Tom Dinehart of Rivals.com is a major league caulk sucker

[milesl]

I'm enjoying all the positive stuff I've been reading about the Sooners after the Red River Shootout.
Until I got to Tom's write up about the game.

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1276075

But how good is Oklahoma? Think about it.

The Sooners beat an overrated Florida State team that played most of the game with a redshirt freshman quarterback. That same Seminoles squad lost to Wake Forest on Saturday. Oklahoma also topped a Missouri team that's breaking in a new quarterback and still is a work in progress.

And Texas? It's nowhere near ready for prime time and doesn't look like much of a measuring stick.

Bottom line: Oklahoma isn't on the same level as LSU and Alabama... and maybe even Wisconsin.

Is Oklahoma even the best team in the Big 12? Oklahoma State may be the best Big 12 squad.

Oklahoma's biggest flaw is its inability to run consistently. Dominique Whaley and Brennan Clay are nice running backs. But could they penetrate the defenses of LSU or Alabama? Without a productive, physical rushing attack, it's going to be difficult to beat the Tigers or Crimson Tide.

One big advantage for OU over Alabama and LSU: The Sooners have a great quarterback in Jones.

"I give them props," Texas running back Malcolm Brown said. "They had a great team."

But maybe not great enough to win the national championship.

"We have confidence, we're building, it's our fifth game," Stoops said. "We still can get better."

Oklahoma is going to have to if it wants to stand shoulder to shoulder with Alabama and LSU.


What is his problem?

[Blue]

Count me in as saying we can play with anyone with the talent we have.

[badger]

meh, we just need to keep winning them all, something bammer or lsu won't be doing come next month.

[Blue]

Alabama and LSU aren't worldbeaters. They both struggled today against two very bad teams in Vandy and florida. The SEC is overrated, but its gonna be up to someone to knock them off before we can talk smack.

[BetterSoonerThanLater]

that dooshnozzle is just bitter because he's trying to justify his purchase of the LHN.

[Okie35]

So Florida and Mississippi State aren't overrated? Ha, ok.

[LiveLaughLove]

OU has been dismantling these teams. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts.

OU demoralizes and physically beats down these teams, and they suddenly don't play as well afterward.

OU dismantles them and makes them look bad, so people think they were overrated and OU just exposed that.

Well, they were overrated...by OU standards.

If FSU had beaten us and not had so many guys get hurt, I truly believe they would be undefeated right now.

Couldnt the same be said about Arkansas? Oh wait, they are in the SEC so they couldn't be overrated. Nebbish maybe? Oh wait, the media love the Big 10+2.

[jk the sooner fan]

it's one mans opinion - why get upset over it

[3rdgensooner]

I wonder where he had FSU/MU/UT ranked before those games.

[guzziguy]

What Tom says about anything OU has as much affect on the season as your last fart.

[IronHorseSooner]

He was one of the few columnists in the preseason who didn't buy into us. We could win by 50 the rest of the year, and it still wouldn't please him. He has about as much credibility as Gary Danielson.

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

I'm enjoying all the positive stuff I've been reading about the Sooners after the Red River Shootout.
Until I got to Tom's write up about the game.

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1276075

But how good is Oklahoma? Think about it.

The Sooners beat an overrated Florida State team that played most of the game with a redshirt freshman quarterback. That same Seminoles squad lost to Wake Forest on Saturday. Oklahoma also topped a Missouri team that's breaking in a new quarterback and still is a work in progress.

And Texas? It's nowhere near ready for prime time and doesn't look like much of a measuring stick.

Bottom line: Oklahoma isn't on the same level as LSU and Alabama... and maybe even Wisconsin.

Is Oklahoma even the best team in the Big 12? Oklahoma State may be the best Big 12 squad.

Oklahoma's biggest flaw is its inability to run consistently. Dominique Whaley and Brennan Clay are nice running backs. But could they penetrate the defenses of LSU or Alabama? Without a productive, physical rushing attack, it's going to be difficult to beat the Tigers or Crimson Tide.

One big advantage for OU over Alabama and LSU: The Sooners have a great quarterback in Jones.

"I give them props," Texas running back Malcolm Brown said. "They had a great team."

But maybe not great enough to win the national championship.

"We have confidence, we're building, it's our fifth game," Stoops said. "We still can get better."

Oklahoma is going to have to if it wants to stand shoulder to shoulder with Alabama and LSU.


What is his problem?He has good points. We'll just have to keep winning, and play one of those SEC types in the Grand Finale.

[OU_Sooners75]

OU vs. Wisconsin in BCS Title!

[IronHorseSooner]

If he's playing Devil's Advocate, then that's fine. If he's trying to give us more bulletin board material, J have no problem with that either.

[PLaw]

As others have said, "Just keep winning, baby!" When the dust settles, I believe OU will be standing head and shoulders above the rest.

FSU - OU D put a major beat down on them, knocking out their QB which probably led them to losing their next game. Bottom line is OU stole their swag, albeit much of it may have been media hype. Regardless, they are a very athletic team that is trying to rediscover how to win.

* - more media hype than substance. It makes you wonder if these talking heads only base their insight on highlights. As one OU player said, "after watching game film, we knew we were faster and would be able to control the game".

SEC love - LSU and Bama are very good teams. Arkansas, UF, and Auburn are good teams. But, as for the rest, UGA; SC; UT; Vandy; Ole Miss; MSU; and Kentucky don't particularily look very good. So 5 of 12 are good.

[IronHorseSooner]

As others have said, "Just keep winning, baby!" When the dust settles, I believe OU will be standing head and shoulders above the rest.

FSU - OU D put a major beat down on them, knocking out their QB which probably led them to losing their next game. Bottom line is OU stole their swag, albeit much of it may have been media hype. Regardless, they are a very athletic team that is trying to rediscover how to win.

* - more media hype than substance. It makes you wonder if these talking heads only base their insight on highlights. As one OU player said, "after watching game film, we knew we were faster and would be able to control the game".

SEC love - LSU and Bama are very good teams. Arkansas, UF, and Auburn are good teams. But, as for the rest, UGA; SC; UT; Vandy; Ole Miss; MSU; and Kentucky don't particularily look very good. So 5 of 12 are good.

UF: Tejas East. Young, learning a new system, very talented, good in the FUTURE.
Auburn: Still getting benefit of the doubt from last year, but not near as good.
SC: Better now that Head Case is gone, but still good but not great (Jeffery and Lattimore are studs, though).
Arky: Us without a D, running game, or veteran QB.

[Keller Sooner]

He could be right. Alabama and LSU may be better than OU, but that's still to be determined. He could damn well be wrong too.

[Jacie]

He is right about the running game. Sooners have not shown a commitment nor the ability to shoving it down the opponent's throat by running over over/around/through them.

He is wrong in declaring osu the best team in the conference at this point, as that has yet to be determined. Forget comparative scores. The only way anyone will know before 12/3 is if either the Sooners or pokes fall to an opponent the other has beaten between now and then.

As was pointed out in the preseason, every team has flaws. One team gets to be called champion because it will overcome weaknesses and/or bad luck to keep on winning.

[Soonerfan88]

I noticed it's been updated since last night. Now he says OU probably isn't even best in the conference, it's OSU.

However, I read that because it is a featured story in Yahoo's scroll titled "Rivalry turns embarassing." If you only read the lead-in, its great for OU. :)

[IronHorseSooner]

He is right about the running game. Sooners have not shown a commitment nor the ability to shoving it down the opponent's throat by running over over/around/through them.

He is wrong in declaring osu the best team in the conference at this point, as that has yet to be determined. Forget comparative scores. The only way anyone will know before 12/3 is if either the Sooners or pokes fall to an opponent the other has beaten between now and then.

As was pointed out in the preseason, every team has flaws. One team gets to be called champion because it will overcome weaknesses and/or bad luck to keep on winning.

I would disagree about the run. The answer is "it depends." * loaded up against the run, so we went to the pass. In the Tulsa, FSU, and Mizzou games, we ran the ball efficiently, when they were set to defend Broyles/Stills and Co. The point is that Heupel simply takes what the D gives him. OUr next big game, I can't believe that I am going to say this, is KSTATE. I can guaran-darn-tee that The Evil Genius is going to come after LJ, and there will be some thuggery. The best way to stop that is to make them pay with heavy doses of Whaley, Millard, Clay, and Finch.

[Pricetag]

He has some valid points. It's quite a stretch to wonder if we're the best in the Big 12, but FSU does appear to have been overrated. Texas sucks--yesterday was not 2000 or 2003 where we hit a talented team in the mouth, and they folded. This was 2005 in reverse--Texas did not belong on the field with us yesterday.

This OU team still has a ton of work to do, and they need to stay hungry.

[Jacie]

I would disagree about the run. The answer is "it depends." * loaded up against the run, so we went to the pass. In the Tulsa, FSU, and Mizzou games, we ran the ball efficiently, when they were set to defend Broyles/Stills and Co. The point is that Heupel simply takes what the D gives him. OUr next big game, I can't believe that I am going to say this, is KSTATE. I can guaran-darn-tee that The Evil Genius is going to come after LJ, and there will be some thuggery. The best way to stop that is to make them pay with heavy doses of Whaley, Millard, Clay, and Finch.

