OU defense...

[P3 Gator]

There's been a lot of "Big 12 Defense Sucks" crap going back and forth here, so the question is; what does OU do to shut down the UF spread? How do you account for the mobile QB creating his own play-action? Serious question, how have you shut down other spread option attacks?

[fadada1]

i think when it matters most, venables challenges the team to focus on "assignment football". nothing exceptionally earth-shattering with that statement, i know. i think with defending spread offenses (i.e., mizzou, tech), you have to know that taking chances can lead to 2 things: 1- something bad, like a big play; 2 - a big stop (or multiple big stops) or a turnover.

it seems that when we succeed against the spread, our LBs have huge days and stay where they're suppose to, the D confuses the spread with different looks, and most important - the DBs must be good enough to play man most of the game.

[AzianSooner]

We stopped Vince Young 2 out of 3 times he played us.

[OK2LA]

We stopped Vince Young 2 out of 3 times he played us.

Is there a player on our squad that actually played against VY?

Come on

[L-Boy]

There's been a lot of "Big 12 Defense Sucks" crap going back and forth here, so the question is; what does OU do to shut down the UF spread? How do you account for the mobile QB creating his own play-action? Serious question, how have you shut down other spread option attacks?


I would not think the Okie St game would be encouraging- Oregon ran a spread with a mobile QB and got run all over. OU is only marginally better than Okie St in terms of D. TX ran a spread scored 45 vs OU, OSU ran spread scored 41. Anything can happen in a given game, but by all accounts I think UF scores at least 40 on OU if UF takes care of the ball.

[P3 Gator]

i think when it matters most, venables challenges the team to focus on "assignment football". nothing exceptionally earth-shattering with that statement, i know. i think with defending spread offenses (i.e., mizzou, tech), you have to know that taking chances can lead to 2 things: 1- something bad, like a big play; 2 - a big stop (or multiple big stops) or a turnover.

it seems that when we succeed against the spread, our LBs have huge days and stay where they're suppose to, the D confuses the spread with different looks, and most important - the DBs must be good enough to play man most of the game.

I think that's the key too. Gotta be hard a hell to do though. Seems like the natural tendency would be to close as the QB starts moving.

[Rhino]

Is there a player on our squad that actually played against VY?

Come on Nic Harris.

[StoopTroup]

We knock Timmies mouth piece out through the back of his neck?

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

I would not think the Okie St game would be encouraging- Oregon ran a spread with a mobile QB and got run all over. OU is only marginally better than Okie St in terms of D. TX ran a spread scored 45 vs OU, OSU ran spread scored 41. Anything can happen in a given game, but by all accounts I think UF scores at least 40 on OU if UF takes care of the ball.

you spew this stuff like you believe it.

osu is good at HOME when they play US. it may be one of the most lopsided rivalries in history, but for the most part the scores have all been close.

texas didn't run on us at all until the last series where we presented exhibit a on having 7 guys converge on the ball carrier and knock each other off of the ball carrier (a theme we have oft-repeated this year) and he then ran for 60 yards. texas beat us by dragging WRs into the middle of the D where we had just inserted a guy who had never played a down of D1 football before. once they got free in space they were ripping off HUGE chunks of yards.

proof ogbanaya 15 carries for 112 yards long of 62

cosby and shipley over 110 yards each

the real reason texas won was becasue they won the turnover battle and special teams battle

[P3 Gator]

you spew this stuff like you believe it.

osu is good at HOME when they play US. it may be one of the most lopsided rivalries in history, but for the most part the scores have all been close.

texas didn't run on us at all until the last series where we presented exhibit a on having 7 guys converge on the ball carrier and knock each other off of the ball carrier (a theme we have oft-repeated this year) and he then ran for 60 yards. texas beat us by dragging WRs into the middle of the D where we had just inserted a guy who had never played a down of D1 football before. once they got free in space they were ripping off HUGE chunks of yards.

proof ogbanaya 15 carries for 112 yards long of 62

cosby and shipley over 110 yards each

the real reason texas won was becasue they won the turnover battle and special teams battle

Yeah, losing the MLB sucked. What's the current status in the middle?

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

There's been a lot of "Big 12 Defense Sucks" crap going back and forth here, so the question is; what does OU do to shut down the UF spread? How do you account for the mobile QB creating his own play-action? Serious question, how have you shut down other spread option attacks?

none of us can sit here and answer your question because none of us know which D is going to show up. to this point, we've played well in streaks and poorly in streaks - mainly because of the play of personnel. we've had players step up and dominate games and then the next game just play like crap. in games where it has been the linebackers, we've given up a ton of yards (and sometimes points). in games where its been the safeties or the corners, we've given up a ton of big plays for points.

[OK2LA]

Nic Harris.


I stand corrected. Excellent point AzianSooner

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Yeah, losing the MLB sucked. What's the current status in the middle?

who knows. box practiced yesterday and balogun has gotten most of the reps. balogun looks good when he is out there, but they are hesitant so there must be matchups they don't like.

