Is the oSu defense comparable to the Sooners?

[picasso]

Last week, Kevin Ward on the Tulsa Animal was going through preseason rankings and stated that there was very little difference between OU and oSu. I disagreed and told him so on facebook, mentioning that he needed to look no further than the defense.
Well, he had John Holcombe on yesterday and they claimed that oSu's defense was right up there just a notch below OU's. Seriously.

Remember that Holcombe is oSu's color guy on the radio.

[Mad Dog Madsen]

You still listen to that joke of a radio show?

[jumperstop]

I'm glad I live in OKC where even all the former pokes only talk about OU on the radio.

[bigfatjerk]

OSU has to play 4 tough road games in Big 12 play. They could easily lose all 4 of those games and then they play OU in Stillwater. If they go 4-4 they will have had a great year in conference.

[rekamrettuB]

Only way Ok St defense is comparable to OU's is the fact they both place 11 players on the field.

[Bourbon St Sooner]

Team on the rise!

[NMSooner'80]

Last week, Kevin Ward on the Tulsa Animal was going through preseason rankings and stated that there was very little difference between OU and oSu. I disagreed and told him so on facebook, mentioning that he needed to look no further than the defense.
Well, he had John Holcombe on yesterday and they claimed that oSu's defense was right up there just a notch below OU's. Seriously.

Remember that Holcombe is oSu's color guy on the radio.


That sounds like the time Pizza the Hutt (Robert Allen) went on 640-AM and said OSU had the third-best defense in the league behind OU and Texas, circa 2004. Even Al, who tries not to be un-PC with OSU types, was in shock.

[Breadburner]

OSU has no idea how close they were to being 7-5 or 8-4 last year.....The big 12 has to have a down year for them to have a great year.....

[bigfatjerk]

OSU has no idea how close they were to being 7-5 or 8-4 last year.....The big 12 has to have a down year for them to have a great year.....

Exactly and they had all their toughest games at home.

[Breadburner]

O btw....There defense sucks.....!!!

[BoulderSooner79]

If oSu and OU end up with similar defenses this season, BV will get fired.

[SoonerNomad]

If oSu and OU end up with similar defenses this season, BV will get fired.

Sooners won't contend for the national championship unless defense is much better than the one that will take the field in Stillwater.

Oklahoma defense has been hit and miss over the past few years giving up way too many huge plays against these spread offenses. Biggest needs are improved defensive tackle play and to find some safeties that are appropriately aggressive on the run and able to cover in the deep zone. The corners and linebackers (albeit less so without Austin Box) are solid, but DT and Safety have me concerned.

Oklahoma State defense has been awful. I hope we're better than that.

[nativesooner]

Team on the rise!
That's been their saying since what, 2000? :D

[MiccoMacey]

Sooners won't contend for the national championship unless defense is much better than the one that will take the field in Stillwater.

Oklahoma defense has been hit and miss over the past few years giving up way too many huge plays against these spread offenses. Biggest needs are improved defensive tackle play and to find some safeties that are appropriately aggressive on the run and able to cover in the deep zone. The corners and linebackers (albeit less so without Austin Box) are solid, but DT and Safety have me concerned.

Oklahoma State defense has been awful. I hope we're better than that.

We lost Austin Box (RIP), and that'll be our biggest loss, but we also lost Daniel Noble (from concussions). Add in Fleming possibly (although I think he'll be back), to the losses we already had (Beal, Bacon, and our safeties) and our defense just isn't a NC defense.

I don't think OSU's defense will be better than OU's either, but those who think our defense will be as good or better than last year's may be in for a shock.

[nativesooner]

If oSu and OU end up with similar defenses this season, BV will get fired.

Heck some folks will call for his job after the first snap! :D

[Soonerfan88]

That's been their saying since what, 2000? :D

It was the mid or late '90s - I think 1996 or 1997. Saw a ticket one of my relatives still had as a souvenir (can't choose your family) that actually had "Team on the Rise" printed on it.

[bigfatjerk]

We lost Austin Box but still have Tom Wort and Corey Nelson who could en up better than Box.

Last years defense going in had more question marks than this years defense because last years defense was much younger. Corners were young, LBs were still younger last year with Box being injury prone, Wort being a freshman, only Lewis was experienced and wasn't hurt.

