Specific improvements since Texas game – ANALYSIS

[Toronto Sooner]

The Sooner team is now vastly improved since the Texas game. Anyone that takes any part of the Sooner team lightly (including our D) will pay a major price.

Here are some of the key reasons we lost to Texas (in my view), and corrections made by the Sooners since then:

1) MLB – Sooner D was solid until Reynolds went down. Back up Crow hadn’t played before and was/is not the answer for that position. This weakness was the single greatest reason was lost the Texas game. After Reynolds was gone the Longhorns completely exploited the weak pass coverage up the middle. It seems like almost every throw was to that area of the field. Since the Texas game Austin Box has emerged as a solid solution – he might be back for Jan 8th. Also, Balogun is showing signs that he is perhaps a beast in that position. In addition, Venables now has different looks for quicker spread offenses (like Florida) – he sometimes moves safeties to play linebackers (on certain plays), which provides much better coverage against pass happy spread offenses (especially ones that don’t have a big bruising run game). Venables can now interchange personnel to provide better matchups against opposition.

2) Venables – he is now less predictable. Also, we now have an attacking D. Venables use to have the d-backs just sit back and try to minimize the big plays. However, that strategy failed, as opponents would just nickel and dime us to death, until they got the TD. It ended up being the same result as a big play TD, which defeated the purpose. Also, his blitzes were very predictable, therefore they were generally ineffective. I have noticed a lot of very specific changes Venables have made since the Texas game, to become less predictable, to become an attacking D, to address blitzing issues and to take advantage of the athleticsm and speed of our D players. I’m sure the Florida coaches have figured out all of those specific changes already, but I don’t want to list them on a public forum, just in case.

3) D-line – the d-line was not a problem in the Texas game, but we are even better now, with the emergence of Frank Alexander and Granger being better recovered from his injury – both Alexander and Granger missed the Texas game – 2 future nfl starters. Both Gerald McCoy and Beal – future nfl starters also – have turned into even more ferocious monsters. Alexander, Granger, G. McCoy, Beal and A. Taylor, they like to squish quarterbacks for fun. They get non-stop pressure on all quarterbacks, but sometimes they have problems tracking down some quick QBs like Z. Robinson and Pat White. A big QB like Tebow is perfect for them though – they will be laying the lumber on Tebow.

4) Key first year D starters – D. Franks, B. Jackson and T. Lewis are dramatically better since the Texas game, with all the additional games of experience. For example, T. Lewis was partly lost during the beginning of the season, but was compensating for it by his aggressive play. He admits now that his improvements have been night and day vs earlier in the year. He is in total control out there now – coupled that with the way he plays the game and you have something very special.

5) The running game – D. Murray was clearly not himself during the Texas game, due to still trying to overcome the mental aspect of the surgery. That was then and this is now. He is back to being D. Murray – a very special player, and one that could take it to the house at anytime. C. Brown has also moved his game up another level.

6) The O-line – they played below their standards against Texas, but they are now playing possessed. Coach K. Wilson challenged them to be much more physical and aggressive, and responded by completely blowing people off the line. These guys are amazing, on both run blocking and passing blocking. They are all future nfl starters. Their dominance is amazing to look at while watching the highlight films.

7) Coach K. Wilson – as great a coach as he is and as great a season the offense has had, in my opinion, coach Wilson was a key reason was lost the Texas game. I was so frustrated with his play calling while watching the Texas game. Later in the game, he kept going with the run, possession, after possession, after possession, even though it was clear that the run game was not going to work on that particular day. The key problem with this it that instead of Sam having 3 plays to throw for a first down, he was often left with only 1 play (sometimes 2) to gain 10 years. It didn’t leave any room for errors, such as receiver drops. This resulted in a number of extremely short drives for our offence, which forced our D to stay on the field way too long – the long Taxes run near the end of the game was likely due to our D being too fatigued. I think coach Wilson has evolved as a play caller since the Texas game. If the running came ever sputters again I think he will not hesitate to now ride Bradford’s throwing arm completely for key parts of the game.

8) Special Teams – things are not perfect at yet, but both the coverage and the kicking teams have improved. Our kick and punt returns are even better I think.

As you can see, clearly, this is not the same team that faced Texas. Florida will be very sorry if they listen to Mark May and the other so-called ESPN experts.

[Crucifax Autumn]

Pretty nice look at things and I afree for the most part.