[sooner2b09]

As long as everyone sticks to their man and assignment, and if we really need it maybe put Box as a spy and just read Tebow.

[Mark_in_Tulsa]

I just make Tebow beat us with his arm. Or in other words stop him when he has the ball, and make him get rid of it.

54% of the time it's either a Tebow run or pass. So over half of the plays are ran by Tebow.

60% of the time it was either a Colt run or pass. So 3/5 of the plays for Texas were a Colt scramble or pass.

I think our game plan will be very simular to what we did to Texas in the first half before our injuries.

[SimpleBrent]

I would not think the Okie St game would be encouraging- Oregon ran a spread with a mobile QB and got run all over. OU is only marginally better than Okie St in terms of D. TX ran a spread scored 45 vs OU, OSU ran spread scored 41. Anything can happen in a given game, but by all accounts I think UF scores at least 40 on OU if UF takes care of the ball.

Florida is going to score in the 50's if they don't turn it over.

[boomermagic]

Florida is going to score in the 50's if they don't turn it over.


Before the TT game I thought they would score at least 40 on us.. It really does depend on which defense shows up for us.. If we play defense like we did against Tech no one can beat us.. I don't think anyone is giving us much of a chance...

[TMcGee86]

How do you account for the mobile QB creating his own play-action?

Sooner Magic.

[SoonerJack]

Florida is going to score in the 50's if they don't turn it over.

Everybody say Hi to SimpleBrent.

Have some more kool-aid, Brent.

OU fans, turn in your BCS Championship tix. No need to attend the game. SimpleBrent has spoken.

[catsigater]

you spew this stuff like you believe it.

osu is good at HOME when they play US. it may be one of the most lopsided rivalries in history, but for the most part the scores have all been close.

texas didn't run on us at all until the last series where we presented exhibit a on having 7 guys converge on the ball carrier and knock each other off of the ball carrier (a theme we have oft-repeated this year) and he then ran for 60 yards. texas beat us by dragging WRs into the middle of the D where we had just inserted a guy who had never played a down of D1 football before. once they got free in space they were ripping off HUGE chunks of yards.

proof ogbanaya 15 carries for 112 yards long of 62

cosby and shipley over 110 yards each

the real reason texas won was becasue they won the turnover battle and special teams battle

Why is it that OSU plays you close, esp. at home?

What mental edge does OSU have against a superior OU team that allows them to keep things close when they shouldn't be able to?

Is is intangibles? And are those intangibles the reason for OU's lack of recent success in BCS games?

I know this is borderline flaming, but if I were a nervous Nelly type of OU fan, I might be asking myself those questions.

[Landthief 1972]

Why is it that OSU plays you close, esp. at home?

What mental edge does OSU have against a superior OU team that allows them to keep things close when they shouldn't be able to?

Is is intangibles? And are those intangibles the reason for OU's lack of recent success in BCS games?

I know this is borderline flaming, but if I were a nervous Nelly type of OU fan, I might be asking myself those questions.

Especially at home? Aside from 2001, OSU gets blown out when they play at OU. It's only at Stoolwater where they have success.

I grew up in a town that was a big OSU supporter town. You simply don't understand the mentality of a Poke fan unless you've grown up around it. They would rather lose every other game of the season and beat OU than have a 10-win season with a loss to OU. They literally come just short of self-mutilation and virgin sacrifice the week before the OU games in Stoolwater. It's borderline psychotic.

[SoonerStormchaser]

Why is it that OSU plays you close, esp. at home?



Which "home" are you talking about? Ours or theirs?
If it's ours, then it really hasn't been close at Norman (save 2001, when they beat us...and I won't go into how I think the refs jobbed us on denying TRRW that INT).
If it's Stillwater, then the answer is because that game is their freaking Super Bowl...it's a rivalry game. OSU is like an old dude on Viagra...every once in awhile, they manage to get it up. That just so happens to be whenever they play us in Stillwater.

[Landthief 1972]

There's been a lot of "Big 12 Defense Sucks" crap going back and forth here, so the question is; what does OU do to shut down the UF spread? How do you account for the mobile QB creating his own play-action? Serious question, how have you shut down other spread option attacks?

I'd say the closest to Tebow would be K State's QB. He was big and hard to tackle. However, he was a lot more mobile and quicker than Tebow.

But who knows? In years past, Venebles seemed unwilling to adjust his defensive schemes to adapt to the offense. This year, he did try some new things, i.e. the Tech game was a fairly new look for OU's D this year; also the way he adapted with Nic Harris at LB the week after Texas.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Why is it that OSU plays you close, esp. at home?

What mental edge does OSU have against a superior OU team that allows them to keep things close when they shouldn't be able to?

Is is intangibles? And are those intangibles the reason for OU's lack of recent success in BCS games?