DTs last year were completely inexperienced. That's no longer true with McGee and McFarland who were the best 2 DTs we had last year both are still young. Also we didn't know where Ronnell Lewis was going to play still. Last years defense was much younger and had many more question marks and all of it is basically back. And some have more experience like Tony Jefferson, Hurst, Fleming. Our defense will be much better than last year. Remember last years defense really struggled early on. They played well the last few games. I just hope we can do better in special teams coverage and don't give up INTs for TDs.

[The Maestro]

Throughout last season, the two most polarizing offensive players for OU were Cameron Kenney and James Hanna. The jury was out on if they were big time players at OU. Kenney throughout the 2009 and some of the 2010 season had us wondering if he was worthy of a scholly at OU. Hanna had the big drop and wasn't the kind of tight end we were accustomed to at OU.

Hanna and Kenney combined for 10 catches for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns against the vaunted OSU defense.

Argument over.

[SoonerDood]

Okie State gave up SIX touchdowns to Nebraska! At Home! That same Nebraska team scored SIX points against Texas and A&M. And they lost their entire front seven from that "awesome" defense. I'm thinking the Pokies are closer to going 7-5 than repeating 11-2.

[bigfatjerk]

The only thing wrong with Hanna is he's not as good as Gresham. In the Stoops era he has the most TDs in a single season of any TE not named Gresham.

This includes Trent Smith.

[SoonerofAlabama]

Oklahoma has some talented players. We are still young, but we have much more experience. I am excited to see the progression of some of our younger players.

Of course, Tony Jefferson will be transitioning into a new role, but should be fine because it seems he will be a nickel back. Aaron Colvin played well last year when he had his chance and isn't completely inexperienced. He should do well, Fleming is still a question mark but I believe he will be back, I don't know where he would fit in now, but he is talented enough that he would get back on the field.

The linebackers are a question mark, it might just have been Stoops pumping a player up, but Corey Nelson seems like he needs to be on the field. He is a bit undersized as far as the spring depth chart says.

And on offense, RBs just need to be fitted in properly. I believe Williams and Finch will get the majority of the carries, but we have plenty of talent there, just not as much experience.

WRs, we have depth at, but are fairly young. As long as the two feature players stay healthy, we should be fine.

The O-line should be better. They have progressed overe the past few seasons and should hold up this year.

And James Hanna should have a pretty good year this season. He will be the main guy and he will have support from Ratteree also.

[Chiliman]

Only way Ok St defense is comparable to OU's is the fact they both place 11 players on the field.

No question.

[PalmBeachSooner]

Last week, Kevin Ward on the Tulsa Animal was going through preseason rankings and stated that there was very little difference between OU and oSu. I disagreed and told him so on facebook, mentioning that he needed to look no further than the defense.
Well, he had John Holcombe on yesterday and they claimed that oSu's defense was right up there just a notch below OU's. Seriously.

Remember that Holcombe is oSu's color guy on the radio.

They both play 11 guys. I think it ends there though.

[Lawton4Life]

That's been their saying since what, 2000? :D

My ticket from the 1996 game in Stillwater says it!

[101sooner]

Do statistics count in this discussion? I suppose Payne County Vo-Tech ignores those.

[MiccoMacey]

We're going to disagree on a few points here.


We lost Austin Box but still have Tom Wort and Corey Nelson who could en up better than Box.

Wort and Nelson COULD eventually wind up being better than Box. Especially as players. But neither have shown the ability to replace Box as a leader. Wort was pulled in favor of Box, because he was out of position more than once but also because he didn't have the leadership abilities Box had. There is no question our defense got immensely better at the same time Box was subbed for Wort. Getting people into the right position, making the right calls and reads...that's where we'll miss Austin the most on the field.

Remember in 2008 when we lost Ryan Reynolds against Texas? Box will probably end up being our biggest loss from last year, at least until someone can stand up and fill his leadership role.


Last years defense was much younger and had many more question marks and all of it is basically back.

All of it...except our best pass rusher, one of our better DTs before he went down with injury, our best signal-calling LB, an All-American safety, and possibly our best corner. And that's if everyone from last year makes it grade-wise.

Plus, two of the ones you mentioned are starting in a different position than the one they played last year (Jefferson and Colvin). Stoops has done wonders by making people change to fit their strengths (see Andre Woolfolk and Jammal Brown), but I'm hardly convinced a part-time starting CB is going to come in and there won't be a drop-off at his new position.

