Closer than the score

[caphorns]

Obviously a game dictated by offensive mistakes - on both sides. This game was all about having the more mentally prepared team.

We have as many questions coming out as we did going in. I hope nobody ignores that on our side. QB at UT should still be an open battle IMO. Not sure that JC can be an every down back. Our safety play was excellent against the run and horrible against the pass. We need to bring up the young LBs quickly.

For you guys, I expect a tough match next year even without AD. PT was good, but certainly not irreplaceable. Gresham is Big 12 ROY potential. I seriously underestimated Iglesias. JJF is a great player. Your entire D is fast and very talented. They need to learn to lay some wood though. I thought the tackling was sound, but it lacked the old smash mouth style/aggressive that Mike Stoops generated. Not that he should ever listen to me, but it was obvious that Bob was focused on the wrong things in that game (arguing with refs about calls instead of focusing on 2 or 3 plays close to the Texas red zone in the late 3rd). That crap filters down to an attitude within the team that is not good - consistant across nearly every sport. Call it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Stoops is a better coach than this and I expect him to bounce back.

[colleyvillesooner]

Classy Post.

You can't win the game turning the ball over 5 times. Period.

[Octavian]

congrats, cap.

[Sooner_Bob]

Classy Post.

You can't win the game turning the ball over 5 times. Period.


Very true . . .

I have noticed Bob naggin' on the officials a little more than normal myself.

[Octavian]

Very true . . .

I have noticed Bob naggin' on the officials a little more than normal myself.

to be fair, I've noticed Bob's team getting screwed over by officials a lot more than what is normal. ;)

[boomer214]

Pretty sure Bob has nagged on the officials non-stop since he was hired... Almost as much as Krzyzewski nags on them.

[The Maestro]

I will say that Boones and I both were disappointed with the play of Rufus in this game. We needed a playmaker on defense and I don't think he met the challenge. Our LB's are not what I had hoped. Latimer leaves a lot to be desired. Anxious to see Patterson and Reynolds next year.

[Texas Golfer]

Thanks for your comments, Cappy. But I disagree with Bob needing to spend less time complaining to the refs.

Had Saturday's calls been isolated to that game only, I would agree with you. But it has become a pattern that the officials are against Bob, the Sooners, or both in recent games. Maybe it stems from his comments at the Tech screwing last year. But our last three losses were to the zebras and not to our opponents (with perhaps less so to UT).

With Tech and Oregon, our losses were direct results of poor calls on the field and the substantiation by the replay officials. I can understand poor calls on the field with the pace of play. There is no excuse for the replay official not to correct those mistakes. That is his only job!

Two of UT's TDs were direct results of the officials. After calling OU with offensive pass interference when the TE broke his block BEFORE the ball was thrown which called back a 40 yard gain that would have put us in the red zone, UT's receiver pushed off RIGHT BEFORE the ball arrived and was not called resulting in their first passing TD! And the lateral that was not a lateral...was just gravy for the Longhorns.

Bob has every right to be concerned. Not only are the officials screwing with our revenue, they could very well be costing AD the Heisman since it traditionally goes to the best player on the best team not the best player in the country. It could also be hurting our recruiting efforts.

Sorry about the tirade when your post didn't deserve it but Bob has every right to be ****ed. Unfortunately, until the NCAA does anything about it, college football may have the same reputation as boxing or, worse yet, wrestling.

[boomer214]

....Not only are the officials screwing with our revenue, they could very well be costing AD the Heisman since it traditionally goes to the best player on the best team not the best player in the country. It could also be hurting our recruiting efforts.

I think the time to worry about Peterson's heisman chances has come and gone... And it's not b/c of the refs... Lost 28-10 to an above-average Texas team. Refs didn't cause anything except people trying to make excuses for bad football.

[toast]

Nice post cap.

Got to disagree with texas golfer a little though, the calls had an impact but imo were nowhere near the reason OU lost the game.

[Herr Scholz]

Good game, Sooners. Sucks bad to lose that one. Don't lose heart. You guys have a good squad, just made some mental errors.

[caphorns]

Sorry for the critique thrown in there. I just think Stoops is a better coach than that and should know by now that he's wasting his energy. At the time he went nuts it was on a motion penalty (and the tackle did move), his team was deep in Texas territory, and he spent two critical plays with his headset off yapping at the refs. The turnover is not directly his fault, but maybe they wouldn't have been in a 3rd and long situation if they hadn't wasted 2nd down. Not sure what the assignments are on the team, but if Bob is not involved in the play calling, maybe he should be.

[yermom]

why can't you guys just be *******s? ;)

i agree though, we weren't really outclassed or anything, but our guys aren't coming off winning a National Championship last year, and you can tell.

turnovers and legit penalties were the biggest factor IMO

anyway, i hope you guys lose the rest of your games :D

[The Maestro]

Texas MIGHT lose at Nebraska, but that is absolutely the only chance they have of losing the rest of the way. TT is obviously down some and I am thinking if OSU can only rally to find a way to lose in Manhattan then Texas should be just fine. Now the horns against Chase Daniel could be a good matchup for the Big 12 title.

[sooner518]

when it comes down to it, Texas hit us harder and caused turnovers. They came out looking to hit us hard and casue fumbles. We didn't. If we cause 1 or 2 TO's we have a decent shot at winning that game.

The killer was Iglesias's fumble. We were still looking good and driving until he drops that ball in the UT redzone.

[caphorns]

Thanks 518. It did seem that your D was too focused on being in position to play instinctively and aggressively.

[william_brasky]

Good post cap. Thanks for the classy post.

Another reason why we miss Mikey. He used to let the refs have it as Bob focused on next play.

Come back Mikey, we need you.

[Flagstaffsooner]

Spek for Cappy and Herr. Classy to come over here and talk nice instead of rubbing it in.

[caphorns]

I think I agree that NU is the only real test left for us - except I think we will see them twice this year as they will win out the Big XII north.

Baylor - Mack eats these kinds of teams for breakfast. 99% chance of win.

NU - NU has racked up some rushing yardage against some horrible run defenses. Take away the run, like USC did, and this should be a win. First real road test for Colt. I think the RRS is sufficient training, but our offense still raises questionmarks. 60% chance of win.

Tech - Tech can't run the ball and can't defend the run. Not what you want to see if Mack's coming to town. Easier win than usual for us, particularly on the road. 85% chance of win.

Okie Light - Mack loves mediocre teams. These guys are quickly headed to well below mediocre this season. 95% chance of win.

KSU - This team is in total disarray offensively. The only thing this past week's win tells you is that OSU is even worse. Their D will keep them in games, but they probably don't score a point on us. 95% chance of win.

ATM - There's really nothing they do particularly well. But it's a rivalry game or is it? 90% chance of win.

Big 12 Title - will be with Nebraska. Really the same comments as before. The key to stopping Nebraska is not letting them run. I really like our chances here. Chizik has a great run D and we play exceptionally well in big games of late. Never thought I'd say that. The game is in KC which plays well for NU but not the home crowd atmosphere we'll face in a couple of weeks. 75% chance of winning.

[picasso]

I will say that Boones and I both were disappointed with the play of Rufus in this game. We needed a playmaker on defense and I don't think he met the challenge. Our LB's are not what I had hoped. Latimer leaves a lot to be desired. Anxious to see Patterson and Reynolds next year.
Latimer is very average. he wouldn't sniff the field a few years ago.

we've lost our bite on defense and it hurts.

[yur-out]

I just think Stoops is a better coach than that and should know by now that he's wasting his energy. At the time he went nuts it was on a motion penalty (and the tackle did move), his team was deep in Texas territory, and he spent two critical plays with his headset off yapping at the refs.
Cap, to be fair to Bob, I don't think he was arguing that the tackle moved. He was saying that some of the ut defenders were calling out snap counts (which is a no no). If that's the case, he better have his headset off yapping at the offical. It's their job to hear it and get it stopped (if that's what's actually going on).

[sooner518]

Thanks 518. It did seem that your D was too focused on being in position to play instinctively and aggressively.
I think the biggest hit we had all game was AD knocking the helmet off of the Texas player who recovered that Iglesias fumble. He could teach our D a thing or 2 about laying a hit on someone

[dougsooner]

I'm not so sure Missou won't be the North team in the BIG12 conf. championship game. Not sure when or where they play Neb. but that will be a big game....

[yur-out]

I think I agree that NU is the only real test left for us - except I think we will see them twice this year as they will win out the Big XII north.
I don't know if you'll see them twice or not, Mizzou may be for real (time will tell).

[caphorns]

Missouri is very overrated. Right now, they look like they have a good run D and a good D. They don't. Here's what they've played:

Murray State - 88th run offense in country.
Mississippi - 56th run offense in country, 110th in scoring. No balance.
New Mexico - 102nd run offense in country, 99th in scoring
Ohio - 95th run offense in country, 91st in scoring
Colorado - 44th best run offense in country, 108th in scoring, no balance, still managed 231 rushing yards and almost 400 total yards
TTU - 104th best run offense in country, 12th total. Had almost 400 yards passing in this game. Typical Tech unexplainable loss.