I know this is borderline flaming, but if I were a nervous Nelly type of OU fan, I might be asking myself those questions.

egads, have all of those losses to florida state over the last 2 decades been erased by a few years of success? i sure as heck know bobby bowden hasn't forgotten all of his losses to miami when he had the better team. rivalries bring out the best in teams because they BELIEVE. they go through the entire offseason practicing against us and believing. they research our personnel in their free time to find any sort of weaknesses because they want to beat us that badly. that is how insanely over the top they take this rivalry.

http://www.soonerstats.com/football/series/details.cfm?oppid=23&location=A&from=1895&to=2008&OUGameRank=All&OppGameRank=All

we played them their in 5 of the years we've won MNCs. they played us close in 3 of them.

[catsigater]

Thanks JKM, and to the other posters who replied to my question as to OSU playing you close when you play in Stillwater.

And thanks to those of you who negged me for my question also! :P

So if I understand you all correctly, OSU scoring 41 on OU had nothing to do with the type of offense they ran and everything to do with the fact the game was in Stillwater, and they "believed".

If that's the case, I feel a lot better about our chances. FSU sure believed this year, when we went into Ron Zook field at Doak Campbell stadium. We disabused them of their fantasies quite convincingly. 45-15

Edit: OK, maybe did flame a bit there.

[catsigater]

Which "home" are you talking about? Ours or theirs?

The statement I quoted in my post said OSU scored 41 because they are "good at HOME when they play US."

I assume that meant Stillwater.

[VA Sooner]

Comes down to:

1. How we protect the middle. Austin Box or Travis Lewis in the middle with Quentin moving to safety when Harris creeps up into the Will position. Lots of different looks and constantly shifting after Tebow has a look into the field. Had to do it with Texas Tech because Harrell reads the defense so quickly.

2. Tackling in space against the spread-offense. Approach and wrap-up... none of this diving for the legs, rolling for the trip, or pushing hoping to make a stop. Full-on tackle, very physical game in the beginning and hard-hitting secondary to reconsider making the catch.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

Thanks JKM, and to the other posters who replied to my question as to OSU playing you close when you play in Stillwater.

And thanks to those of you who negged me for my question also! :P

So if I understand you all correctly, OSU scoring 41 on OU had nothing to do with the type of offense they ran and everything to do with the fact the game was in Stillwater, and they "believed".

If that's the case, I feel a lot better about our chances. FSU sure believed this year, when we went into Ron Zook field at Doak Campbell stadium. We disabused them of their fantasies quite convincingly. 45-15

i don't think you are getting the subtle nuance here. WE are THEIR rivals, but THEY are not OUR rivals. its why they play us so close at home - for us its a regular game, for them its the game they circle when they commit.

[DCGator]

egads, have all of those losses to florida state over the last 2 decades been erased by a few years of success? i sure as heck know bobby bowden hasn't forgotten all of his losses to miami when he had the better team. rivalries bring out the best in teams because they BELIEVE. they go through the entire offseason practicing against us and believing. they research our personnel in their free time to find any sort of weaknesses because they want to beat us that badly. that is how insanely over the top they take this rivalry.

http://www.soonerstats.com/football/series/details.cfm?oppid=23&location=A&from=1895&to=2008&OUGameRank=All&OppGameRank=All

we played them their in 5 of the years we've won MNCs. they played us close in 3 of them.

I have to speak up here. First of all, Okie State is no FSU, especially in the 90's when FSU won 10+ games every season, won 2 MNCs and was ranked in the final top 4 every year.

Second, we traded home wins with FSU in the 90s, save only their 2 national championship teams, which beat us at home.

Third, the record is 10-10-1 over the last 2 decades, so I wouldn't say "all those FSU wins".

Lastly, FSU has never rattled off 5 wins in a row over UF in the history of the series, like the current UF win streak.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

so moving back to the original point of this thread. if our defense plays like it has for most of the season - 2 to 3 guys having horrible games - then i think that florida has an advantage over our defense that is going to take several turnovers to overcome. if all of them play average, then i think the turnover advantage moves closer to zero. if all of them play close to as good as they've played at one point in the season, i actually think we have a slight advantage on your offense.

shut out? long, long odds. slow you down enough to get you into catch up mode? yes.

[theresonly1OU]

Thanks JKM, and to the other posters who replied to my question as to OSU playing you close when you play in Stillwater.

And thanks to those of you who negged me for my question also! :P

So if I understand you all correctly, OSU scoring 41 on OU had nothing to do with the type of offense they ran and everything to do with the fact the game was in Stillwater, and they "believed".

If that's the case, I feel a lot better about our chances. FSU sure believed this year, when we went into Ron Zook field at Doak Campbell stadium. We disabused them of their fantasies quite convincingly. 45-15

Edit: OK, maybe did flame a bit there.

I don't think you understand correctly at all.

The year OU beat a "vastly superior" FSU team to win their last MNC, we beat osu 12-7, with I believe them throwing into the endzone on the last play.