I know I'm making this sound more doom and gloom than need be, and I think we'll start off good and only get better (we always do). But last year's defense wasn't a stellar defense by any means until the end, and I just don't see us being world-beaters early on.

[soonerloyal]

Prepare for SF board loading lags due to excessive thread linkage from OrangePower... :D

[Salt City Sooner]

OSU has to play 4 tough road games in Big 12 play. They could easily lose all 4 of those games and then they play OU in Stillwater. If they go 4-4 they will have had a great year in conference.
If they go 4-4 in conference they'll have had the first rainout in school history.

[Okie35]

We lost Austin Box (RIP), and that'll be our biggest loss, but we also lost Daniel Noble (from concussions). Add in Fleming possibly (although I think he'll be back), to the losses we already had (Beal, Bacon, and our safeties) and our defense just isn't a NC defense.

I don't think OSU's defense will be better than OU's either, but those who think our defense will be as good or better than last year's may be in for a shock.

You never know we had so many people rotating in 2 deep. I think that we'll see a few players make their name known outside our fan base.

[Okie35]

We're going to disagree on a few points here.



Wort and Nelson COULD eventually wind up being better than Box. Especially as players. But neither have shown the ability to replace Box as a leader. Wort was pulled in favor of Box, because he was out of position more than once but also because he didn't have the leadership abilities Box had. There is no question our defense got immensely better at the same time Box was subbed for Wort. Getting people into the right position, making the right calls and reads...that's where we'll miss Austin the most on the field.

Remember in 2008 when we lost Ryan Reynolds against Texas? Box will probably end up being our biggest loss from last year, at least until someone can stand up and fill his leadership role.



All of it...except our best pass rusher, one of our better DTs before he went down with injury, our best signal-calling LB, an All-American safety, and possibly our best corner. And that's if everyone from last year makes it grade-wise.

Plus, two of the ones you mentioned are starting in a different position than the one they played last year (Jefferson and Colvin). Stoops has done wonders by making people change to fit their strengths (see Andre Woolfolk and Jammal Brown), but I'm hardly convinced a part-time starting CB is going to come in and there won't be a drop-off at his new position.

I know I'm making this sound more doom and gloom than need be, and I think we'll start off good and only get better (we always do). But last year's defense wasn't a stellar defense by any means until the end, and I just don't see us being world-beaters early on.

I really think Wort is going to step up big this year. He only really needs to work on his pursuits and coverage.

[SoonerofAlabama]

I really think Wort is going to step up big this year. He only really needs to work on his pursuits and coverage.

If you watch some of the Oklahoma highlights from last season, Wort definitely packed a punch when he tackled. He was a hard hitter, and yes he does have some things to work on.

[Flagstaffsooner]

toosu (the other osu) compared with OU in any way shape or form...

http://smellysocksdirtysneakers.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/laughing_cat.gif

[MI Sooner]

Is Jefferson's position called the Roy-back? I think I've heard it referred to as this. If so, I assume that's a reference to Roy Williams, right? But even though he was often close to the LOS, I only recall him playing that nickel/LB hybrid during the FSU title game. Otherwise, I thought he still occupied a traditional S spot, although he was probably moved around.

Am I the only one who doesn't really like the idea of Jefferson as a hybrid nickel/LB? He's much smaller than Roy, right? It might serve us well in Big XII play, but I guess I'm concerned that we won't be able to stop a power running game with guys like Ronnell at DE and smallish LBs.

I'd feel better about this defense's chances against a wider variety of opponents if we had a little more size, if not among the starters, at least among people we can rotate in and out.

[badger]

OSU has something going for it against OU on defense --- their crowd. We will likely go with our usual meerkat attack and a silent count or whatever, but it's much more difficult to pull off that stunt on the road... and stupid Nebraska and Colorado ensured that we'd be playing in Stillwater again this year :mad:

They've sold 31k season tickets so far, which doesn't include student sales (they'll probably have about 10k students) and they have several months to con a few thousand more into buying to be able to access the gooner game or whatever they call it. Of course they will also con Sooners into paying insane face value for their required allotment (credit the pokes! why don't more schools screwjob opposing fans like that?)

