Survive and Advance

[Octavian]

OU is a double digit favorite against the Canes this weekend in Norman. Everyone was very pleased with Week 1's performance....but if we get a one-point win on Saturday against Miami, I'll be more than happy to survive and advance.



I'm glad we get AP and CB back and that it's in Norman. We should be at full strength. And I think we'll need to be. This will most likely be the best D that we face all year. They're an athletic group of veterans who execute their assignments with discipline. They'll test our O for sure. The OL will have its hands full and Sam will have to prove he can avoid making youthful, turnover riddled mistakes when the heat is on.


An opening day hasn't left me in a better mood in a long while. We looked good...really good. Ya, it's only North Texas and some can scoff it away.....but a lot of other traditional powers took on cupcakes and none of them looked as impressive. This group executed and reacted like a Stoops team from the first half of the '00 Decade. We looked good again....but it'll all come to a miserable halt on Saturday if we don't execute and take care of the ball. Miami is talented enough to bring pressure and beat us in Norman if we play sloppy.


On the flip side, should we look stellar again and cover the spread with a double digit margin of victory....and whip the Canes and their veteran D with our freshman quarterback.....this season could get really fun.



Michigan is out.

Notre Dame, Tennessee, Florida St....out, out, out.

There'll be more big names fall before October arrives.



OU will face better offenses in Big XII play....but Sam won't see a more a complete defense on the rest of the schedule. We're flat-out more talented than just about every other team on the schedule and we get most of them in Norman. The RRS is what it is. We just gotta get by Miami first. Ten points. One point. Fifty points. Whatever. Just win baby and move on to the next round.

[yermom]

i'm going to be uneasy on this until the clock goes to 00:00 and we are ahead

been waiting for this game for years :D

[Miami1Fan]

first off let me say. I have the same outlook. 1 point, 20 points, 40 points - a win is a win. But I'm hoping for a Hurricane win of course.

Also, I do a page on a Hurricane Fan website - www.canespace.com. The page I do is called Break It Down - http://canespace.com/_wsn/page4.html. The idea is to break down the game from the Miami fan's point of view as well as from the point of view of a fan of the opposing team. It's broken down into 4 sections.

1) Why we should win. (3 reasons)
2) what we need to watch out for. (3 reasons)
3) Individual match ups to pay attention to. (3 match ups)
4) MVP for the game from our team (1 player)

I'm hoping this can be insightful and fun to do. If you are interested please send an e-mail to [email protected] with the subject line "Break It Down". Also can just respond to this topic and leave your e-mail for me to contact you. Another option is to simply hit the e-mail button here through the SoonersFan.com set up. If you have any questions you can either e-mail or post them here. Thanks. And hope to have an OU Fan's view.

Esteban

Also, don't mind the information we have on the Break It Down page currently. That was done to test out the format. It will be updated Thursday with hopefully an OU fan contributing.

[swardboy]

Octie baby, I kinda like your "Advance" analogy.....every game a playoff game. If we roll Miami it's going to cause a wave of excitement in the world of NCAA.

[swardboy]

first off let me say. I have the same outlook. 1 point, 20 points, 40 points - a win is a win. But I'm hoping for a Hurricane win of course.

Also, I do a page on a Hurricane Fan website - www.canespace.com (http://www.canespace.com). The page I do is called Break It Down - http://canespace.com/_wsn/page4.html. The idea is to break down the game from the Miami fan's point of view as well as from the point of view of a fan of the opposing team. It's broken down into 4 sections.

1) Why we should win. (3 reasons)
2) what we need to watch out for. (3 reasons)
3) Individual match ups to pay attention to. (3 match ups)
4) MVP for the game from our team (1 player)

I'm hoping this can be insightful and fun to do. If you are interested please send an e-mail to [email protected] with the subject line "Break It Down". Also can just respond to this topic and leave your e-mail for me to contact you. Another option is to simply hit the e-mail button here through the SoonersFan.com set up. If you have any questions you can either e-mail or post them here. Thanks. And hope to have an OU Fan's view.

Esteban

Also, don't mind the information we have on the Break It Down page currently. That was done to test out the format. It will be updated Thursday with hopefully an OU fan contributing.


Where's our stolen pifwafwi?

[fadada1]

Also, I do a page on a Hurricane Fan website...
miami has fans???

who knew.

:D

[Miami1Fan]

fadada1, there are plenty of us. We just turn up missing when there is a home game.

Also, you interested in representing OU fans?

[StuIsTheMan]

miami has fans???

who knew.

:D
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38201000/jpg/_38201942_miami300.jpg

[Octavian]

...every game a playoff game....



yes.


And after Miami, OU doesn't have many tougher "rounds" left on the schedule.


Probably only Dallas.

[option]

The canes offense is woeful, to say the least. However our D is top 10, and if our D-line can gt pressure on your young QB, the game should be a good one.

[MR2-Sooner86]

And after Miami, OU doesn't have many tougher "rounds" left on the schedule.

2001 OSU on line 1.
2003 KSU on line 2.

Yes, this game is big, VERY big. If we kill Miami we can clean house all the way to the championship. The thing is, seeing everybody else after Miami as "weak" or "not as tough" has lead us to miss the championship. Remember, if it weren't for OSU we would have already played Miami six years ago.