I think they went 3-8 that year.

So by all means, start reassuring yourself now; it worked so well last time a team from florida took the fact the bedlam game was close as some kind of proof that we weren't as good as advertised.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

I have to speak up here. First of all, Okie State is no FSU, especially in the 90's when FSU won 10+ games every season, won 2 MNCs and was ranked in the final top 4 every year.

Second, we traded home wins with FSU in the 90s, save only their 2 national championship teams, which beat us at home.

Third, the record is 10-10-1 over the last 2 decades, so I wouldn't say "all those FSU wins".

Lastly, FSU has never rattled off 5 wins in a row over UF in the history of the series, like the current UF win streak.

well, that proves this isn't a rivalry. so there isn't one team in your history that ALWAYS plays you tough no matter how bad they are?

[PalmBeachSooner]

Why is it that OSU plays you close, esp. at home?

What mental edge does OSU have against a superior OU team that allows them to keep things close when they shouldn't be able to?

Is is intangibles? And are those intangibles the reason for OU's lack of recent success in BCS games?

I know this is borderline flaming, but if I were a nervous Nelly type of OU fan, I might be asking myself those questions.

It's not flaming. I think every team has a nemesis. OSU puts everything they have into their game with us. It seems to me that Florida has struggled against Miss. St. in Starksville. It doesn't make sense, but it's just one of those things.

[tigepilot]

Especially at home? Aside from 2001, OSU gets blown out when they play at OU. It's only at Stoolwater where they have success.

I grew up in a town that was a big OSU supporter town. You simply don't understand the mentality of a Poke fan unless you've grown up around it. They would rather lose every other game of the season and beat OU than have a 10-win season with a loss to OU. They literally come just short of self-mutilation and virgin sacrifice the week before the OU games in Stoolwater. It's borderline psychotic.

It should also be added that pokes are more about 'anit-sooner' than 'pro-cowboys'. They enjoy a Sooner loss (to other teams) WAY more than an OSU victory (again, to other teams) and I have stories to back that up. Think about how absurd that is... now imagine how they might be when OU shows up in Stillwater.

Meanwhile, for OU, OSU usually just another opponent with a losing record.

[WileyCoyote]

Thanks JKM, and to the other posters who replied to my question as to OSU playing you close when you play in Stillwater.

And thanks to those of you who negged me for my question also! :P

So if I understand you all correctly, OSU scoring 41 on OU had nothing to do with the type of offense they ran and everything to do with the fact the game was in Stillwater, and they "believed".

If that's the case, I feel a lot better about our chances. FSU sure believed this year, when we went into Ron Zook field at Doak Campbell stadium. We disabused them of their fantasies quite convincingly. 45-15

Edit: OK, maybe did flame a bit there.

You seem far too intelligent to not understand that the upcoming game's outcome will have NOTHING to do with anything we did in Stillwater....right?

I mean...you have followed enough college football to know that...right?

Or are you just baiting us for your amusement?

BOOOMER !!!!

[catsigater]

You seem far too intelligent to not understand that the upcoming game's outcome will have NOTHING to do with anything we did in Stillwater....right?

I mean...you have followed enough college football to know that...right?

Or are you just baiting us for your amusement?

BOOOMER !!!!

I was needling JKM a bit, yes. His argument against the observation that OU's D is only marginally better than OSUs - and that both exhibited weakness against balanced spread attacks - was that OSU plays OU tough at home and that TX ran against you when you lost your MLB.

If he'd just said what you said regarding how your performance in Stillwater may or may not be predictive of the game against UF*, I wouldn't have asked my question.

JKM laying the blame for OU's inability to stop OSU on it being played in Stillwater seemed curious, so I asked for an explanation (with a bit of eye-rolling, for sport).

However, if it is true OU has had trouble with a balanced spread attack in more than one game, that could be a predictor. Each game is different and there could be unrelated reasons for any given team's success against OU, but if more than one team with success against OU's D run similar offenses, surely the opposing coaches will look at that.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

lets take this to another level. ole miss has beaten you guys quite a bit in recent years correct? you have been ranked higher in every single game. what is it about ole miss that makes them play you much tougher than they should. now, multiply that times 5 and you have pokey state.

you can roll you eyes if you want, but bad oklahoma state teams have carved up very very good OU defenses in the past. my argument remains valid - you can take nothing from a rivalry game.

[catsigater]

lets take this to another level. ole miss has beaten you guys quite a bit in recent years correct? you have been ranked higher in every single game. what is it about ole miss that makes them play you much tougher than they should. now, multiply that times 5 and you have pokey state.

you can roll you eyes if you want, but bad oklahoma state teams have carved up very very good OU defenses in the past. my argument remains valid - you can take nothing from a rivalry game.

So do you think after the OSU game, OU's defensive brain trust just said, "We're not going to bother watching any film from our contest against the Cowboys. Hell, they always give us a tussle. Nothing to be learned here that will make us better?"