[BoulderSooner79]

Throughout last season, the two most polarizing offensive players for OU were Cameron Kenney and James Hanna. The jury was out on if they were big time players at OU. Kenney throughout the 2009 and some of the 2010 season had us wondering if he was worthy of a scholly at OU. Hanna had the big drop and wasn't the kind of tight end we were accustomed to at OU.

Hanna and Kenney combined for 10 catches for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns against the vaunted OSU defense.

Argument over.

Kenney also owned that Nebraska DB that was considered one of the best in the country. Kenney was the real deal once he figured things right before his OU career was over. I still think he gets a FA contract once this lockout thing is over.

[MiccoMacey]

You never know we had so many people rotating in 2 deep. I think that we'll see a few players make their name known outside our fan base.

Oh, I don't necessarily disagree...Stoops almost always has someone that makes a name that was (relatively) unheard of.

And a lot of our players have seen a lot of action. It bodes well in that experience is probably the main ingredient in getting better.

But it also is a negative in projecting things...I'm hoping McFarland has a break out year. But his past experience doesn't lead me to automatically believe he will.

Put it another way...we lost a ton of talent off a decent/pretty good defense. We're going to drop some (IMO). Usually NC caliber defenses are built off teams that have a ton of returning players...I think we're still too young to be considered in the elite category.

[BoulderSooner79]

We lost Austin Box (RIP), and that'll be our biggest loss, but we also lost Daniel Noble (from concussions). Add in Fleming possibly (although I think he'll be back), to the losses we already had (Beal, Bacon, and our safeties) and our defense just isn't a NC defense.
...


Perhaps. But Auburn didn't have one last year either - they were something like 107th in pass defense last year. And that's in the "pass happy" SEC (ha!). I see this year as similar to last in that no team will be super dominant in all phases of the game. Also, our '08 team had very average defensive stats and yet played well enough against the gators to win had our offense done it's thing. They held UF to the fewest points of the season.

[Okie35]

Oh, I don't necessarily disagree...Stoops almost always has someone that makes a name that was (relatively) unheard of.

And a lot of our players have seen a lot of action. It bodes well in that experience is probably the main ingredient in getting better.

But it also is a negative in projecting things...I'm hoping McFarland has a break out year. But his past experience doesn't lead me to automatically believe he will.

Put it another way...we lost a ton of talent off a decent/pretty good defense. We're going to drop some (IMO). Usually NC caliber defenses are built off teams that have a ton of returning players...I think we're still too young to be considered in the elite category.

Thats true but at the same time both defenses in the MNC last year weren't great defensive teams. I think McFarland may finally have a good year and the defense will be bend but not break.

[SoonerShay]

We ended up with a higher ranked defense than did Auburn last year, so having a "NC caliber" defense means top 60 defense apparently. I'm confident we can reach that goal.

[BoulderSooner79]

Thats true but at the same time both defenses in the MNC last year weren't great defensive teams. I think McFarland may finally have a good year and the defense will be bend but not break.

Exactly and I think this year could be similar in that no team will dominate on both sides of the ball. So a NC caliber defense may just be the defense of the team that wins it all - maybe dominant or maybe not. I just hope it's OU's defense.

[toast]

Well according to Sunday's Tulsa World, osu is a football school...so I imagine their defense should be top notch.

[MiccoMacey]

I hope you guys are right...other than OSU, what other very good offense will we face? Florida State? Texas A&M?

[NormanPride]

I don't think anyone in the Big 12 will really suck this year...

[usmc-sooner]

OSU scored a ****load of points on us last year (41)and they had a ton of turnovers.

However we scored 47 on them.

[EnragedOUfan]

I'll give them a little credit.......Their offense is good, but they've never set records comparable to OU nor can their offense beat OU. They have had some fire power (Woods, Pettigrew, Hunter, Bryant) recently....

[usmc-sooner]

their o coach is now partying in Morgantown

[Frozen Sooner]

That's been their saying since what, 2000? :D

They had a long way to go.


Last week, Kevin Ward on the Tulsa Animal was going through preseason rankings and stated that there was very little difference between OU and oSu. I disagreed and told him so on facebook, mentioning that he needed to look no further than the defense.
Well, he had John Holcombe on yesterday and they claimed that oSu's defense was right up there just a notch below OU's. Seriously.

Remember that Holcombe is oSu's color guy on the radio.

Sure they're comparable. "Much worse than" is a comparison.

