OU 42/Kansas State 30 – The Return Of Ugly Football
Oklahoma had some remarkable stat lines on Saturday night against the Kansas State Wildcats. Ryan Broyles caught 8 passes for 92 yards and 2 scores. He also carried the ball twice for 23 yards. Landry Jones completed 70% of his passes for 296 yards and 4 touchdowns. DeMarco Murray averaged 4.1 yards per carry and Chris Brown was even better at 5.5. In all, Oklahoma's offense produced 458 total yards.
However, some of the stats that are going to stand out more to Sooner fans are 8 penalties for 85 yards, 156 receiving yards and 195 kick return yards by Brandon Banks, being outscored 30-21 after the first quarter and a shameful 1st and 45 that OU was very fortunate to convert and keep a touchdown drive alive.
Ultimately the stat that carries the most weight were the 42 points that Oklahoma put on the board compared to K-State's 30. It's just that beating K-State by 12 at home after leading 21-0 in the first quarter is a bit unsettling. OU saw that lead cut to within 5 points twice and despite the fact that Landry Jones orchestrated two crucial scoring drives in the 4th quarter, to push the lead back to 12 on both occasions, everyone in crimson and cream knew that our Sooners had just dodged a bullet.
We should give the Wildcats all the credit that they deserve for not quitting when down on the road by 21 points early. How about giving Bill Snyder some credit for coming up yet another game plan to make a good OU defense just look silly? Kansas State came to play and that's exactly what they did and they did it without hesitation. For whatever reason, be it caused by Kansas State or by coaching, Oklahoma's offensive machine was put in neutral after the first quarter and didn't return to gear until the fourth when Jones went 10-for-10 passing and DeMarco Murray scored both by receiving and running. It was just the second time this season OU has won back-to-back games and the first time they were able to match their opponents point for point in order to preserve a win.
It was ugly at best Saturday night for Oklahoma. We saw things from this team that we had hoped were buried for the season. Instead there were false starts, holding penalties and the resurrection of the, "and 45 yards to go" phrase. However, can we all just agree than an ugly win is better than a pretty loss?
Quotables
"Defensively there in the fourth quarter they came up with a few stops when we had to have them. It was a positive game that way. No turnovers for us was really great. I thought we ran the ball and that was really positive."
"I thought the line held up and protected. Landry threw good balls. Those guys came up in open spaces and caught the ball better, and we made more competitive plays that way. It was good to see our running game be productive. I thought Chris (Brown) and DeMarco (Murray) really ran physical."
"Dejuan (Miller) made some really good plays and competitive plays. It appears to me that a lot of those guys are just settling in and getting more comfortable competing in those moments and making those plays they are capable of making." - Bob Stoops
"I thought that we gave up some third downs and they did a good job of converting. In spurts, I don't think that we tackled the way we are capable of tackling and we didn't contain the quarterback at times on some pressure. I think that they did a good job and they never gave you a steady dose of one thing." - Brent Venables
"It's good when guys step up, it's definitely a good thing. We just have to keep moving up from here. We have a lot of talent and a lot of guys have the chance to play, we just have to make the best of it." - Ryan Broyles
"We stepped up, and in the second half, we just got things rolling again like we did at Kansas. We just have to keep it going and get better every week."
"Every game you just have to keep getting better. And I'm getting better. I'm seeing the stuff easier out on the field and seeing the coverages more."
"I don't know if it's knowing which guys are standing out and making plays. I have confidence in all my receivers. It's just getting the ball to them and putting it on target and they're going to make plays for me." - Landry Jones
"I felt like I was getting my chance to show what I can do. I'm more talented. I don't want to sound too cocky, but that's just the inner confidence that I have in myself that I know I can play at a high level. When my number is called on third down, those catches are the biggest catches for me and to keep the drive alive and to keep it going. I felt real good today. I felt in a rhythm, and we really came out with a good victory today." - Dejuan Miller
"Landry is growing each week. He's a great player and a great competitor. He knows the job is his now, and he's a great guy." - DeMarco Murray
"A loss is a loss. I think the fact that the youngsters did come back and made the effort and got back in the ball game, I think that's a positive. I don't know though, this is the first time I have been around them and I still don't know how they respond. I mean the Texas Tech loss you go down and get beat 1,000 to nothing and then you turn around the next week and beat a Texas A&M team pretty good and everything goes right for a couple quarters and a few minutes. So I don't know in all honesty. They ought to be upset and disappointed that they lost a ball game against no matter who it is.