[Crimson Kid]

yes.


And after Miami, OU doesn't have many tougher "rounds" left on the schedule.


Probably only Dallas.

"If" we can man handle miami,and win, texass should be no problem.

[OSUAggie]

yes.


And after Miami, OU doesn't have many tougher "rounds" left on the schedule.


Probably only Dallas.

I see your confidence has somehow managed to skyrocket since the beat down on SLC.

[Octavian]

2001 OSU on line 1.
2003 KSU on line 2.

Yes, this game is big, VERY big. If we kill Miami we can clean house all the way to the championship. The thing is, seeing everybody else after Miami as "weak" or "not as tough" has lead us to miss the championship. Remember, if it weren't for OSU we would have already played Miami six years ago.






Sure, that's a good point (though in '03 we played for it all anyways).


But in the years that a late season collapse happened....we were either on the road in a hostile environment after a season altering injury ('02) or had a porous and inexperienced OL that couldn't protect an inexperienced QB ('01).


We have neither of those this year (so far...as in relation to the injuries).



But look at the schedule.



Best teams and locations of games:

Texas: neutral

Missouri: Norman

Texas A&M: Norman

Oklahoma St.: Norman



The only true road game we catch is in Lubbock.



By no means am I saying beating Miami....or even beating Miami and Texas....puts us in New Orleans.


But it's one of the tallest hurdles we must clear. Get past Miami and the picture looks much brighter.

[Octavian]

I see your confidence has somehow managed to skyrocket since the beat down on SLC.


dude, SLC would rawk Georgia's face off.

[MR2-Sooner86]

Sure, that's a good point (though in '03 we played for it all anyways).

True we played for it all. However, had we taken care of business in Kansas City there would have been no mix up. Sadly, since that game any game we're "suppose to win big" at I don't take for granted. I don't know what happened that night but I sure as hell don't want to see it again.

[Will]

A win over miami will keep us undefeated for the ou/tx game. i think that is a reasonable think to be happy about even if miami is not ranked in the polls ha

[Octavian]

True we played for it all. However, had we taken care of business in Kansas City there would have been no mix up. Sadly, since that game any game we're "suppose to win big" at I don't take for granted. I don't know what happened that night but I sure as hell don't want to see it again.


well that's for another thread. Again, not saying it's a guarantee.



Just saying if we win on Saturday...how many teams left on the schedule will we be favored to beat by single digits only?



Miami catches us at unique time early in the season when Bradford is at his greenest. A month from now, Sam will most likely be improved in his pre-snap reads and his progression of receivers in-play.


Our best (worst) time to lose is now. If we don't.....

[Crucifax Autumn]

My heart won't make it through a mere one point victory.

[Landthief 1972]

My heart won't make it through a mere one point victory.

I'm with you. I've had enough nail-biters the last two years to tide me over for a lifetime.

[yermom]

and i thought 2004 was bad :D

[KRYPTON]

fadada1, there are plenty of us. We just turn up missing when there is a home game because we're either too busy closing some coke deals, unloading our "lil frienz" or clinging to a converted 1953 Chevy Pickup somewhere a few nautical miles southwest of Bermuda.


Did I read that wrong? :texan:

[schlanker]

You guys are forgetting about Boulder. By no means am I saying that Colorado is any good but good teams seem to play bad up there. Blame it on the altitude or what ever you want.

Plus Colorado could very well be undefeated and very confident going into that game.

[cvsooner]

Take the games one at a time, focus on the one you've got right now, do what it takes to win it honorably.

That said, two things: one, what effect will having one day less to prepare (i.e., playing Tulsa on a Friday night next week) on the Sooners, especially if this is the tight game I expect?

Two, while most folks seemed to have been watching Louisville and Middle Tenn. in a basketball score shootout, I was watching Oregon State blow it big time against Cincy. OSU (the other one) outgained in first downs and yards, but lost seven turnovers.

Cincy is also a pretty good team. We play them next year, I believe?

The toughest part, it seems to me, as an athlete, is to get up and ready to play against the likes of a Utah State. I don't think Michigan expected to have the fight on their hands they had with App. State, and like our Fiesta Bowl, their comeback is mostly overlooked...they came within a whisker of winning it. (I wouldn't want to be Oregon this week. Come to think of it, I wouldn't want to be Oregon anytime.)

I see the Miami game as being a real struggle. It will be absolutely critical to play smart, not turn over the ball and no stupid penalties. I do think our defense will have an easier time stopping their offense than Marshall did. If our o-line can be physical and dominate for four quarters, we will win this game. Nobody at OU sounds overconfident, while Miami is on the verge of it.

I think Shannon is the right coach at the right time for that program, but they're a year or two away. I'm not looking forward to playing them next time, especially in Miami.

But...first things first.

[MiccoMacey]

Tulsa scares me more than Miami.

I know Miami has this all-world defense, but we have a pretty good offense. They have no offense, and we have an all-world defense as well.

Tulsa has a pretty good offense, and a somewhat good defense.

And, it's technically on the road.

[swardboy]

How do we handle a game at Tulsa? Ride busses up on gameday?