OU vs. Mizzou - Film Study (2nd Half)

Alright, you know the drill so we're jumpin' right into things.

* 14:55 3rd Qtr - Mizzou gets the ball to start the second half and Gabe Lynn makes another appearance on the lowlight reel.  Matched up on Moe again in the slot, he overplays him to the outside and Moe easily recognizes it and cuts to the inside for one of the easiest 21-yard gains you'll ever see.

* 12:04 3rd Qtr - This won't go down in the box score as a significant play, but it demonstrates the little things that Whaley brings.  Just a short little delayed route out of the backfield, Landry leads him just a hair too far but Whaley reaches out with one hand to make the grab.  There is a LB on him as he's bringing it in, with one hand mind you, and he runs out of that tackle for what would have been just a one yard gain gets another four yards.  So like I said, not a big gain or anything but a really nice little play making something out of nothing.

* 11:12 3rd Qtr - Okay, so here is Landry's 2nd INT and the one Matt and I keep disagreeing on.  If I can ever find a link to the game I fully intend to do a Freeze Frame post on it because I'm convinced I'm right in that Landry totally panics. So here is what I see for now my fourth time re-watching this game, if you still have it recorded now you know what point to fast forward to and please feel free to give your opinion in the comments.  So Stephenson COMPLETELY whiffs on his guy, giving him basically a free path to the QB.  Landry can see this and starts to brace himself for the impending hit, while attempting to throw off his back foot.  Now Matt's point is that #85 is his target down field, but IMO there is just no possible way that's accurate.  If you let the play roll, after it's tipped you can see Broyles come back onto screen as if running an out route and is outside the hash marks while Landry's pass was well inside of them.  FX goes on to show it from a different angle, end zone cam from behind the play, and again IMO this only reinforces my argument.  This shows both Miller and Broyles run out rights to their left.  Where the Mizzou guy tips the ball, in the middle of the field, there isn't an OU player within five yards of that spot.  I'm adamant in my argument that Landry totally panicked and rather than just eating it and taking the loss he freaked out and turned the ball over.  So yeah you get the good and the bad with every D-I QB, but this is really, really, really bad and so easily avoidable and I think that's why he continues to have doubters.  Ok, sorry that was so long but I really felt like it needed to be done.

* 8:45 3rd Qtr - When Matt White is 80 years old, he'll wake up in a cold sweat from a nightmare about the hit Trey Millard delivered to him on this play.  Damn, that kid is a beast.  Just needed to be said.

* 7:49 3rd Qtr - This play is the difference for me between Clay and Whaley.  A toss play left (to the short side of the field yet again, which I absolutely hate) and it's perfectly blocked.  Huge hole for Clay and as he comes through it, there is just one man standing between him and a 34-yard TD run.  So instead of trying to make a move and get around the guy he just lowers his pads and runs right into him.  Delivers a nice blow mind you, but turns what had the potential to be a big play into a nice, but modest six yard gain.  Like I said on the podcast, he just strikes me as a guy who will get you what's there but little else.

* 6:41 3rd Qtr - These last two plays really illustrate the point I was just making above even more clearly.  On the previous play, Whaley makes an absolutely perfect cut and just the last second to find a seam and get a first down run.  It's the kind of thing I could never accurately describe, it's just that innate ability some RBs have that others don't to have the vision and patience to make a run like that.  I'm telling you the more I watch this kid the more special he becomes.  So now we're 1st and 10 from the Mizzou 22 and we're in a unique five wide set with the following guys lined up at WR starting from the top of the screen working our way down:  Millard, Ratterree, Broyles (all to Landry's right), then Whaley and Miller (to Landry's right).  At the snap, Whaley just runs a simple little curl route to his left and Landry makes the quick throw for what looks like it will be a minimal gain at best since the Mizzou defender is right there and Whaley is up against the sideline.  Unfortunately for the Mizzou defender, he tries to make the tackle up high and Whaley with his incredible balance is able to shake it off and somehow stay in bounds.  Makes his way up the sideline, gives a little stutter move at the ten causing another Mizzou defender to stop in his tracks, before being taken down at the two yard line.  So he turns what should have been a two yard gain into a twenty yard gain. Impressive to say the least.

* They fittingly give it to him on the very next play to deservedly let him finish off the drive.  Stretch play to the left that he bounces outside and strolls in for six points.  31-14 OU

* Random note - As they come back from commercial, they show Whaley on the sideline teammates coming up to congratulate him.  He happens to be sitting next to Brandon Williams and I don't want to read too much into things (and this would be reading WAY too much into things), but he doesn't exactly looked thrilled to be there.  I'm just sayin'

* 5:35 3rd Qtr - Another complete failure by the three man front.  After two good plays to force a 3rd and 10, they rush only three and drop eight.  Franklin has ALL DAY and Kemp eventually finds a hole in the zone for a 22-yard gain. Makes a nice catch on a ball that's behind him, but just a stupid defensive call IMO.

* 0:17 3rd Qtr - Don't mean to slight Big Frank, but the sack he gets here is really on the secondary.  It's supposed to be a quick three step drop, but Franklin doesn't have anybody open.  So his o-line, thinking they only had to hold their blocks for a quick drop, lets up and Alexander tosses aside the LT to sack Franklin and close out the third quarter.

* 10:47 4th Qtr - Nice run by Clay here, not a big gain but it shows he can make a guy miss (which is baffling as to why he doesn't do it more often).  #34 for Mizzou shoots the gap virtually unblocked, he's got Clay five yards deep, but he makes a sweet little stiff arm and turns on the jets to get the corner and gets three yards out of what should have been a sure loss.

* 7:00 4th Qtr - Just an all around terrible play by the OU defense here on Josey's 48-yard TD run.  Just a simple option play to the short side of the field, but the OU defense is overloaded on the opposite side because Mizzou has three WRs to that side.  So as they snap the ball, literally the only OU players on the side of the hash mark where they are about to run are Lewis, Alexander, Fleming, and Harris.  They actually ignore Alexander, knowing that he'll have to commit to either Franklin or Josey, so his man can continue up field to block.  Franklin makes the pitch and Alexander has zero chance to catch him from behind.  Tom Wort takes an absolutely horrible angle on the play, causing him to get caught up inside and totally out of position to make a play.  The o-lineman who ignored Alexander is now 15 yards down field just blatantly holding Javon Harris, but it goes uncalled and Josey blows past untouched for a long TD.  31-21 OU

* 1:25 4th Qtr - After Broyles' third TD on the night to make it 38-21 OU, Mizzou calmly drives right back down on an OU defense that clearly just wants this game to be over.  And on this play, Aaron Colvin just got knocked the bleep out.  Scary to see him laying there and when he tries to get up, wobbly would be putting it kindly.  I kind of hope they give him the week and hold him out against Ball State.  No sense in rushing him back to quickly and risking him not being ready for Dallas.  Franklin winds up sneaking one in a couple plays later to get us to our final score.  38-28 OU

And so goes another edition of Film Study, hopefully you all enjoyed it as much as I did.