[westcoast_sooner]

Good post. We also had some young guys really step up down the stretch when we were putting up numbers on people. The D had a tough time against a mobile Zac Robinson. But I think you're right, Tebow isn't as fast or elusive and our guys should be able to get hits on him.

Also, on the running game, and Murray. Murray has really come along, but look at both Chris Brown and Madu's output. Madu played well in the CCG. Credit the o-line to really getting refocused on pushing people around after the Texas game and opening holes.

Overall, I think the team has developed a great attitude since the Texas game.

[Jacie]

I was greatly encouraged by the fact that when Madu came in as OUr third RB with DeMarco on the bench, played like a first stringer for all four quarters. That was huge in a big game and could be the difference against the gators.

[IronSoonerMan]

Nice post. I really agree with You on Venables!

Go Sooners!

[A-M]

Great read and I too agree with you. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.

[Iam4OUru]

The Sooner team is now vastly improved since the Texas game. Anyone that takes any part of the Sooner team lightly (including our D) will pay a major price.

Here are some of the key reasons we lost to Texas (in my view), and corrections made by the Sooners since then:

1) MLB – Sooner D was solid until Reynolds went down. Back up Crow hadn’t played before and was/is not the answer for that position. This weakness was the single greatest reason was lost the Texas game. After Reynolds was gone the Longhorns completely exploited the weak pass coverage up the middle. It seems like almost every throw was to that area of the field. Since the Texas game Austin Box has emerged as a solid solution – he might be back for Jan 8th. Also, Balogun is showing signs that he is perhaps a beast in that position. In addition, Venables now has different looks for quicker spread offenses (like Florida) – he sometimes moves safeties to play linebackers (on certain plays), which provides much better coverage against pass happy spread offenses (especially ones that don’t have a big bruising run game). Venables can now interchange personnel to provide better matchups against opposition.

2) Venables – he is now less predictable. Also, we now have an attacking D. Venables use to have the d-backs just sit back and try to minimize the big plays. However, that strategy failed, as opponents would just nickel and dime us to death, until they got the TD. It ended up being the same result as a big play TD, which defeated the purpose. Also, his blitzes were very predictable, therefore they were generally ineffective. I have noticed a lot of very specific changes Venables have made since the Texas game, to become less predictable, to become an attacking D, to address blitzing issues and to take advantage of the athleticsm and speed of our D players. I’m sure the Florida coaches have figured out all of those specific changes already, but I don’t want to list them on a public forum, just in case.

3) D-line – the d-line was not a problem in the Texas game, but we are even better now, with the emergence of Frank Alexander and Granger being better recovered from his injury – both Alexander and Granger missed the Texas game – 2 future nfl starters. Both Gerald McCoy and Beal – future nfl starters also – have turned into even more ferocious monsters. Alexander, Granger, G. McCoy, Beal and A. Taylor, they like to squish quarterbacks for fun. They get non-stop pressure on all quarterbacks, but sometimes they have problems tracking down some quick QBs like Z. Robinson and Pat White. A big QB like Tebow is perfect for them though – they will be laying the lumber on Tebow.

4) Key first year D starters – D. Franks, B. Jackson and T. Lewis are dramatically better since the Texas game, with all the additional games of experience. For example, T. Lewis was partly lost during the beginning of the season, but was compensating for it by his aggressive play. He admits now that his improvements have been night and day vs earlier in the year. He is in total control out there now – coupled that with the way he plays the game and you have something very special.

5) The running game – D. Murray was clearly not himself during the Texas game, due to still trying to overcome the mental aspect of the surgery. That was then and this is now. He is back to being D. Murray – a very special player, and one that could take it to the house at anytime. C. Brown has also moved his game up another level.

6) The O-line – they played below their standards against Texas, but they are now playing possessed. Coach K. Wilson challenged them to be much more physical and aggressive, and responded by completely blowing people off the line. These guys are amazing, on both run blocking and passing blocking. They are all future nfl starters. Their dominance is amazing to look at while watching the highlight films.