[goingoneight]

As I saw the two deep coming into last season, when everyone was predicting it being better than the 2009 defense, I had two thoughts on how teams would beat OU's 2010 defense.

1. Double-team Jeremy Beal
2. Strong side... strong side.

Last year we had the bodies, but nowhere near the experience to be elite. The talent on hand eventually somewhat represented a Stoops defense, but they were very much a work in progress a year ago.

Now, that said... there's still work to do to make this a "feared" Stoops defense.

1. DE's seem to be a pretty good stable. I like the rotation of Alexander, Lewis, King and the guy the coaches can't seem to be excited enough about (Grissom). Two have two positions, and four guys your coaches are happy with means you're gonna be pretty good here. Losing Beal hurts, but so did losing Paul Thompson after 2006. Sometimes, the unit as a whole becomes stronger.
2. You can't write home with much excitement about OU's DT rotation a year ago; but you can say that McFarland, McGee and Casey Walker got a LOT of work in last year due to Taylor not being healthy. Very much like the Offensive line improved from 2009 to 2010, it should be expected that this group will be better in 2011. It has to be if it's healthy. Those three guys got a LOT of work in last year.
3. LB corps looks to be solid. There will be some early game mis-reads and some plays where a guy is out of position here or there, but much like the DL, there's too much experience for them to just be utterly lost for too long. Lewis, Nelson, Jefferson, Wort, Franklin and Ibiloye all have TONS of experience now. Couldn't be said a year ago. Austin Box's experience out-shined Wort in 2010, but Wort does have the ability to be as good or better. He has his health going for him, which is something Box struggled with unfortunately.
4. Secondary's thin, but I think it will be alright so long as the depth isn't tested due to injury. I expect Fleming to be back, and that can only be a good thing, even if he's behind in game-prep from being away for so long. He equates to experience. Second year under a pretty good secondary coach, too.

A lot of work, but not as much as it was a year ago in terms of having guys out there who know what they're doing.

[tcrb]

Last week, Kevin Ward on the Tulsa Animal was going through preseason rankings and stated that there was very little difference between OU and oSu. I disagreed and told him so on facebook, mentioning that he needed to look no further than the defense.
Well, he had John Holcombe on yesterday and they claimed that oSu's defense was right up there just a notch below OU's. Seriously.

Remember that Holcombe is oSu's color guy on the radio.

LOL

[VA Sooner]

We're going to disagree on a few points here.



Wort and Nelson COULD eventually wind up being better than Box. Especially as players. But neither have shown the ability to replace Box as a leader. Wort was pulled in favor of Box, because he was out of position more than once but also because he didn't have the leadership abilities Box had. There is no question our defense got immensely better at the same time Box was subbed for Wort. Getting people into the right position, making the right calls and reads...that's where we'll miss Austin the most on the field.

Remember in 2008 when we lost Ryan Reynolds against Texas? Box will probably end up being our biggest loss from last year, at least until someone can stand up and fill his leadership role.



All of it...except our best pass rusher, one of our better DTs before he went down with injury, our best signal-calling LB, an All-American safety, and possibly our best corner. And that's if everyone from last year makes it grade-wise.

Plus, two of the ones you mentioned are starting in a different position than the one they played last year (Jefferson and Colvin). Stoops has done wonders by making people change to fit their strengths (see Andre Woolfolk and Jammal Brown), but I'm hardly convinced a part-time starting CB is going to come in and there won't be a drop-off at his new position.

I know I'm making this sound more doom and gloom than need be, and I think we'll start off good and only get better (we always do). But last year's defense wasn't a stellar defense by any means until the end, and I just don't see us being world-beaters early on.




Agree more so with this post than some of the others. Box getting back into the middle LB position helped seal up the wide-open hole left by a very good, but undisciplined young LB in Wort. Now that he's had a year under his belt and some valuable playing time, it will hopefully be enough to fill the void in the middle that made us vulnerable in the first 6 games of last year.

Nelson needs to put on some more weight and he'll be a very solid back, more than capable to be a starter since he already has the game smarts and is a ballhawker. Very sound in his tackling.

DT is where we're thin but having McFarland and McGee get a year's worth of experience last year helps shore up the d-line. Noble gone will hurt as he a playmaker on the rise... you could see it with his limited time on the field even in his first year on the squad.

Corners and safeties will be fine... great athletes back there.