Missouri will lose 4 to 5 out of these remaining games: ATM, OU, Nebraska, ISU, Kansas.

[boomer214]

Cap,
I realize it's a 60-minute game... But it's been about a half-decade since you've had a halftime lead against OSU... To say they're not a threat to you is ignoring the past... If the hole continues to be as deep as it has been the last 2 years, Vince isn't there to pull you out anymore

[KC//CRIMSON]

why can't you guys just be *******s? ;)

i agree though, we weren't really outclassed or anything, but our guys aren't coming off winning a National Championship last year, and you can tell.

turnovers and legit penalties were the biggest factor IMO

anyway, i hope you guys lose the rest of your games :D

Dude, they are *******s. The only thing that would have made today better is if Pyongyang did a test run in Asstin.

Yeah, congrats whorns. I still wouldn't *iss on your face to put out a fire, but yeah, congrats.:texan:

[caphorns]

Cap,
I realize it's a 60-minute game... But it's been about a half-decade since you've had a halftime lead against OSU... To say they're not a threat to you is ignoring the past... If the hole continues to be as deep as it has been the last 2 years, Vince isn't there to pull you out anymore

Oh, I'm not ignoring the past. Despite their 1st half prowess, we've beaten the Cowpokes by more than 2 TDs 5 of the past 6 seasons. They've never beaten us in the Mack Brown era. Vince was only there for 3 of those contests. Then looking at the recent past, this OSU team got beat by Houston and Kansas State. I can't think they stand a chance of coming into Austin and winning that game.

[fwsooner22]

Good Job Cap and Herr.............You show a lot of class............

We have problems and every game is gonna be a dog fight..........

That game in Mizzzou could be troublesome.............

Good thing Tech can't throw it down the field or your safeties might come out with some scorches on their rears.

Good Luck

[Tear Down This Wall]

Texas MIGHT lose at Nebraska, if monkeys fly out of my butt....

Fixed.

[caphorns]

fw - Iowa State is tougher than Missouri. You guys will likely crush both and bounce back. I think you guys easily win out from here and will compete with Nebraska for either the Cotton Bowl or the Holiday Bowl (probably Cotton Bowl). A matchup with LSU in the Cotton would be fun to watch.

Tech has gone way downhill, but I'm not concerned about our D vs. the spread. We're tough to beat with a spread offense because our line doesn't need LB support to get a good rush on. So our odds of an interception or just a break up are substantially higher than in years past.

[The Maestro]

Wow! Congrats on the win and all, but if you think Iowa State is better than Missouri you really should slow down the celebration with Matthew and the bongo drums in Austin. What the hell would lead you to believe that?

[The Consumate Showman]

IMO, we were not the more disciplined team out there and it cost us. I swear, if Duke jumps off sides one more freakin' time...!!!!!!!!!!AGHHHHHHHH! That boy is good for at least one off sides and usually a hold every game! (Along with Messner).

I think also that our LB is pitiful compared to what it has been in the past. Rufus was SOOOO much better his soph campaign...Latimer just doesn't seem to be the same player and not having Reynolds is definetly hurting us. Reggie N E E D S to be back at CB and Jason Carter needs to be in there as the Safety. How many of you think that Reggie would not have allowed that TD to Sweed even if he did push off???

On offense, I think we are light years ahead of where we were last year. we just made WAYYYY too many mistakes. I mean, Iglesias hold on to the ball at the UT 15 and maybe we go on in for the score and it's a 21-17 game...then, yes, the screw job on the lateral. Take that away and maybe we drive the length of the field and go up 24-21...that's more of the type of game I expected to see out there. With the exception of Mesner not being that good of a OT, I think our offense can be really special if KW can pull his head outta his arse and start getting the ball to Gresham and Finley