I sure hope so.

[Scott D]

catsi, why is it that in the last 10 years the Gators are 1-3 against Ole Miss with the lone win being in Oxford last year? Could it be that there is something "special" with Ole Miss when they face the Gators? All of the games in Gainsville are close (3 pt Ole Miss win and 1 pt Ole Miss win), you can't even use the Zook excuse, because Ole Miss was a middle of the pack team at the same time. In fact as bad a coach as Ed Orgeron is, the margin of Gator victory in the only win in the last 10 years was 6 points. What is it about Ole Miss' defense that not even Florida's offensive brain trust can't get past?

[OU_Sooners75]

So do you think after the OSU game, OU's defensive brain trust just said, "We're not going to bother watching any film from our contest against the Cowboys. Hell, they always give us a tussle. Nothing to be learned here that will make us better?"

I sure hope so.

You have no idea how this works do you?

Florida has their rivals...and it does not matter how bad those teams are, the games are usually close, especially when Florida is on the road.

Now then, only a fool would think OU does not watch the game film after playing OSU. No matter how good or bad they may be, it is still the only tool to evaluate how each player played.

Stop trying to take what OU/OSu did this year into account when trying evaluate the upcoming game between OU/Florida.

Let's take it a little further. Tech gained more yards and more points against Ole Miss than anyone else this year. Ole Miss beat Florida. OU skull phucked Tech. Hmmmm....

Does any of that matter leading into this game?

[WileyCoyote]

I was needling JKM a bit, yes. His argument against the observation that OU's D is only marginally better than OSUs - and that both exhibited weakness against balanced spread attacks - was that OSU plays OU tough at home and that TX ran against you when you lost your MLB.

If he'd just said what you said regarding how your performance in Stillwater may or may not be predictive of the game against UF*, I wouldn't have asked my question.

JKM laying the blame for OU's inability to stop OSU on it being played in Stillwater seemed curious, so I asked for an explanation (with a bit of eye-rolling, for sport).

However, if it is true OU has had trouble with a balanced spread attack in more than one game, that could be a predictor. Each game is different and there could be unrelated reasons for any given team's success against OU, but if more than one team with success against OU's D run similar offenses, surely the opposing coaches will look at that.

Understood...thanks for the clarification

Look....these rivalry games are nothing new....anything can happen....we just have a helluva lot of 'em from the old Big 8 days and OU/saxet days.

The truth is (boy I am gonna get hammered here), we have been whipping so many of these guys for so many years, that it makes their whole decade if they beat us once....hell, we have saved a lot of programs from obscurity with some of our losses and I aint trying to be funny or sound egotistical.

It goes with the Winning, thats all. We have this every friggin game, and its a good problem to have. You don't know how many games of the decade, century, millinieum we have faced. We love it.

BTW...this game against UF....I am looking for the physical matchups when they play....THIS stat analysis drives me nuts. I wasn't a math major. I just care about one equation/stat = Final Score.

These guys are all Class A athletes, they have great coaches and for me it will really come down to execution 1-on-1. Who handles their individual responsibilities in a high charged big game environment....MAN...what a pleasure to watch....

Let's Play...I can't stand much more conjecture


BOOMER !!!!!!

[Scott D]

So do you think after the OSU game, OU's defensive brain trust just said, "We're not going to bother watching any film from our contest against the Cowboys. Hell, they always give us a tussle. Nothing to be learned here that will make us better?"

I sure hope so.

But, to answer this question as well. The gameplan early on appeared to be to roll support onto Dez Bryant, and limit Robinson's movement out of the pocket as run support. This in turn left Damien Davis in single coverage which they used to move the ball. In fact, in the first half this worked well enough that 2 of the 3 Poke scores were field goals.

In the second half, the defense had to adjust coverage to give Davis a little more attention, and Bryant began to get room to catch some of the trademark OSU jump ball passes. That got the pokes 2 scores in the 3rd quarter.

That takes us to the 4th quarter, since as enough Gators have let us know, that's the only quarter that seems to matter. Other than finishing a 3rd quarter drive in the first minute of the 4th quarter the OSU offense did zip against the OU defense. In fact, after the 14:13 mark that Dez Bryant got his 2nd TD reception of the night, the only other OSU score was a 90 yd kickoff return by Perrish Cox whom should have been tackled at least 3x, the final being when 4 guys managed to knock each other off of the guy. In fact, excluding the drive that started in the 3rd quarter we outscored OSU 24-7 in the 4th quarter.

So clearly we learn from this game that the coaches went in with a defensive gameplan that worked in the first half. the pokes adjusted at halftime, and were able to get some momentum. our coaches however adjusted to meet those adjustments and shut the once alleged "greatest offense on earth" down to a halt.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

sigh. i'm thinking its impossible scott. how about we use texas a&m and texas

in 2006, 2007 the aggies barely finished above .500 yet they beat texas. they almost beat them in 2005 the year that texas won the MNC. for a long time, texas couldn't win at kyle field. that is a rivalry game.

[Scott D]

my guess is that outside of georgia it must be painfully obvious that florida has no actual rivals ;)

[BoulderSooner79]

I never saw a response as to why Ole Miss gives UF fits. Similarly, how has Oregon State beaten USC 2 out of the last 3 and very close to 3 of 4? Kansas State beat the horns 2 years in a row. Arkie has dinged LSU lately.

It happens. Sometimes the emotions of a rivalry and sometimes it's just a matter of playing styles and matchups. These less accomplished programs can design their teams around beating the big bully on the block, while the big bully pays more attention to other big bullies.

[catsigater]

Ok, we've run this as far as it can go. Your valid points on rivalry games are noted.

The reason we look to the OSU game for a little tea-leave reading is because they run a similar variant of the spread - one that leans more heavily on the run, with an athletic QB. You guys seem to want to pin all of OSU's success in scoring on OU this year simply on the fact it's a rivalry game.

And you seem to think we're just looking for a team that scored a lot on you as something to hang our hats on.

"Rivalry" may account for some of the score, but the fact is, an offense quite similar to UF*s gave you some serious trouble and kept pace until well into the 4th quarter.

I think the big reason OU won that game is because the pace finally wore down OSU's D. I also think we have an edge on OSU on both sides of the ball. I hope that also means we matchup better.

Whether that means we just last a little longer into the 4th before you pull away remains to be seen, but there are sound reasons to look at the OSU game, irrespective of whether it's a "rivalry" game.

[BigGobbler]

I didn't realize winning on the road by 20 was considered barely winning... I'll take a 1 point win at Stoolwater every year.... a 20 point win is a damn treat.

[Soonerman08]

Why is it that OSU plays you close, esp. at home?

What mental edge does OSU have against a superior OU team that allows them to keep things close when they shouldn't be able to?

Is is intangibles? And are those intangibles the reason for OU's lack of recent success in BCS games?

I know this is borderline flaming, but if I were a nervous Nelly type of OU fan, I might be asking myself those questions.


Something people forget two TDs they had cannot be blamed entirely on the Defense. We gave up a Special Teams TD and we had the fumble we recovered that was given back to OSU, i.e. the play that was never reviewed. I will deduct 14 for that very reason.

[Scott D]

Ok, we've run this as far as it can go. Your valid points on rivalry games are noted.

The reason we look to the OSU game for a little tea-leave reading is because they run a similar variant of the spread - one that leans more heavily on the run, with an athletic QB. You guys seem to want to pin all of OSU's success in scoring on OU this year simply on the fact it's a rivalry game.

And you seem to think we're just looking for a team that scored a lot on you as something to hang our hats on.

"Rivalry" may account for some of the score, but the fact is, an offense quite similar to UF*s gave you some serious trouble and kept pace until well into the 4th quarter.

I think the big reason OU won that game is because the pace finally wore down OSU's D. I also think we have an edge on OSU on both sides of the ball. I hope that also means we matchup better.

Whether that means we just last a little longer into the 4th before you pull away remains to be seen, but there are sound reasons to look at the OSU game, irrespective of whether it's a "rivalry" game.

ok let's flip this again. What gives you the impetus to believe that Florida matches up very well against the OU defense when one team faces some variation of a spread offense on a weekly basis. And the other team (UF) faces a spread offense in practices only, and potentially once or twice during the course of the season?

[CrimsonJim]

BOOMER !!!!!!

SOONER !!!!!!


BOOOMER !!!!

SOONER !!!!!!

Danget! Come on yall!! Am I the only one paying attention 'round here? ;)

[12]

The Gator fans are a class above the freakin' 'Bama fans.

[catsigater]

ok let's flip this again. What gives you the impetus to believe that Florida matches up very well against the OU defense when one team faces some variation of a spread offense on a weekly basis. And the other team (UF) faces a spread offense in practices only, and potentially once or twice during the course of the season?

Oooh, that's a good one!

I don't believe I said we match up "very well." I said I think we have an edge on OSU, which I believe we do athletically, and that I hope that edge translates into matching up better than they did. But there's no doubt OU will present problems we've not seen.

I actually think we'll handle your run ok. I know you have some gifted skill people and a tremendous offensive line, but I'm confident we'll be able to keep your run game in check. Run defense has been our strength. I don't think your guys will beat ours to the corner often and we have an excellent linebacking corp to stuff the middle.

I'm much more concerned, as are all OU's opponents, about the offensive tempo and your receiving corp, esp. Gresham who our DC has acknowledged will present huge problems. We're a middle of the road team as far as passing statistics.

We've got some extremely talented, young DBs, who've outperformed expectations this year, but they do give up the big play. Against OU that could be lethal.

But it all starts with Bradford.