[VA Sooner]

As I saw the two deep coming into last season, when everyone was predicting it being better than the 2009 defense, I had two thoughts on how teams would beat OU's 2010 defense.

1. Double-team Jeremy Beal
2. Strong side... strong side.

Last year we had the bodies, but nowhere near the experience to be elite. The talent on hand eventually somewhat represented a Stoops defense, but they were very much a work in progress a year ago.

Now, that said... there's still work to do to make this a "feared" Stoops defense.

1. DE's seem to be a pretty good stable. I like the rotation of Alexander, Lewis, King and the guy the coaches can't seem to be excited enough about (Grissom). Two have two positions, and four guys your coaches are happy with means you're gonna be pretty good here. Losing Beal hurts, but so did losing Paul Thompson after 2006. Sometimes, the unit as a whole becomes stronger.
2. You can't write home with much excitement about OU's DT rotation a year ago; but you can say that McFarland, McGee and Casey Walker got a LOT of work in last year due to Taylor not being healthy. Very much like the Offensive line improved from 2009 to 2010, it should be expected that this group will be better in 2011. It has to be if it's healthy. Those three guys got a LOT of work in last year.
3. LB corps looks to be solid. There will be some early game mis-reads and some plays where a guy is out of position here or there, but much like the DL, there's too much experience for them to just be utterly lost for too long. Lewis, Nelson, Jefferson, Wort, Franklin and Ibiloye all have TONS of experience now. Couldn't be said a year ago. Austin Box's experience out-shined Wort in 2010, but Wort does have the ability to be as good or better. He has his health going for him, which is something Box struggled with unfortunately.
4. Secondary's thin, but I think it will be alright so long as the depth isn't tested due to injury. I expect Fleming to be back, and that can only be a good thing, even if he's behind in game-prep from being away for so long. He equates to experience. Second year under a pretty good secondary coach, too.

A lot of work, but not as much as it was a year ago in terms of having guys out there who know what they're doing.




Fleming will be back? Who's your source? I'll be very happy if he makes it back.

[Salt City Sooner]

OSU scored a ****load of points on us last year (41)and they had a ton of turnovers.

However we scored 47 on them.
True, but their offense only scored 27. Landry threw a pick 6 & OSU ran a kickoff back for another score.

FWIW, turnovers were a dead heat (each team had 3).

[Sooner_Tuf]

OSU's defense while incredibly opportunistic was terrible overall last year. They gave up tons of yards through the air and lots of points. Their run D might have been a little better but even Martinez passed for like four miles on them at home.

When all the dust settled last year how many ranked teams did they beat? Baylor and four loss A&M?

OSU was a big surprise with eleven wins last year but benefited from possibly the easiest schedule possible. The schedule returns to a more normal schedule this year for them. They all think they are going to win another eleven games. I think they are in for a big surprise unless they are a lot better than I think they are.

If OU can get some good play out of their DTs and find a strong Noseguard I think they will have a pretty salty D. Alexander and Lewis are going to have to step up their pass rush a bit. I think they will. Ronnell may not be as heavy as would like at DE but I dare you to name a RB in the Big XII that can run over him. I don't think there is a guy in the conference that Ronnell can't stand up and drive backwards. Ronnell went through the badass line many many times.

[King Barry's Back]

That's been their saying since what, 2000? :D

Yeah, but they're still risin'!!!

[stoopified]

No

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

http://asce.ceat.okstate.edu/Oklahoma-State-University-Main-Campus-0FACB922.png
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8317/yousuckpreviewaz8.jpg
http://www.grimmemennesker.dk/data/media/2/LOL.jpg

[Fraggle145]

I don't think anyone in the Big 12 will really suck this year...

*cough* Kansas *cough*

[CobraKai]

They are definitely comparable. Similarly you can definitely compare Western Sizzlin' to Ruth's Chris. In both cases the comparisons are pretty lopsided.

[NateHeupel]

Comparable??? Using what scale?

The only statistical category where OSU actually beat us was in rushing defense. Want to know why that was? Because their pass defense was 115th nationally out of 120 teams. That's not even good enough for a participation ribbon.

[Partial Qualifier]

They're so damn thin across the board. An injury here or there & they'll be in full excuse mode come November.

[Scott D]

They're so damn thin across the board. An injury here or there & they'll be in full excuse mode come Mid-September.