7) Coach K. Wilson – as great a coach as he is and as great a season the offense has had, in my opinion, coach Wilson was a key reason was lost the Texas game. I was so frustrated with his play calling while watching the Texas game. Later in the game, he kept going with the run, possession, after possession, after possession, even though it was clear that the run game was not going to work on that particular day. The key problem with this it that instead of Sam having 3 plays to throw for a first down, he was often left with only 1 play (sometimes 2) to gain 10 years. It didn’t leave any room for errors, such as receiver drops. This resulted in a number of extremely short drives for our offence, which forced our D to stay on the field way too long – the long Taxes run near the end of the game was likely due to our D being too fatigued. I think coach Wilson has evolved as a play caller since the Texas game. If the running came ever sputters again I think he will not hesitate to now ride Bradford’s throwing arm completely for key parts of the game.

8) Special Teams – things are not perfect at yet, but both the coverage and the kicking teams have improved. Our kick and punt returns are even better I think.

As you can see, clearly, this is not the same team that faced Texas. Florida will be very sorry if they listen to Mark May and the other so-called ESPN experts.


Even though it seems we've improved on special teams, I think it's crucial that we play mistake-free against these guys. They are probably the best at special teams in the country and the game could be won or lost through OUr efforts.

Well thought-out post...very informative. Thanks for posting. :P

[BoulderSooner79]

I agree almost 100% with every point. The one that hits home to me is #7. I've loved what KW has done this year, but felt disappointed after the UT game of what might have been. Who knows, it may not have made any difference, but I would have loved to see KW put the game in Sam's hands when it was clear the run wasn't working. Fortunately, it all worked out and KW did put the game in Sam's hands against OSU when the pokes proved to be a resilent foe.

[JLEW1818]

Good post


Is this the first time under Stoops, that the team has only 1 regular season loss? No higher or lower?

[PalmBeachSooner]

1) MLB – Sooner D was solid until Reynolds went down. Back up Crow hadn’t played before and was/is not the answer for that position. This weakness was the single greatest reason was lost the Texas game. After Reynolds was gone the Longhorns completely exploited the weak pass coverage up the middle. It seems like almost every throw was to that area of the field. Since the Texas game Austin Box has emerged as a solid solution – he might be back for Jan 8th. Also, Balogun is showing signs that he is perhaps a beast in that position. In addition, Venables now has different looks for quicker spread offenses (like Florida) – he sometimes moves safeties to play linebackers (on certain plays), which provides much better coverage against pass happy spread offenses (especially ones that don’t have a big bruising run game). Venables can now interchange personnel to provide better matchups against opposition.

I think it would be a huge mistake to play safeties in LB positions against UF. They are most definitely a power running team and they use it to set up the pass. We need our biggest, strongest, fastest linebacker in the middle. Get a lead and force Tebow to beat you throwing the ball. I think that's how Michigan beat them last year.

[rainiersooner]

Great post. Anybody who can't see how different this team is from the team that narrowly lost to Texas either (1) is a Longhorn fan or (2) works for ESPN.

[CatfishSooner]

Good thing you're not postin what Ventable is doin different w/ the blitzes...I bet Urban is creepin on the board... ;)

[Scotty]

3) D-line – the d-line was not a problem in the Texas game, but we are even better now, with the emergence of Frank Alexander and Granger being better recovered from his injury – both Alexander and Granger missed the Texas game – 2 future nfl starters. Both Gerald McCoy and Beal – future nfl starters also – have turned into even more ferocious monsters. Alexander, Granger, G. McCoy, Beal and A. Taylor, they like to squish quarterbacks for fun. They get non-stop pressure on all quarterbacks, but sometimes they have problems tracking down some quick QBs like Z. Robinson and Pat White. A big QB like Tebow is perfect for them though – they will be laying the lumber on Tebow.


Don't forget about this kid named English

[SoonerPr8r]

Great post, I agree with it all. Our D almost had to restart and find itself again after the texass game.

Oh btw, be careful about saying good things about BV around here. Some people here might not like it:D

[OUTrumpet]

7) Coach K. Wilson – as great a coach as he is and as great a season the offense has had, in my opinion, coach Wilson was a key reason was lost the Texas game. I was so frustrated with his play calling while watching the Texas game. Later in the game, he kept going with the run, possession, after possession, after possession, even though it was clear that the run game was not going to work on that particular day. The key problem with this it that instead of Sam having 3 plays to throw for a first down, he was often left with only 1 play (sometimes 2) to gain 10 years. It didn’t leave any room for errors, such as receiver drops. This resulted in a number of extremely short drives for our offence, which forced our D to stay on the field way too long – the long Taxes run near the end of the game was likely due to our D being too fatigued. I think coach Wilson has evolved as a play caller since the Texas game. If the running came ever sputters again I think he will not hesitate to now ride Bradford’s throwing arm completely for key parts of the game.

This is a part I disagree with. We only ran the ball 14 times against Texas (not including sacks). Brown had 7 carries, Murray had 7. We threw the ball 40 times.

I think we should have ran the ball more against Texas. We let Texas just settle back into pass coverage and threw the ball at it. The defensive line was just able to zero in on Bradford.

The strength of our offense is balance. We can't sit back and play like Texas Tech which is what we did against Texas. Yeah, Bradford led 5 scoring drives, but we had 2 picks and 3 punts as well. I think Bradford could definitely put the team on his back and lead them to victory (see OSU) but he is much more deadly if we push our running game. Tires out the linebackers and the safeties and makes our downfield passing game even more nasty.

[slmoore]

Trying to get my post count up so I can share some information about parking situation at NC game. Boomer Sooner!

[BoulderSooner79]

This is a part I disagree with. We only ran the ball 14 times against Texas (not including sacks). Brown had 7 carries, Murray had 7. We threw the ball 40 times.

I think we should have ran the ball more against Texas. We let Texas just settle back into pass coverage and threw the ball at it. The defensive line was just able to zero in on Bradford.

The strength of our offense is balance. We can't sit back and play like Texas Tech which is what we did against Texas. Yeah, Bradford led 5 scoring drives, but we had 2 picks and 3 punts as well. I think Bradford could definitely put the team on his back and lead them to victory (see OSU) but he is much more deadly if we push our running game. Tires out the linebackers and the safeties and makes our downfield passing game even more nasty.

I have to agree with Toronto on this one. We had already proven by the middle of the 3rd that we couldn't run. Balance is great if you have it, but beating your head against the wall if you don't. We were not moving the sticks when we ran which is why the attempts were so low. One reason was that DM wasn't ready yet, but Brown was not effective either, so the line couldn't get it done. Also, Madu had a carry in a critical situation that went no where. Now if you want talk about pass plays that are run substitutes, I'm with you on that. We ran several bubble screens early in the game that were very successful and then didn't go back to it. And I don't remember any shovel pass plays. These plays really are runs, but take advantage of an aggressive D-line (like the one that was beating us). I think a few more of these would have loosened up the regular running plays. The real killer decision was punting on 4th and 2 and that was probably Bob and not KW. The D was completely on its heels by then and I thought it was clear that if we gave up the ball the game was over. Not converting or punting looked to have the same outcome (game over), so might as well go down fighting. I'm sure Bob wanted that one back.

But sometimes a loss can be better than a win in the long run, and I think this is clearly one of those cases. Plenty of lessons learned and the O-line vastly improved their run blocking since then - probably as a direct result of both TCU and UT. OU is still conference champs and still in the title game as BCS #1, so horn fans were actually correct for a change - that game didn't count :). I think that the fact we are actually underdogs and have many disbelievers will keep a chip on the shoulder attitude and help with focus. If we had been 13-0, everyone would be telling us how great we are and how UF would have no chance.

[Toronto Sooner]

Yeah, for sure, Auston English is a great Sooner DE also, especially at full health. He had a monster year last year. I'm not just talking about the 9.5 sacks he had (in only 11 games), but I'm thinking of the disruptive force that he was last year even when he didn't officially register a sack - he was very noticeable on almost every play last year. He reminded me a lot of Dan Cody, but he was even more noticeable, to me anyway. I think he was having a decent enough year this year also (before his injury of course), but to be honest he didn't really stand out to me as much this year. Don't get me wrong, he still came across as being a force this year, but I just didn't notice quite the same level of explosiveness as I saw last year. He might have been doubled teamed this year, but he would have been doubled teamed last year also - maybe there was extra double teaming emphasis placed on English this year due to being picked as the pre-season all big 12 defensive player of the year. Eeither way, it got me wondering if he was/is feeling any effects of his off-season surgery, either physical or metal. You know, we know that D. Murray had to overcome the metal aspect of his injury before he was able to get it going again - you know, he had to first begin trusting that his leg would hold up if he was to begin making those sharp cuts again (we know the outcome). As such, I wonder if Auston is going through something similar.

