Film Study - Oklahoma Sooners vs. FAMU (2nd Half)

You know the drill, so here we go.

* Opening play of the second half is an innocent one, a three yard loss to Stills, but it's his reaction following the play that might be troublesome. Late in the first half, Stills dove for a ball that was overthrown and slid into the brick wall that surrounds Owen Field. He appeared to have hurt his shoulder on that play and following this play to open the second half looked to be favoring that same shoulder. Hopefully it's nothing serious that a bye week can't help, but it might be something to keep an eye out for.

* One of several things that was noticeably improved was the receivers blocking on the perimeter. Made a bid difference on a number of both run and pass plays and is an absolute must for what OU is looking to do with this offense.

* 3rd Q, 12:15 - One of the few times Oklahoma was in that diamond formation yet they have success with it here on a Brennan Clay touchdown run. Strong run by Clay, but he definitely got some help from Jaydan Bird and company to get that final push over the goal line. 42-10 OU

(Another spot where "due to time constraints, we jump ahead in the game" and some genius decided to skip over Damien Williams' 89-yard TD run. Great call, guy!)

* 3rd Q, 10:40 - Thanks to HolaKyle's always fantastic highlights, we can quickly break down said 89-yard TD run. Honestly though, not much to see here (other than Williams turn on the jets of course). Just another perfectly executed play here up front, so much so in fact that Millard is first through the massive hole and is still looking for a man to block almost 15 yards down field. Of course I never doubted his top end speed, but for anyone who might have just watch Williams pull away from the FAMU defense. 49-10 OU

* I should probably detail Millard's back-to-back 15-yard runs here, but it will just frustrate me even further that they were his only two touches this entire game. That said, his hurdle. I mean, damn.

* It's pretty clear at this point (just under eight minutes to go in the third) that OU has just worn down the FAMU defensive front. Not sure much more will be gleaned from focusing on the o-line play from here on out. I will say however that on more than one occasion tonight, Nila Kasitati has looked very impressive. He's made a couple of really nice pull blocks and has looked very strong at times. Which obviously bodes well if for no other reason than the depth of his OU offensive line.

* Clay's second touchdown run on the night. Didn't have to do all that much thanks to his blocking, but still showed good vision and a little burst taking it to the outside. 56-10 OU

* 3rd Q, 3:04 - Your defensive line of the future, ladies and gentlemen. Sooners have four freshman in here and force pretty good pressure as well. Both true freshmen defensive ends, Charles Tapper and Michael Onuoha, get a strong rush up field but cut back inside and beat their blocker. Onuoha gets just a little greedy going for the sack and overruns the QB, but I stopped here to mention that didn't really have an impact on the play overall but made me laugh. As Tapper is pursuing the play, the QB took off to his right, the FAMU running back peels off to try and block Tapper. The FAMU RB literally throws his body into Tapper who, I'm pretty sure, may have thought a fly brushed by his shoulder assuming he even noticed at all. Guy doesn't even budge, let alone break stride, as he continues to chase down the quarterback.

* That spin move (and I know I don't have to tell you which one) Finch pulls on that kickoff return was straight filthy. For whatever faults/issues the guy may have, nobody can deny when he gets the ball in his hands the guy makes plays few other players can make.

* I'm sure I am not the only one who saw it, but even just from Game One to Game Two I thought Whaley looked noticeably better. Still doesn't look quite like the Dom of old, but he's getting there.

End of 3rd Quarter, 56-10 OU

* 4th Q, 15:00 - Good throw from Blake Bell to Brannon Green, better catch. I know I won't be the first to say it now, but to be fair it was something we were telling you even as far back as the spring, Green's hands appear to have been very much undersold during his recruitment. He has shown the ability to be a much better receiver than we were every lead to believe initially.

* Solid TD run for Whaley. Really good vision on his part to see a cutback lane to the inside and a nice cut to get into that crease. Another thing that probably means nothing, but even as he crosses the goal line you get a glimpse of the old Dom. He takes a pretty decent shot, one that most guys having already scored would have simply absorbed and gone to the ground, but Whaley keeps his feet despite the blow. And that's the kind of incredible balance we saw so many times last season. 62-13 OU (missed PAT, what the frick was that Hunnicutt?)

* 4th Q, 12:47 - Jordan Phillips is the future, of that, I have little doubt. Here he does everything Jackie Shipp could ever ask of him. At the snap, he immediately pushes his blocker three yards into the backfield which forces the FAMU running back to turn the play back inside. Just as he and the RB are even, Phillips disengages the now incredibly off balance FAMU guard to swallows up the running back for a minimal gain. Perfectly played by Phillips.

* Then on the very next play, his counterpart Marquis Anderson records another OU sack. In another impressive display of technique, Anderson uses his hands perfectly to destroy the FAMU left guard. Because of Anderson's initial burst upfield, the left guard is forced to over compensate, Anderson reads that, and cuts his rush back to the inside where the quarterback is waiting, helpless. He will definitely get some love in the film room today for that one.

* Nice to see Lacoltan Bester get his first career catch. Somewhat surprised after how highly he was praised during fall camp that he hasn't played more in these first two games.

* 4th Q, 9:25 - I talked about this same play in my write up on the offense. Shepard on a seam route up the middle just blows by the FAMU defense. Blake Bell finds him for a big gain (on 3rd and 4, mind you), but if he hits Shepard in stride he walks into the end zone for a 61-yard TD. As it was, Shepard has to dive to make the catch, and to his credit does so, but that could have been an even bigger play than it was. But that's really more nitpicking at this point than anything.

* Speaking of Shepard, my man has some serious open field moves.

* 4th Q, 6:30 - Great run by Roy Finch, breaking multiple tackles.

* 4th Q, 6:05 - Very next play and Finch puts it in the end zone. What absolutely has to be pointed out about this play however is the outstanding block true freshman WR Durron Neal gets on the outside to allow Finch to walk in uncontested. Goes back to my point earlier about how much better the wide receivers were with their blocks in their game. I guarantee you that play does not go unnoticed by Jay Norvell and could definitely earn Neal some more playing time (YES, PLEASE!) in the near future. 69-10 OU

* I'll just say this. If you are an opponent of Oklahoma this season and Jordan Phillips is on the field, do not allow yourself to be held up at the end of a play. Dude is 6'6" 320 pounds and is running down plays 10 yards down field. If you get held up, you're going to get blown up. Just sayin', you've been warned.

* 4th Q, 2:35 - Holy frick! The stop-and-start cut back move Roy Finch just pulled, without losing a millisecond of speed, is just not of this world. WOW.

Alright y'all, that's a wrap. We'll be back in a couple weeks hopefully breaking down a big win for our Sooners against Kansas State. Oh yeah, and bye weeks suck.