;)

[dabien]

Did you just say Austin Box will be our MLB?



Agree more so with this post than some of the others. Box getting back into the middle LB position helped seal up the wide-open hole left by a very good, but undisciplined young LB in Wort. Now that he's had a year under his belt and some valuable playing time, it will hopefully be enough to fill the void in the middle that made us vulnerable in the first 6 games of last year.

Nelson needs to put on some more weight and he'll be a very solid back, more than capable to be a starter since he already has the game smarts and is a ballhawker. Very sound in his tackling.

DT is where we're thin but having McFarland and McGee get a year's worth of experience last year helps shore up the d-line. Noble gone will hurt as he a playmaker on the rise... you could see it with his limited time on the field even in his first year on the squad.

Corners and safeties will be fine... great athletes back there.

[gaylordfan1]

I think we can all agree the answer is simply NO.

[Scott D]

Did you just say Austin Box will be our MLB?

no, the Box references were to last season.

[yukonsooner]

The Sunday DOK lead sports story is how Les was the foundation of the new and imporved aggies, first article in a series of 4. I'm lovin' it. Just build them up more and more. We all know what happens when the aggies try to live up to this type of hype - Poke Choke. I'm not an expert by any means and don't pretend to know all the X's and O's, but I do know that there is no way they are going to be an 11 win team again this year.

[AlboSooner]

every year this never fails: defense on the rise

[starclassic tama]

last year, i'm not so sure there was a huge difference. i fully expect this year's defense to be much improved though so i don't think the pokes will be on the same level

[goingoneight]

There was a big difference. Just because we were young and struggled at times, doesn't mean that they were on the same level as :stunned:. If we were on the same level, no way do we round out the season the way we did the last five games. You don't have to shut out opponents for your defense to be the difference-maker in a game. Even in a high-scoring affair such as the 47-41 game, 14 points were scored by **** poor kick coverage and Landry staring down Broyles on one play. Forcing punts, field goals and turnovers is what helped our offense ease their way through the toughest part of our season a year ago. And it's reason to believe that some of the youngsters were starting to get it for 2011.

[Xunil]

last year, i'm not so sure there was a huge difference. i fully expect this year's defense to be much improved though so i don't think the pokes will be on the same level

Big 12 statistics, OSU was 11th in pass defense. Opponents averaged a 62% completion rate. OU was 4th in pass defense. Opponents averaged a 54% completion rate.

[champions77]

The stats show that for the 2010 season, OU had the 4th best defense in the Big XII, and 53 Nationally, and the Pukes, with an easier schedule, were ranked 8th in the league and 88 Nationally.

For 2011, osu loses four of their front seven, most of which had been three year starters, so I don't see them improving much from last year.

Just wish our Special teams were as good as theirs.

[toast]

This morning Kevin Ward said he has 5 aggies on his pre-season all B12 team...surprisingly Robert Allen said he has more.

[picasso]

last year, i'm not so sure there was a huge difference. i fully expect this year's defense to be much improved though so i don't think the pokes will be on the same level

Look no further than the Nebbish game.

[soonerfan28]

I think their defense is getting faster in the back 7 but I think the difference is the Dlines.

[BOOMERBRADLEY]

Their problem will and always will be depth.


They might be able to convince one moron to go there but never 2 or 3

[NormanPride]

^^ this.

They have improved the talent in the back seven as far as speed goes, but I'm not sure they're all great football players. They had a hot year last year, but there is no guarantee that it will continue. They lost some of their best players from last year and it is infinitely harder to replace those guys for a team like OSU.

[SoonerDood]

Okie State Defense gave up 166 yards on three consective plays in crunch time in their biggest game of the season. At home.

Once again, this year's game will most likely come down to which team can stop the other more. Who's defense do you believe will do that?

[goingoneight]

We got a long way to go before predicting an OU/OSU outcome. Hell, give me Jason White against OSU in July of 2001 and we're in Pasadena.

[NMSooner'80]

This morning Kevin Ward said he has 5 aggies on his pre-season all B12 team...surprisingly Robert Allen said he has more.


I imagine that Pizza The Hutt will have some mind-boggling picks - and most would turn out like his reported, emphatic declaration back in 2007 that OSU had 3-4 QB's on its campus who were better than then-freshman starter Sam Bradford. :eek: