OU @ Texas Tech - What Can't Happen

It would appear, after perusing the quality Viva The Matadors, that Tech fans are a little sensitive to a story that ran in The Oklahoman earlier this week. If you haven't read the story yet, you can do so here, but the gist of it was that OU players (current and former) were not complimentary of the fans in Lubbock. As a result, a Tech fan felt compelled to put this together to counter the comments from OU players in the article.

All of which plays into the first of several things we're going to address that cannot happen on Saturday in order for our Sooners to come away victorious.

Do not insult Tech fans - They are apparently very sensitive to this, have shown they know what Microsoft Paint is, and clearly aren't afraid to use it. If history has taught us anything, it's that they paid to get into the game and they can say whatever they want.

Beware the three man defensive line - It did not work last year against Texas Tech. It has never worked in the 13+ years that Bob Stoops has attempted to employ it. So I think it's a pretty safe assumption it will not work on Saturday. Oklahoma has to get pressure Seth Doege and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. We saw the result last year in Norman when that did not happen and it goes without saying we do not want a repeat of that.

To that point, if your four down linemen aren't getting it done (which has been an issue) then you're going to have to bring more than just four. So the incredibly idiotic somewhat questionable game plan to not blitz a single time against Kansas State will require a tweak or two. Like, oh I don't know, getting really crazy and bringing five or more guys. Getting creative with where you bring them from. I mean, these are just ideas I'm putting out there.

Linebackers can't cover wide receivers - This is another Stoops staple that hasn't worked a single time during his tenure and yet they continue to put their linebackers in this position to fail. Tech exploited it early and often last year and yet Oklahoma made no adjustments to stop it, or at least no successful adjustments. So if Mike Stoops comes out Saturday with a similar defensive game plan, one in which we've seen be unsuccessful not just last year but countless other times as well, then he is setting up this defense for failure.

What we saw last year was that Tech will continue to attack this weakness if allowed to do so, which very obviously means it's up to Mike Stoops to prevent that from happening. Or at a minimum, make some substantial adjustments if it does happen. Basically, do the exact opposite of what he did two weeks ago against Collin Klein and Kansas State, i.e. don't just keep doing the same thing, watch it fail, and expect a different result.

Limit Landry - We'll keep this one brief as it's been discussed ad nauseum for the better part of the last two weeks. If Landry Jones has something close to 50 pass attempts on Saturday then things have not gone as planned, or at least how the plan should be anyway. You simply have to take the pressure off a guy you know is going to be pressing in a road game following a loss. There is no conceivable way you can convince me putting this offensive game plan on the shoulders of Landry Jones and asking him to throw fifty times makes sense.

Ball security is a priority - Admittedly, this is very much a 'Captain Obvious' type of statement but hear me out. This is a Tech crowd that won't need a reason to get into the game and an Oklahoma team that is searching for confidence. If OU comes out early and turns the ball over, possibly falls behind on the scoreboard, it might be more than this team can overcome.

Again, to that point, if you're going to throw (which let's face it, we all know that's going to be the plan) then play to Landry's strengths. Give him easy, short, quick throws early to get him and the offense in a rhythm. It could also allow the offense to get someone other than Kenny Stills involved, which certainly wouldn't be a bad thing.

No more empty promises, coaches - Look, we've basically given up any hope of you ever actually using Trey Millard how you keep telling us you're going to use him. We didn't want to do this, we're sure there are still some holdouts, but you wore us down. You win.

Now all we're asking is don't do it to us twice. Don't make Damien Williams another Trey Millard. We heard what you said earlier this week about wanting to get him more carries. We know what game you're trying to play here. We won't be burned again.

Williams gets his promised touches or you're coming home to a bunny in a boiling pot, Fatal Attraction style. We understand each other?