There's no mystery about how to beat him. The difficulty comes in whether or not we can get enough pressure to hurry him, harry him and knock him down a few times, so he feels uncomfortable. That's a daunting task. Not only is Bradford one of the absolute best at dumping the ball off quickly, but he's protected by a great line.

(Of course your team will face the same challenge and opportunity with Tebow. He's much improved on quick reads this year, and not quite so fast to look for Harvin or just tuck the ball and run when he's in trouble, but our line must give him time.

One thing I do have to laugh at are the few comments from some OU fans about making Tebow "fear for his life." Without sounding like a complete groupie, this is the guy who, when he heard FSU fans cheering Harvin's injury, asked the coach to call his number so he could "hit somebody." The result was a pile dispersing TD run up the middle and the now famous "Braveheart" look he got from eating FSU's red endzone paint.

He likes to hit.)

If our athletic line can pressure Bradford early, I think it will be a good day for UF. If not, we'll have to hope to keep up in a shootout, which will be tough, to say the least.

[soonervegas]

How good is Tebow at throwing when he is having to run sideline to sideline with a DE chasing him?

[Scott D]

the success of our run game really hinges upon two factors. how often can we get at least one offensive lineman into second level blocking. and whether or not we can get spikes moving in the wrong direction.

I'd hardly call our offense a perimeter running game, but we're not a "bludgeon you to death with the same downhill run" running game like you saw with Alabama.

I'd say if we can get spikes going the wrong way initially at least 30% of the time or on his heals changing direction at least 30% of the time. then the run game will do well enough to keep your dl and lb honest in how they approach the passing game.

I still have to say for all the hype, Tebow is just Jake Locker with more experience, left handed, and a better team around him. Except Locker is probably faster, neither of them scare me half as much as the prospect of facing Josh Freeman scared me prior to our game against K-State...but that has a great deal more to do with consistency from them at their position in their various offenses.

[L-Boy]

ok let's flip this again. What gives you the impetus to believe that Florida matches up very well against the OU defense when one team faces some variation of a spread offense on a weekly basis. And the other team (UF) faces a spread offense in practices only, and potentially once or twice during the course of the season?

I think you are asking two questions there.

As to Gators O vs UF D - I don't see any reason to think the Gators offense is going to be less successful than the likes of a TX or an Okie St offense. I think they have similar or better athletes, and UF is balance both run and pass, like both of those schools. Perhaps you are saying since most SEC defenses don't see a lot of spreads, but OU sees it all the time, and that is an advantage, maybe, but from the little I have seen of the OU D, or any other Big 12 D (the 5 best teams anyway) I just don't have any evidence that they will stop the UF O.

I'll give you credit for at least acknowledging that the spread is not going to be completely foreign to the UF defense given the UF offense runs it - but you are right, its one thing to practice against it, its another thing to play against it. There is no doubt in my mind that OU is going to run up some yds and get some points, I just don't think they will get enough to prevail over UF's offense.

[OU_Sooners75]

I think you are asking two questions there.

As to Gators O vs UF D - I don't see any reason to think the Gators offense is going to be less successful than the likes of a TX or an Okie St offense. I think they have similar or better athletes, and UF is balance both run and pass, like both of those schools. Perhaps you are saying since most SEC defenses don't see a lot of spreads, but OU sees it all the time, and that is an advantage, maybe, but from the little I have seen of the OU D, or any other Big 12 D (the 5 best teams anyway) I just don't have any evidence that they will stop the UF O.

I'll give you credit for at least acknowledging that the spread is not going to be completely foreign to the UF defense given the UF offense runs it - but you are right, its one thing to practice against it, its another thing to play against it. There is no doubt in my mind that OU is going to run up some yds and get some points, I just don't think they will get enough to prevail over UF's offense.


Do you really think OU runs the spread?

LMFAO @ you if you do!

OU runs more of a traditional offense than a spread. However they do it without huddling.

Does OU have some spread in their aresnal of plays? Yes. But that is not what they run exclusively like Florida does. Florida has not seen anything like OU is about to throw at them. And Florida cannot prepare for that!

Also, it is not offense vs. offense. It is Offense. vs. Defense.

[catsigater]

Do you really think OU runs the spread?

LMFAO @ you if you do!

He was just answering the question from Scott D., who implied UF would have problems with OU, because UF only faces the spread in practice and once or twice at most during the season.

Here it is again...


ok let's flip this again. What gives you the impetus to believe that Florida matches up very well against the OU defense when one team faces some variation of a spread offense on a weekly basis. And the other team (UF) faces a spread offense in practices only, and potentially once or twice during the course of the season?

The question was, will UF have problems with OU's spread, because they don't see it as much. You've said yourself they do run the spread.

[Desert Sapper]

The Sooners run a version of the Northwestern spread, run a pro-formation offense, and run a power offense, all from the same personnel set, and no huddle. How cool is that? The Gators run virtually the same single-wing spread option Urban Meyer ran at Utah. It is exciting, takes advantage of personnel mismatches in the run game in particular, but also in the pass, and is tough to defend, because it requires reaction by defensive players, much like the triple option of old.

Both these offenses are amazing. The Sooners have scored more points because they are ridiculously diverse without having to change out personnel, and can beat you in whatever aspect of your D you leave open.

This could be a fun game to watch.

[Okie35]

There's been a lot of "Big 12 Defense Sucks" crap going back and forth here, so the question is; what does OU do to shut down the UF spread? How do you account for the mobile QB creating his own play-action? Serious question, how have you shut down other spread option attacks?

i'll put it this way we really don't have to stop you from running your plays when you least expect it we will cause a turnover... its been that way allllllllllll year... i don't care how good your spread is... and creating your own play action you mean zone reads?! we've seen them before... and veers... they're nothing new to ou...

[olevetonahill]

Ok, we've run this as far as it can go. Your valid points on rivalry games are noted.

The reason we look to the OSU game for a little tea-leave reading is because they run a similar variant of the spread - one that leans more heavily on the run, with an athletic QB. You guys seem to want to pin all of OSU's success in scoring on OU this year simply on the fact it's a rivalry game.

And you seem to think we're just looking for a team that scored a lot on you as something to hang our hats on.

"Rivalry" may account for some of the score, but the fact is, an offense quite similar to UF*s gave you some serious trouble and kept pace until well into the 4th quarter.

I think the big reason OU won that game is because the pace finally wore down OSU's D. I also think we have an edge on OSU on both sides of the ball. I hope that also means we matchup better.

Whether that means we just last a little longer into the 4th before you pull away remains to be seen, but there are sound reasons to look at the OSU game, irrespective of whether it's a "rivalry" game.

So Yer saying Yall are a Tad Bit better than oSu ?
Cool :D

[Scott D]

He was just answering the question from Scott D., who implied UF would have problems with OU, because UF only faces the spread in practice and once or twice at most during the season.

Here it is again...



The question was, will UF have problems with OU's spread, because they don't see it as much. You've said yourself they do run the spread.

actually I never really implied that OU runs a spread, I implied that the defense has faced some variation of the spread offense nearly every week of this past season.

[RedstickSooner]

Anyone else completely talked out at this point?

I don't remember feeling this hostile towards further debate after the 2003 or 2004 seasons, before their respective national championship games.

But for whatever reason, hearing more debate at this point is just like nails on chalkboard -- I haven't been around the board hardly at all, and while I'm curious for news and updates about the team, my general dislike for discourse seems to be keeping me away.

Anyone else finding it just downright tedious this go-'round?

[Sooner in the Bluegrass]

Anyone else finding it just downright tedious this go-'round?

Yup. It doesn't help living in an SEC state and hearing from UK fans about the superiority of the SEC. It's an inane, utterly fruitless line of argument.

[catsigater]

actually I never really implied that OU runs a spread, I implied that the defense has faced some variation of the spread offense nearly every week of this past season.

You may not have intended to imply that OU runs a spread, but that's what you did.


ok let's flip this again. What gives you the impetus to believe that Florida matches up very well against the OU defense when one team faces some variation of a spread offense on a weekly basis. And the other team (UF) faces a spread offense in practices only, and potentially once or twice during the course of the season?

Otherwise what was the point of saying that UFs* defense encounters the spread "in practices only, and potentially once or twice during the course of the season?"

Why would that matter, unless the fact that UF's* D didn't get much exposure to the spread might put them at a disadvantage?

It looks like you were trying to make the reasonable point that OU is not at a disadvantage facing UF's spread because they've faced similar offenses - a defensible argument, which I tried to address in my response. But your last sentence kind of gummed things up.

[sooneron]

I think what Scott meant was that UFla's D hasn't faced an offense that can show so many looks without swapping personnel or by doing it minimally. We can come out in the I, split out to the spread or pro formation etc...

Then there's that whole double TE thing that we haven't seen much of recently...

[catsigater]

I think what Scott meant was that UFla's D hasn't faced an offense that can show so many looks without swapping personnel or by doing it minimally. We can come out in the I, split out to the spread or pro formation etc...

Then there's that whole double TE thing that we haven't seen much of recently...

Yah, that offense is a nightmare for opposing Ds, no doubt. You just cannot make more than one or two mistakes per game and expect to keep up. We'll have to play our best d of the year, by far and hold the ball as long as we can.

Special teams may be the difference.

[Scott D]

*sigh* What I meant was that the OU defense faced some form of a spread offense basically every week the entire season. Florida faces one variation in practice, and perhaps two different variations during the season. It's more a point of how the prep by the defenses has to vary in terms of what they will be facing on a week to week basis, and how truthfully, the OU prep has had to be more diverse on a regular basis because of the type of offenses it faced.

I still contend that 75% of the SEC runs a 2.5 yards in a cloud of mud offensive systems. ;)

I was referring defense and defense.