I wondered if sa*et was selling out to stop the run and results would seem to indicate that. Thing is, we didn't see anything we did not expect. The whorn line is acknowledged as the best part of their defense, the secondary was known to be the weakest link. Sooners tested them, found that OUr running game was ineffective and so relied on LJ's arm and the receivers to move the ball. Sooners kicked two field goals after first-and-goal, which has become the norm for OUr offense. Hardly the mark of a team that runs the ball with authority. Note that OU scored one rushing touchdown after getting up 41-10 (and that on a 65-yard run), but threw for three more all in the second quarter.

So "it depends" on whether OUr opponent is completely out-manned up front or not to determine if the Sooners have a potent running attack.

[IronHorseSooner]

First, it's hard to run the ball with authority when a team is selling out for it. Second, why would you want to play into your opponent's strength? Trying to pound the ball against a good D-Line and an stacked box is foolish. When * decided to drop back more, Whaley gashed them for a 64-yd TD. My point is that if we play a team that is either going to bring pressure or drop back into 8 men in coverage, we have the tools to take advantage of that. What Heupel and Norvell did was tactically sound.

[Crimsontothecore]

I really don't disagree with anything he said.

[Widescreen]

I really don't disagree with anything he said.
So you think OSU is the best team in the Big 12? Interesting.

[sooner KB]

What is his problem?


that dooshnozzle


He has about as much credibility as Gary Danielson.

Huh??? Am I missing something here? Everything he wrote were fairly good points, a few somewhat controversial.

Oh wait, I forgot, everyone in the media is anti-OU. Nobody is supposed to say anything negative about OU for some bizarre reason or they're being big meanies or "dooshnozzles."

[Seamus]

He has good points. We'll just have to keep winning, and play one of those SEC types in the Grand Finale.

Agreed. Other than the following two lines ...


Bottom line: Oklahoma isn't on the same level as LSU and Alabama... and maybe even Wisconsin.

Is Oklahoma even the best team in the Big 12? Oklahoma State may be the best Big 12 squad.


... nothing he wrote seemed to be preposterous, or, really, that far from possibly being true. It's way too early in the season to be able to tell. At any rate, it's the writer's opinion, and it's really not a credibility issue. He raises reasonable points that, if we're to meet our goals, our coaches will need to address.

[Okie35]

I really don't disagree with anything he said.

I don't disagree w/ the run game if he meant in the redzone. I do however disagree w/ him comparing the teams we've beaten and the Oklahoma State comment. He'll really sound like an idiot if * hangs w/ the Pokes or surprisingly beats them. Florida and Mississippi State are terrible. He didn't acknowledge that but then again he's not talking about LSU.

[BetterSoonerThanLater]

Huh??? Am I missing something here? Everything he wrote were fairly good points, a few somewhat controversial.

Oh wait, I forgot, everyone in the media is anti-OU. Nobody is supposed to say anything negative about OU for some bizarre reason or they're being big meanies or "dooshnozzles."

easy there big guy, instead of extrapolating two words from my post, maybe you should quote the whole thing. i was actually being facetious. i could honestly care less what he says or writes. as for the dooshnozzle term, i'm sorry you got offended, and will try to be less malignant in my word choices---like dumbass or something.

[Sooner_Tuf]

He is right about the running game. Sooners have not shown a commitment nor the ability to shoving it down the opponent's throat by running over over/around/through them.

He is wrong in declaring osu the best team in the conference at this point, as that has yet to be determined. Forget comparative scores. The only way anyone will know before 12/3 is if either the Sooners or pokes fall to an opponent the other has beaten between now and then.

As was pointed out in the preseason, every team has flaws. One team gets to be called champion because it will overcome weaknesses and/or bad luck to keep on winning.

That was determined on Novembr 6, 1904 in Guthrie's Island Park. Nothing has changed.

[btb916]

Actually it's pretty controversial to think that OSU is better than OU. If he is going to say LSU/Bama are on a different level and base that partly on the past, he certainly has to consider the past 8 years of OU/OSU games.

And what basis does he have to believe that Wisconsin is better than OU? They soundly beat an overrated Nebraska team that we beat last year in a huge game, when Nebraska actually had a stellar defense. We soundly beat an overrated Texas team with far more talent on both sides of the ball. Why does that not count?

I don't tend to think the "media" has a bias against OU, but this writer falls prey to what a number of others have over Stoops' tenure: It's not a big game if OU wins big.

His analysis is based on a hunch that Bama and LSU are better because they're in the SEC. Past is not prologue and this Sooner team is special. Whether they can win it all or not, they would certainly be competitive against anyone in the nation. And to think otherwise is just stupid.

[47straight]

Bulletin Board material!!!

[Crimsontothecore]

So you think OSU is the best team in the Big 12? Interesting.
Do I think so? no. What he said was that they "may" be the best team and that's entirely possible whether you think it should be a possibility or not. If you feel insecure every time you read an article that doesn't heap total praise on OU and declare them national champs in October then I can't help ya.