The Elephant in the room...

[Collier11]

with some of the juggernaut offenses we have had, how do we only average 21.6 ppg in our bowl games under Stoops. It seems like we get to a bowl game(minus the Boise game) and our offense freezes up.

I realize we are playing really good teams typically but we should be scoring a hell of a lot more than 21.6ppg with the offensive talent that we have had.

It just doesnt make sense to me why this happens every single time, our offensive execution falls apart, our O-lines fall apart, we just lose our offensive identity...why is that?

[Position Limit]

my conclusion is that the big 12 has weak, slow defenses. also, teams have lots of time to prepare when they wait around for a month before they play a bcs game. and i'm totally convinced that until the big12 becomes more competitive, OU will struggle in bowl games. OU is just too powerful for it own good when it comes to the big 12. i'll really help going on the road early this year playing miami and byu. i just hope they are not total blowouts.

[Soonerhaze]

The real reason is that there is too long of a layoff in between conference championship games and bowl games. Look at every team, not just us, Florida averaged over 40 a game last year, how many did they score against our "suspect" D? How bout Texas? They seemed to have a pretty good "O" last year and they scored how many against Ohio State a slow Big 10 defense? If you look at averages for every team, I'm willing to bet their scoring average is way down in bowl games.

When you have an offense, especially like ours that is dependent upon timing and rhythm, then you can't take a month off and think you're going to be as crisp as you were mid to late season. It's just the simply fact. Think of The Indianapolis Colts a few years ago when they sat their starters out like 2 games before the playoffs and ended up losing the first game and only scoring like 14 points. That was an offense that averaged over 30 in the NFL. This is just another reason to push a playoff or change the bowl system in some way.

[TheUnnamedSooner]

^^^ Agreed, the big layoffs help defenses tremendously and hurt offenses.

[oudivesherpa]

^^^ Agreed, the big layoffs help defenses tremendously and hurt offenses.

Does that mean to take the under in the BYU game? Also, in the first few games we seem to be keeping the offense very plain possibly for fear of showing two much of of offense too early.

[MiccoMacey]

Great first post, haze. And spot on.

Plus, those 21 ppg in bowls was against vastly superior talent than we normally faced throughout the course of a regular season.

We may have played a Texas or Texas Tech, but we also played some Baylors and ISUs.

In bowl games, we played:

2008 - #1 Florida
2007 - #7 WVU
2006 - #5 Boise State
2004 - #1 USC
2003 - #2 LSU

That's a tougher bowl schedule than any other team, I can just about guarantee that.

[Harry Beanbag]

1. We tend to play really good teams in bowl games.
2. Our staff seems to be a little arrogant and not great at scouting their own team and breaking tendencies. JMO.
3. Long layoff.

[soonermix]

the best comment i have seen about our play at least last year was that we "outsmarted" ourselves against uf

[rainiersooner]

I don't have the time or patience to do it, but it would be interesting to see how other teams do in BCS bowls in comparing their average offense over the season to the offense in the BCS game. Anyone got a spare couple of hours on their hands?

[bent rider]

Does that mean to take the under in the BYU game?

Not sure what the o/u is going to be, but byu's defense is Maurice Clarett SLOOWWWW


*Texas* IS GOD'S COUNTRY---IF YOU'RE AN AIR CONDITIONING SALESMAN

[soonervegas]

Better teams (I think OU is frankly stunned sometimes in the step up in competition - which speaks to a wweak conference)
Longer Time to Scout (Letting Carol, Saban, and Meyer get 30 days to prepare would slow down the Pats)

Hence, when you are inside the 5 twice in the 1st half...you need capitalize on those opportunities. Two field goals in the 1st half allow the whole 4th quarter to be played differently.

[Soonerhaze]

Macey, thanks bro, I appreciate the props.

Now onto the subject, I don't believe the "weak conference" excuse. Especially last year in the Big 12. Our conference was obviously the strongest in the nation last year, and that comes from the ESPN guys, not me and you know they are all infatuated with the SEC and thinks it's the best conference in the universe.

My opinion is this: We beat ourselves against Florida. We should have kicked field goals and not been so arrogant. I think Bob had something to prove in that game and it got the best of him. Looking back, there was no reason for us to lose that game.

Against West Virginia: We lost a lot of guys, what like 11 and 6 were starters? WVU was a great team that year and had tons of motivation after losing their coach.

BSU: We just weren't that good. We had a reciever playing QB.

USC: Never happened. Have no clue what you're talking about.

LSU: Could have gone either way. 1 more quarter and that game was ours. Play better first half, that game is ours.

So basically I'm saying this: We have been blessed to have a heck of a coaching staff that has gotten the utmost out of our players and we've played some damn good teams. I still believe the layoff is what causes the lack of "O" across the board, not just us or Big 12 teams.

[OUmillenium]

^ I'm with this guy...and I know its a guy because it has no Jenni Carlson sounding fluff in it.

[DallasSooner87]

My guess has probably been stated, but it is probably lots of factors.

1) There is a month off between the end of the regular season and the bowl game. Practice doesn't simulate game speed period. I know both teams have to go through it, but some teams seem to handle it better than others. We tend to fall in the latter category recently.

2) Big 12 defenses are about as threatening as a sieve with a big hole cut in the middle just for good measure.

3) And probably the least likely of them but plausible. Nerves. Nervousness causes bad execution, it gets in the head of the players if they admit it or not. Look a the title game last year. Two trips inside the ten, zero points. If DM had been there who knows or the play calling was different etc etc etc.

I am really sick of the off-season though, I just want the team to get back on the field and win the dang title.

Boomer