One thing I can gather from this is that AD, IMO, is not quite ready for the pros. He has only been theough 1, yes, 1 spring practice at OU. He has missed some precious development time. Now I know, I know, he has great talent and athleticism and all that, but the boy needs more time to develop into a complete back and I wold hate to see him jump ship too early. He needs to learn how to pass block better (he has gotten better, but still not quite there 100% yet) and he needs to learn how to catch the ball out of the backfeild. That goal of him getting 500 yards recieveing is up in smoke right now. And when he goes to the NFL, they are going to want him to able to catch the ball out of the backfield and not drop the damn thing and/or let a questionable pass/lateral go bad like he did against UT. I'm just saying that I think he could use a little more prep for the NFL and he would be a freakin' awesome all-around RB come 2008. Right now, he is a hard runner that has explosive speed out in the open. If you notice, he gets ankle/leg tackled more than any other RB I've seen in a while. Now, if you hit him high, you're just dumb, he'll run through that, but get him really low and he falls too easy. Just some observations thus far and yes, he could have that corrected by the end of this year, but as far as the goals he set for himself when he came to OU...don't think he'll be getting that little trophy in December or that crytal ball in January...he very well could if he came back for another year though...We would have 4 SOLID juniors on OL, 3 SOLID junior WR, a phenom at TE, from what I keep hearing, a VERY talented and capable JUCO QB in Cade Cooper (a la Heupel), and what most would think a pretty solid D...Come on AD...1 more year!

[caphorns]

Wow! Congrats on the win and all, but if you think Iowa State is better than Missouri you really should slow down the celebration with Matthew and the bongo drums in Austin. What the hell would lead you to believe that?

I think I've spelled out my non-stoner reasons. Consider also how much harder ISU's schedule has been overall. Iowa, Texas and Nebraska already. While the toughest team Missouri has faced is a team that got beat by a mediocre TCU squad and barely pulled one out over ATM.

[jdsooner]

The defense did a fine job in holding Texas to 21, which is what I thought they would score. I figured that we would need to score 24 to win and we should have done so. The offense lost the game. The penalty that upset me the most was the offensive interference call on Finley.

I do think that there has been blatantly poor officiating in our last three losses. Of course, this was the same crew that did the TT game last year, so I'm sure they weren't upset with Stoops. I would imagine that they weren't going to give us the benefit of the doubt on anything and they did not.

That said, we killed ourselves with mistakes, including the underthrown pass to Kelley, Peterson tripping over Thompson, and the fumble by Iglesias. Texas deserved to win, but not by 18.

[jdsooner]

By the way, I just gave caphorns some positive spek and would suggest others doing the same.

[footballfanatic]

Cap, you are getting WAY too ahead of yourself. Texas will have a down game -- we always do. And this year, we don't have crazylegs to bail us out. Just relax, enjoy this great win against a quality team, and don't worry about anything past Baylor.

[jwlynn64]

Until Missouri gets beat, I think that you better count on them being the ones to beat. All of your arguments against them we used against your team prior to the RRS. And I don't think that your team answered any of the questions with this win.

As spotty as our D has been, your O still only put up 21 on us. Your D looks to be the real deal but Missouri really hasn't been tested yet so I think that the press is still out on them. As far as Iowa state being better, I think that you might be practicing a little wishful thinking on that.

Of course you'll get to see them play some decent teams before you guys have to worry about them so many questions should be answered before then.

Of yeah, congrats to your team. They didn't play spectacular but they force us to make mistakes and you took advantage of them. Hard to say but Mack had his team more ready to play than Stoops.

[Rock Hard Corn Frog]

The defense did a fine job in holding Texas to 21, which is what I thought they would score. I figured that we would need to score 24 to win and we should have done so. The offense lost the game. The penalty that upset me the most was the offensive interference call on Finley.

I do think that there has been blatantly poor officiating in our last three losses. Of course, this was the same crew that did the TT game last year, so I'm sure they weren't upset with Stoops. I would imagine that they weren't going to give us the benefit of the doubt on anything and they did not.

That said, we killed ourselves with mistakes, including the underthrown pass to Kelley, Peterson tripping over Thompson, and the fumble by Iglesias. Texas deserved to win, but not by 18.


Agree that the call that bothered me the most was the one on Finley. He was at the a LOS blocking on PA and then released. That isn't interference. I think the pass/lateral to AD went about 1 foot forward but that didn't bother me as much because we sort of deserved that result on that play because it was ill conceived and until I saw the replay I thought it was a lateral so I'm not going to gripe about that. It is what made the final margin larger than what it should have been but my suspicion was we were looking at a 21-10 Whorn win at that point anyway.

Agree entirely about our mistakes. I give the whorns credit for controlling both lines in the second half. The mistakes listed above and then also in the first series of the second half when Thompson went deep (to Gresham?) and that play didn't connect we lost an opportunity to be up by as much as 17 points. From that point on Hook 'em took charge.

I'm man enough to admit the better team won. I'm also optimistic enough that although we aren't playing for a championship this year (which is how we measure our season ultimately) I don't see why we can't run the table at this point and either play in the Cotton Bowl or with a lot of help maybe a BCS bowl (though not likely).

[jdsooner]

I don't think the better team won. When the better team makes mistakes, the better team loses. If Texas had been the dominant team, they would have won by a lot more. They had 5 gifts from us, plus some horrible calls by the refs.

[caphorns]

jd - you are not the "better team" if you make that many mistakes. Sorry, but I call bs on that concept.

jwlynn - we'll just have to disagree on this. I think Mizzou gets beat as early as this weekend with aggy and certainly by NU.

[12]

I just love the buddy-buddy posts after a loss. Makes me all warm and maggot-ee inside.

[KC//CRIMSON]

By the way, I just gave caphorns some positive spek and would suggest others doing the same.


Have you lost your *ucking mind?:les:

[Jason White's Third Knee]

Obviously a game dictated by offensive mistakes - on both sides. This game was all about having the more mentally prepared team.

We have as many questions coming out as we did going in. I hope nobody ignores that on our side. QB at UT should still be an open battle IMO. Not sure that JC can be an every down back. Our safety play was excellent against the run and horrible against the pass. We need to bring up the young LBs quickly.

For you guys, I expect a tough match next year even without AD. PT was good, but certainly not irreplaceable. Gresham is Big 12 ROY potential. I seriously underestimated Iglesias. JJF is a great player. Your entire D is fast and very talented. They need to learn to lay some wood though. I thought the tackling was sound, but it lacked the old smash mouth style/aggressive that Mike Stoops generated. Not that he should ever listen to me, but it was obvious that Bob was focused on the wrong things in that game (arguing with refs about calls instead of focusing on 2 or 3 plays close to the Texas red zone in the late 3rd). That crap filters down to an attitude within the team that is not good - consistant across nearly every sport. Call it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Stoops is a better coach than this and I expect him to bounce back.

Ahh, blow it out your ***, Cap. ;)

You guys played a mistake free game and OU was sloppy. We have talant and little discipline to compete at a high level. Our D, with the exception of Rufus, hasn't been a hard hitting team since Mike left and that's a fact. He took that intensity with him.

It's pretty shocking to see how sloppy we have become, but we are still young and I guess we'll have to give these guys a chance to grow up. Unfortunately, we'll lose ENA and AD before the team can gel.

[Jason White's Third Knee]

I don't think the better team won. When the better team makes mistakes, the better team loses. If Texas had been the dominant team, they would have won by a lot more. They had 5 gifts from us, plus some horrible calls by the refs.

What horrible calls? Granted, I was at the game and didn't have the luxury of replay (like it matters), but I only saw one bad call.

The pass int call against Finley was BS cause he pushed off at the line of scrimmage. He could have knocked the guy's d*ck in the dirt and it shouldn't have been called.

The rest of the calls looked ok (alright I saw a few holding 'no-calls' against texas, but that happens every play.)

[Texas Law Student]

Look, I've suffered through some horrible Texas years, and Tennessee is currently enduring Fumbles Int. McScramble, but I've never heard of any football team turning the ball over repeatedly, jumping offsides repeatedly, and somehow walking away being called the better team of any game.

Bob Stoops is one of the greatest football coaches of all time. This is not one of his better teams. This year and last year are rebuilding periods. We'll see OU dominant again in 2008.

[BoonesFarmSooner]

I thought the tackling was sound, but it lacked the old smash mouth style/aggressive that Mike Stoops generated.


$$$


On defense, we don't have that swagger. Maybe it's the players, misses in recruiting or an overall attitude, but go back and watch our D in the 2003 OU-TX game versus this year and it's night and day.

[OKC-SLC]

cap and herr,

your ability to come by as college football fans and not OU haters and be classy in victory is impressive. whorns before you have been less than so.

with that said, i can not spek either of you. i rather enjoy the quick identification of whorn fans by their red bars.

(oh, and i hope you lose all your effing games).

[Jason White's Third Knee]

cap and herr,

your ability to come by as college football fans and not OU haters and be classy in victory is impressive. whorns before you have been less than so.

with that said, i can not spek either of you. i rather enjoy the quick identification of whorn fans by their red bars.

(oh, and i hope you lose all your effing games).


Herr was classy? When? I musta missed something.

[OKC-SLC]

Herr was classy? When? I musta missed something.
the dress and makeup go a long way in my book.

[goingoneight]

[FONT=
Sorry about the tirade when your post didn't deserve it but Bob has every right to be ****ed. Unfortunately, until the NCAA does anything about it, college football may have the same reputation as boxing or, worse yet, wrestling.

I find it hard to believe only five people would show up to a football game...