"That was a great football team down here at Oklahoma but you ought to be disappointed you lost because that is what the competitive nature is all about. We will find out over the weekend and on Monday. If indeed that is the case then I think they will recommit themselves and try to continue to get better. And in some form or fashion, we did get a little bit better today in some areas, but not collectively. But Oklahoma had a lot to do with that.""You have got to be proud of the fact that they didn't give up, which I am. On certain areas that we have played better and not giving up and playing better was the most important thing to us and I think we did that. You know when you do those things and take it a step at a time, a play at a time, then all of a sudden you have got a chance and you are back in the ball game. But when they have got the ball and its first and 100 and then they end up getting a first down you have got some real problems."
"That we had a chance to do something that really would have been something special in their lives and we failed to do it. We didn't coach them well enough to get what we needed accomplished. " - Bill Snyder
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Comments
Landry Jones
is solid… He will earn a Heisman before he moves on to the NFL. This guy has star written all over him
by Drew K on Nov 1, 2009 1:39 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Give K-State their due...
… they may be playing in the Big XII championship game. I enjoy watching Snyder and see his gameplan unfold. K-State only managed 350 yds of total offense… USC giving up 600 yds to Oregon is ugly. O-line play? OK, that’s kinda ugly. Not making the 4th down conversion, not to mention the penalties, in the 4th quarter was a bit nerve wracking.
Miller is coming together as a WR and Jones, as alluded to above, is really putting it together. Broyles is fun to watch.
I thought OU earned this win with the offense responding well every time K-State got within 5 pts.
by inocybe on Nov 1, 2009 6:10 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
K-State's gameplan reminded me of Boise State's back in that Fiesta Bowl
As “amazing” as everyone believes Boise State’s “big win” to be against us in that bowl game, I can never and will never give them the “respect they deserve” because they beat us on a bunch of rinky-dink schoolyard trick-play BS (BS from BSU? How ironic.).
I feel the same way about last night’s performance by Kansas State. Did Bill Snyder just pull every gadget play he had in his playbook? They definitely have heart, and they definitely have some great players, but Snyder’s “gameplan” all but admitted that he knew they were going to lose if they tried to play real football. When you go in as an inferior team, you pull out the use-once-a-year-and-throw-away trick plays as your “wrinkle”. That’s a lot of what Snyder did. I saw a lot of things that were just not straight-up football, the kind that really earns you respect. There are parts of their attack that worked very well against OU, don’t get me wrong. But jump passes? Reverse passes? I was surprised ol’ Bill didn’t go ahead and pull out a hook-and-lateral and a Statue of Liberty for good measure.
We did some things that let them back into the game, and as I said, they deserve a lot of credit for the heart and fight they showed through the entire game. Chalk that up to Snyder’s uncanny ability to prepare his players well. But I don’t count this against OU’s defensive performance, which I still thought was pretty great in spite of the final point total.
by ousooner919 on Nov 1, 2009 8:43 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
'919 - perfect analogy of BSh State
I feel the same way, BSh State played sand-lot/playground football and beat us that night. I will never ever give them any respect.
Now on to the OU win. I wonder what happens at half-time? OU is very consistent when they go in at half time and comeback on the field. They act like they don’t know where they are. This is team wide.
Boomer Sooner
by scarab on Nov 1, 2009 9:49 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Winning is winning
Don’t try and take away Boise’s victory. Don’t also take away KSU’s effort. They played great and with the gap in talent they do what they have to do. They beat us fair and square they took advantage of our undisciplined team and made us pay. You do what you have to do to win. They only way to gripe about a victory is if the refs contributed in it. There is no such thing as a gimmick or trick play. Its completely legal and within the rules, just because it doesn’t look like “real football” whatever that means doesn’t make it a fluke.
Remember when Bob Stoops pulled out tricks in big games and we hailed him as a coaching genius and a little bit of “Sooner Magic.” Trust me that Boise loss is one of the most painful I have had as a fan, but they beat us and we only had ourselves to blame for not being disciplined and fundamentally sound.
There was a firefight!!!!
by ThePhenomenon on Nov 1, 2009 12:48 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
well you fellas can see what I wrote above
you’uns can give BSh State all the respect you want and whatever but I never will. I am older than any two of you fellas together and have been too and seen plenty of Sooner CFB games and BSh State played sandlot/gimmicky/playground football and won. No respect from then and none now.
by scarab on Nov 3, 2009 6:57 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
The jump pass et al...
I believe Florida ran many of the same plays against us KSU ran this weekend. Jump passes and forward lateral screens are part of the game now. Sooner Nation can make all the excuses in the world but sooner or later you just have to beat the teams that are giving you every play in their playbook. Maybe the real problem is that they have a bigger playbook…
I hated the BSU game but they won. I hated the WVU game but they won. I hated the UF game but they won. All of those teams ran this quirky offensive stuff. When we sit and complain and disrespect, we sound like the old man at the coffee shop complaining about cell phones and indoor plumbing.
by bigskinny on Nov 3, 2009 7:39 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
What's so gimmicky about the Wildcat formation, anyway?
It’s basically the same offense Bill Snyder ran with Michael Bishop, Jonathan Beasley and Ell Roberson the first time around. Our running back, Daniel Thomas, was a QB in high school and junior college. He works better at running back for us, but it’s just smart football to put a true running threat who can throw, too, in the shotgun to take the snap. It’s completely within the rules and it makes the defense defend the entire field, so I fail to see what is so gimmicky about that. Your coaching staff should know that Thomas was a QB previously and thus, presumably, a passing threat.
Further, one of the plays we ran with success out of the Wildcat formation was nothing other than the play action pass off a fake option. Nebraska ran that play for decades. Is that a gimmick? What about the jump pass? Are Urban Meyer’s two national titles tainted because he runs a gimmicky offense? Further, we’ve already run the jump pass at least once this year. It was on film for your coaching staff to watch and prepare for. It’s not like it was one of those once-a-decade trick plays that only works because nobody saw it coming.
Look, the days of lining up with a pipeline of behemoth offensive linemen to blast open truck-sized holes for a downhill running back to run through are over. If that’s what “football” is to you, you’re probably not going to enjoy it anymore.
We'll carry the banner high!
Bring On The Cats
by TB on Nov 3, 2009 7:53 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
So...
We whine about the change in football culture or we adapt. One reaction causes us to continue to struggle against teams that run this style of offense (the last 3 bcs losses we all hear about constantly being three good examples) and the other allows OU to take a different approach and maybe win some of those games.
If we could only get the rest of the country to play the I formation every play, things would be better.
by bigskinny on Nov 4, 2009 9:02 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
And the no-huddle is not gimmicky?
The no-huddle, correct me if I’m wrong, takes advantage of the defense’s inability to substitute. I understand why WIlson doesn’t give it up because perhaps he and everyone knows the O-line this year can’t knock people off their ass in the run game.
K-State made 0 turnovers, controlled the time of possession mightily during the 2nd and 3rd quarters, the QB made few mistakes, and Thomas is a flat-out good RB. How is that gimmicky? That’s good football that kept OU scoring only 7 points in those periods, and which could get K-State in the Big XII championship game.
I thought Thomas’ Tebow-esque 2 point jump conversion was awesome. Too bad OU recruited him as a DB.
by inocybe on Nov 1, 2009 11:32 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
K-State Did Have A Turnover
QB tossed a pick to Quintin Carter to seal the game for OU. I still see your point but just thought I’d add that to the conversation.
by ccmachine on Nov 1, 2009 1:52 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
No-Huddle
The no-huddle works if you get to the line and snap the ball, but it seems like the majority of the time, we get to the line, and then look to the side-line for the play. That’s like having a huddle, it gives the D time to move around and also see where the receivers and running backs are.
If you’re going to do the no-huddle, then quit looking to the sideline…
by soxboys21 on Nov 2, 2009 8:40 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I don't have a dog in this fight...
But you guys should read this.
by TheElusiveShadow on Nov 3, 2009 2:49 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

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