Not trying to take credit away for making those big plays as much as point out that you hardly drove methodically up and down the field on us the way we did on you. You only had 6 second half first downs.

Lastly, we left a lot of points on the field. Jeff Wolfert is among the best kickers in the history of college football and will probably hold the record for accuracy all time, and missed TWO field goals. What are the odds of that happening again? That's 6 points alone and we win. What are the odds of Chase throwing 3 INTs again? The dropped pass that was interecepted was in the red zone and we had been driving pretty consistently before and after that INT. That would have been at least a FG and probably a TD. That's 9-13 points and we win. We got robbed on the spot on the first posession which should have been a TD. That's 12-16 points. I mean, that's not even discussing if we had actually played better on offense or not had defensive breakdowns on defense or not thrown the INTs, especially the last one where we were driving. That's just hard points left on the field.

Sure OSU didn't play perfectly. But how can you compare forced fumbles to dropped passes that are intercepted? And your fake punt was a bad idea, but that was probably 20-25 yards of field position. Not insignificant, but hardly a turnover. And we had zero points off of your turnovers and only one of them came anywhere near the red zone, so you can hardly say you left points on the field the way we were defending you.

The fact is, it's hard to imagine us playing much worse, and any one of many plays wins us that game. While you could have played better on offense, you probably could not have played better on defense, and even if you did on both sides of the ball it probably wouldn't have changed the outcome much.

Geebus...if/buts/candy/nuts. Oh...and you guys should get a room. ;)

[Kray]

DocNice,

OSU caused at least two of those "fluke" turnovers with pressure on Chase. He was flustered, pursued and he choked. Those INT's didn't happen in a vacuum. While your minute parsing of stats (so long as you throw out the big plays) is admirable, it's meaningless. OSU actually did similar stuff to us early in the game, but we adjusted and drove by them.

Part of football is, as you may or may not know, stopping big plays. There's nothing to say that OSU wouldn't have driven the field on you. They did it to us. They would have done it to you, except they scored fast in the second half.

Also - take your post-OSU resume. You got depantsed in Austin. OSU nearly won. You lucked out to beat Baylor. OSU named its score. Nothing in your resume suggests you are better than OSU. If you had lost to them in Stillwater like you did, and had they not committed turnovers as well, you might have something of a case. You do not. It's fantasy.

[The Maestro]

So that's it. Go downfield on offense, stop the run, get some pressure on Bradford and limit the long pass and the TE up the middle and we probably won't get blown out too badly.

SURE!! NO PROBLEM!!! Other teams have endured great success doing these things! Just follow their lead! And don't forget...Santa Claus is Coming to Town in three weeks!

[cvsooner]

Wasn't at that game - how cold was it?
funny how we play Big 12 games in a domed warm stadium in Houston and San Antonio (in the South) and how we play games in the fridge cold open air stadium in KC (in the North) - somehow seems backward.

Should just designate St. Louis as the north city and be done with it.

[silverwheels]

Mizzou has a chance because people are saying they have no chance. Their offense will move the ball a bit and score a few times, but their defense won't be able to stop us unless we let them.

[silverwheels]

Should just designate St. Louis as the north city and be done with it.

The Big 12 doesn't like St. Louis from what I've heard, and they don't care enough to want to host it, either, so that's probably not going to happen.

[Jdog]

Look, you whiner from a team with a finalist for Heisman of whiners, I don't want to clutter up a Sooner message board with a bunch of stuff about the OSU/MU game, so I'll let you have whatever last word you want. I'll just look at the scoreboard.

Oh, and this.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Oct/1011slideFOOTBALL/26.jpg

That is funny - all dolled up and no where to go.

[cvsooner]

The Big 12 doesn't like St. Louis from what I've heard, and they don't care enough to want to host it, either, so that's probably not going to happen.

That's a shame. It's a much better field and conditions in early December. It would be nice to at least get an afternoon game, but noooooooooo...the SEC claims that spot. And of course...they're playing in a domed stadium. In Atlanta. In December. Swell.