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- Happy Monday, Sooners fans! Everybody gotten their voice back from Saturday?
- I’ll admit it: that moment where TCU had scored a touchdown with less than a minute left, OU with no timeouts, and TCU brought their offense onto the field to go for two? I was absolutely, 100% positive that OU would lose this game. Not a doubt in my mind, OU was losing this game. Steven Parker gave me my Sooner Magic moment on a heads-up play that brought memories of Torrance Marshall back. Steven Parker, you’re my player of the game.
- I don’t blame Gary Patterson one bit for going for two either time. The man knows his team better than I do. Plays like that, they’re good if they work. Heck knows Stoops has had his hits and misses with the gutsy calls. As Admiral Adama would say, "Sometimes you’ve got to roll the hard six."
- Thinking back on it, I’ve come to conclusion that TCU tried something defensively that OU hasn’t really seen this season: stopping the PASS first and making sure that OU beat them with the RUN. Receivers not named Sterling Shepard were just having fits trying to find separation from TCU’s defensive backs, which gave their DL time to challenge the quarterback. Once Perine and Mixon got gimpy, offensive options were few. This is why Sterling Shepard is my player of the game.
- Dear Ezekiel Elliott -- best of luck in your professional career. I’m glad you’re not a Sooner. I hope my Saints don’t draft you, because I support teams; the only prima donnas I care for are opera singers.
- A quick note on Ty Summers, whose helmet-to-helmet collision got him ejected from the game for targeting. I’m not a mind-reader, and can’t tell you for 100% certain if the kid intended his hit to land that way or not. I’ve found, though, that Hanlon’s Razor is often the correct standard of judgment: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
- Speaking of stupidity, Orlando Brown, Jr.? I know your number is 78 because I keep hearing referees say it. Stop doing those things. And Dede Westbrook’s little "bounce" to knock down a TCU DB after the play was over? We didn’t need those fifteen yards or that first down, seriously, we’re fine with punting. You guys do know that you’re surrounded by more than 80,000 people, right? Some of which have cameras with zoom lenses trained on you? Stop doing those things.
- Chef SaintSooner’s Pre-Thanksgiving Recipe for a Samaje Perine run: 1) Cool the field to right around freezing. 2) Allow guards and tackles to separate defensive linemen. 3) For extra flavor, make sure that an undersized linebacker tries to shoulder-tackle your Perine. 4) On a separate plate, initiate a downfield block with your Dede Westbrook on an opposing cornerback. 5) After 45 yards, take your Sterling Shepard and lightly bounce the last remaining defender until air pockets form. 6) 72 yards later, sprinkle with Sooner Magic and remove from the field of play, making room in the oven for your special teams. Delicious! This is why Samaje Perine, you’re my player of the game.
- Okay, here’s my can-of-worms segment of the weekly bulletpoints. I love all the opinions everybody puts forth on CCM, and I totally don’t want to ever discourage anyone from putting theirs out there. That said, I’ve got a very different opinion of Trevor Knight’s performance than many fans seem to. So here’s mine: the "Trevor is Terrible" school of thought is not only unhelpful, it’s just false.
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- You notice how Trevor did good things when he came in in relief in the latter stages of our earlier games against worse competition? Those were against worse competition. TCU began the season ranked #2 in the nation. They have lost one game all year, and were playing for the right to be conference champions and a possible slot in the playoffs.
- The Frogs played us well all night long. Remember that Baker Mayfield was 9/20 on the night, and even before the targeting hit, he spent a lot of his time trying to scramble because receivers were covered. I’ve seen my beloved Saints lay eggs against Seahawks defenses that were more ready to play, but I’m not calling Drew Brees a bad quarterback. The Horned Frogs were a great squad with everything still to play for, and they didn’t come to Norman to keep it close, they came to win.
- Lincoln Riley puts the blame for OU’s offensive woes squarely on his own shoulders, saying that his playcalling got way too conservative, and that’s not how his kids practice.
- Knight did not have the ability to audible out of a play to handoff to Joe Mixon or Samaje Perine for large chunks of time. (Daniel Brooks ended with two rushes for five yards, and who’s behind Brooks on the depth chart…?)
- But mostly, I just don’t get why any Sooners fan wants to go all "Woe-is-we, our team captain backup quarterback is awful, our team struggled against a great team, let’s go eat dirt." Sterling Shepard said after the game that OU would be ready for Bedlam whoever plays quarterback, and he trusts Trevor as much as he does Baker to get the win. I’mma trust Shep on this one.
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- Peace and love, Sooners fans! That’s all for me today, gonna take on my Bedlam thinkings tomorrow. (And I gave ya plenty to disagree with me about for one Monday anyway. But hey, look! A poll!)