It was a solid performance overall by the Sooners but it came against a TCU team that was evidently ready to fall apart rather than to rally and make a statement win. Here is a snapshot of the sorts of solutions that Ruffin McNeil had on offer in this game:
There have been a few big picture themes that are very clear regarding Lincoln Riley’s rule in Norman and some others that are murkier. It’s clear that Riley is a very effective recruiter that guarantees consistently strong classes for his program, he’s committed to the run game and creative in deploying it, he’s a really … [Read more…]
My big offseason question for Oklahoma and thus the Big 12 was how their defense would fare with a retooled DL, iffy and young LB corps, questionable schematic fit in the 3-4 defense, and then iffy run support up the middle from the safeties. I even questioned if they’d be soft on defense, then had … [Read more…]
Happy New Year everyone! Today is the day of the college football playoffs (and some other games) which is always exciting. They sure make the second game end late, but that’s alright, I’ve got enough juice for at least one more late night CFB binge before the offseason. I’ve written four previews of these playoff … [Read more…]
Undersized DL are becoming a pretty common theme to college football these days. Over at Inside Texas, Scipio Tex recently broke down how much Texas was getting out of their three-man DL fronts in the dime package they’ve ridden to dominance in the second half of this season. In that front Texas regularly relies on … [Read more…]
I’ve been re-watching the Oklahoma vs TCU game this morning and this 3rd and 3 play stood out to me. Something I’ve been trying to explain this season to all of the frustrated Texas fans is how much of the modern game, particularly in the Big 12, is determined on the field by the players. … [Read more…]
While I’ve been busy elsewhere this season, I’ve still kept up regularly with the Big 12. Much of the criticism of the conference or explanations for why it’s on shaky ground for the future are all valid and true but that doesn’t mean it can’t be the most entertaining league from year to year. One … [Read more…]
My chronicling of the Sooner defense over the offseason was fairly detailed as it seemed to me likely that Lincoln Riley would figure out how to build another top offense around Baker Mayfield and a loaded OL, but the defense was very much in question. The spring game showed a team that was very young … [Read more…]
So…my big question about Lincoln Riley and his time at Oklahoma was “how does he handle the defense and how does he handle Mike Stoops in particular?” It was beginning to look like nepotism that kept Mike Stoops around in Oklahoma, although he has had some solid units since returning and stands to see improvements … [Read more…]
Over at Football Study Hall I broke down how Stoops’ chosen successor earned that opportunity with his brilliant offenses over the last few years. After a good deal of reflection I think I’m ready to say that 2016 was probably the best offense that Oklahoma ever put on the field, they just didn’t have the … [Read more…]