Let's talk OU football

[cannon_fodder]

Time of possession:
BYU: 35:04   Tulsa: 24:56

Tulsa's average scoring drive this year has only taken 1:19 seconds.

It will be interesting to see if they decide to slow it down at all.  I'm betting they don't, probably a go for broke strategy of wearing them down as much as possible.  With their depth, that might not work.

Glad I don't have to make the call.

[Porky]

I doubt TU will have much of a choice on that as OU beats them down.

I still think it's going to be a fun game to watch and TU will have a lot to be proud about afterwards. But please give me a break that TU is going to run 1 minute drives against OU.

I think both teams will score in the 40-30 numbers.

[cannon_fodder]

Have you paid any attention to TU's offense this year?  They average something like 10 seconds per play, from the ball being blown into play to the play being blown dead.  1 minute would be 6 plays.

Do you think that is too many plays to average or too few?  If too few, than you think Tulsa's time of possession will improve.  

Bah!  I guess I dont really see what you are getting at.  Tulsa will probably not be able to walk over OU's defense, but that will not effect the drive time given the HUNH offense.   Will be interesting to see how it ends up to be sure.

[Porky]

What I'm getting at is TU vs OU is like a fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali, while both were in their prime. Both obviously great fighters but size rules and Ali would of beat Sugar Ray because of it.....and the same will hold true with OU beating TU.

[cannon_fodder]

That, I'm afraid, I have to agree with.

My guess is depth ends up killing us.  While TU athletes can probably outwork OU's starters off of sheer adrenaline (this isnt a big game for OU really), and I believe they are a decent match for OU... the work required to do so will rendered them spent by the end of the game. OU, on the other hand, has a second string that is just as athletic.  D'oh!

We'll find out for sure in about 30 hours.

[Porky]

And I'm ready, it's going to be a great game ...... no matter who the winner! []

[USRufnex]

After I watched the game last Saturday night/morning, I came to a few conclusions...

1.  It's a good thing this game is being played at Skelly.  Because I've never seen a no-huddle offense with so much talking, not to mention those signs on the sidelines... I was waiting for one of TU's offensive linemen to yell "bingo."  Crowd noise could mess things up...

2.  Tulsa's defense looked outmatched by BYU's linemen, etc.  So, the defense is gonna need some big turnover plays, blitzes, etc. to keep the OU offense honest...

3.  TU needs some big improvement this week on their special teams.  In the second half against BYU, I started rooting for TU to just put all their kickoffs out of bounds and give the Cougars the ball on the 35...

But hey... this is the matchup of the two best college football teams in Oklahoma this year... sorry, Pokes.  []

[cannon_fodder]

1) TU changed about every third play at the line against BYU.  Graham also said he had the offense slow down because of the physical play of the BYU offense (big damn backs) to give the D a break.  Normally (as away at ULM) the ball is snapped about as soon as it is set and the play calling is all with cards, no speaking.

2) I will not say outmatched, I will say they were outsized by BYU's line.  They will need some big plays for sure.

3) The difference between 1st half and 2nd half for TU against BYU was night and day.  The first half I would agree with you - it was TERRIBLE.  The second half (I dont know if they changed kickers, but they sure yelled STAY IN YOUR *^$*&%^ LANES!) was much improved.  Only to the point of average... but still.

Lets see how thins goes.  I took TU against the spread (24.5 - and growing after Miami pounded aTm).  I'll be wearing Blue, rooting for your home team.

[waterboy]

On paper OU has great edge. If TU starts slow, the Sooners will bury them early and no second half rally will help. Typically OU manages to grind down good teams that display innovative, high octane offenses with their superior depth (texas tech a few years back was a good example).

TU gets a good start and stays even at the half, could be a different story. The only weakness that I see on this Sooner team is one they've had for decades. Fumble-itis. Even some of those amazing catches that they made and strong runs, they were juggling the ball. Athletic players often overlook the basics of ball handling. Miami saw that and started swiping at the ball carriers.

OU 38 - TU 28 Paul Smith and TU will look good but the OU defensive backfield will determine the outcome.

[MichaelC]

The difference between OU, and a lot of the BigXII, is that they're good enough at most positions that they can focus on one thing and nothing else falls apart.  Like, say, TU's air attack.  If they can shut down the air, odds are OU's defense will still shut down ground (compare that to OSU versus Tech, OSU will try to shut anything down and keep their fingers crossed on the rest).  If OU can run the ball well, they'll pass well, and vice-versa.

TU's defense has shown me next to nothing so far.  Need more Germanys and Karatepeyans.  But, they are running into a somewhat different scheme this time.  At home, hopefully a majority of TU fans in the stadium.  The defense may be a better match for OU, than BYU or even ULM.  Different schemes, different types of match-ups.

And offensively, TU has learned the long ball.  Which is certainly an improvement from last year.  OUs defense is stout, but there's no telling how they'll react if they get burned a couple times.  It hasn't happened yet, they haven't seen an offense remotely like this.  They haven't seen an offense with any "capability".  And the last decent QB that OUs defense saw, was last year against Boise State.

[Breadburner]

[MichaelC]

The overwhelming sound of crickets.

I went and did something else when it was 24-7.  OU wasn't doing much right, but I was tired of seeing Colorado commit ritualistic suicide.  Ugly game, what I saw of it.

[Breadburner]

If you can't hold onto the ball your chances of winning go down dramaticlly........Very frustrating to give a game away like that..I would love to ask the coaching staff some questions (Kevin Wilson).......

[Breadburner]

[Breadburner]