My hope is that Auston is physically fine from that surgery (and from his recent injury). I hope his speed and quickness is still to the level that it was last year. I see speed and quickness being the keys to English's pass rushing game. English is listed about the same size as Beal and Alexander, but I see those guys being more power rushers, and I see English being more of a speed rusher.

Bob Stoops seem to like Auston English a lot. I can see why. English comes across as being humble, a team player and a tremendously hard worker. He is one of my favourite Sooners also. I think we are fortunate to have a lot of players like him on this year's team, including Sammy B., JI and T. Lewis.

Given the type of player Auston English is, I am betting that he will do everything within his power to be back to full speed come Jan 8th, and will succeed. I am looking forward to seeing the dream team D-line fully healthy for the first time ever and in action on Jan. 8th. We have never experienced this full D-line in action before. Imagine, J. Beal, F. Alexander, A. English, G. McCoy, D. Granger and A. Taylor all healthy and in the same game. Individually, each one of those guys are extremely distinguished. Now, you put them together as a D-line unit, while healthy, and perhaps see something very special. Then, (assuming Granger and McCoy stays in school) add R. J. Washington to mix next year (assuming he lives up to the hype), and perhaps also Stacy McGee (if he is ready).

[Crucifax Autumn]

That last post made me all tingly inside!

[Texas_Fight]

Biggest improvement since the Texas game - the schedule. Why? The remainder of the schedule didn't have Texas on it. :D

[janderson255]

Murray is having season ending surgery next week, which is a bummer. Saw it on soonersports.

[TXHornsFan]

Biggest improvement since the Texas game - the schedule. Why? The remainder of the schedule didn't have Texas on it. :D

Bingo! It's remarkable the amount of propoganda about how OU has improved after Texas. They were #1 in the country before that game, and were blowing out all of their opponents, including the signature wins over those perennial BCS stalwarts TCU and CIncinnati.

[BoulderSooner79]

Bingo! It's remarkable the amount of propoganda about how OU has improved after Texas. They were #1 in the country before that game, and were blowing out all of their opponents, including the signature wins over those perennial BCS stalwarts TCU and CIncinnati.

Excellent point and that is probably why you guys get to go to sunny and dry Tempe while we have to trudge all the way to yucky Miami where it may well rain. We'll just have to suck it up and deal with it.

[BornandBred]

Biggest improvement since the Texas game - the schedule. Why? The remainder of the schedule didn't have Texas on it.

No, but it had the best team from the state of Texas on it, and we beat them by 40 sumpthin.

[Toronto Sooner]

I really like D. Murray's game - all aspects (running, blocking, passing catching out of the backfield). However, I think our run game will be fine, similar to the Missouri game. It's not just luck that our backups are so good and well prepared. It is the strategy and philosophy of our running back's coach, C. Gundy. It all starts with recruiting. He said that he doesn't recruit anyone who does not buy into the team concept, regardless of how many stars they are rated. He says that if anyone comes to Oklahoma then they need to ensure they choose us because they feel that winning championships is the top priority. That is why guys like D. Murray and C. Brown are best friends. They share the rock, cheer each other on and win plenty of championships together.

This is also why a guy like M. Madu can jump in, and fit right in. Coach Gundy has done a great job strategizing, planning and preparing for situations exactly like this. Of course, the O-line will be a big key, but we already knew that, regardless of who is in the backfield.

It's not about one guy, it's about a group of guys collectively contributing in winning championships. This is Oklahoma football. Our next one is on Jan 8th.

[FirstandGoal]

Biggest improvement since the Texas game - the schedule. Why? The remainder of the schedule didn't have Texas on it. :D

Yeah, knocking the crap outta the best team in texass did help us out quite a bit. Glad we played the weak part of our schedule in October and hit the strong teams hard in November.



edit-- just noticed that bornandbred beat me to it. :P

[Toronto Sooner]

I really don't have any responses to negative comments by Longhorn fans or the media or anyone else with regards to the Sooners. Our team will be playing in the National Championship game, and that is all that matters.

Just as a reminder to some people however, the success the Sooners had this year is not a one year fluke:

Big 12 South Championships last 9 years:

*Oklahoma Sooners - 7 times
*Texas Longhorns - 2
*everyone else - 0

Big 12 Conference overall Championships last 9 years:

*Oklahoma Sooners - 6 times
*Texas Longhorns - 1
*Kansas State - 1
*Colorado - 1
*everyone else - 0