Obviously I looked forward to this game for a long time, seeing as it was finally a chance for these BYU folks to see a real, nationally-competitive team that plays in a tough conference and boasts some of the best talent in the nation. With OU’s personnel losses after last year I didn’t think it would be a massive blowout, but I fully expected something along the lines of 42-21 or thereabouts.
But we all know what happened. OU laid an egg in what may be their most embarrassing performance since the BCS blowout against USC, in which the guys basically quit after the first quarter. BYU walked away with maybe the biggest win in the history of their school, while OU is left to wonder what, if anything, they can correct before more tough teams come through.
Before I say anything else, I want to give credit to BYU. They came in with great schemes and players that wanted it more. They out-everything’d OU and deserved to walk away with the win. BYU had their own issues heading into the game, with a patchwork offensive line and a really good running back on the sidelines, so their performance was fairly remarkable.
Now, on to OU business.
Every game OU has lost in the Stoops Era has been due to one or two poor units or unfortunate plays. This was often simply a secondary that couldn’t cover anything deep. More recently it’s been naps in the fourth quarter of games. (Again, the USC game is the exception here. Nothing worked in that one)
This game showed things I’ve never seen OU do in horrible, Megatron combinations. How many false starts can you have? And how in the world do you let the play clock run out on the GOAL LINE? I’ve never seen an OU team drop more than a couple passes, but there were at least six in this game. I can’t remember the last time we lost two fumbles in one game.
And the scary thing is none of this has to do with our Heisman quarterback getting hurt (except for the goal line flub, but I pin that on the coaches more than anyone else). The hit on Bradford was clean and he just fell on the shoulder the wrong way; this Coleby Clawson requires no death threats or condemnation. Those still go to the Oregon ref until further notice.
OU did more to beat themselves in this game than I’ve ever seen, and it has to be blamed on the coaches. They weren’t prepared to play, at all, and it only got worse after Bradford went down. Landry Jones, despite looking bewildered, played about as well as one could hope for a freshman stepping into a buzzsaw. Too bad the receivers dropped his passes as well.
The god part of the game was our defense turned in a great performance. To hold BYU to 14 is a great effort on anyone’s part, and I for one don’t blame them for giving up the long drive to put BYU ahead – when you play that much, and get that little support from your offense, you get worn down at the end of a game. Gerald McCoy may be the best defensive tackle in the nation, and I’ve never seen someone at that position do more to take control of the situation than he did.
The safeties were often out of position and Ryan Reynolds is a step slow, but as a unit they still did their jobs. The special teams were great as well. Hell, Tress Way’s punting may have been the highlight of the game for OU.
In retrospect, we were lucky to only lose by one. BYU will have a great year but they’re probably the fourth or fifth best team on the OU schedule. Next year the Sooners open with Cincinnati and Florida State in 2011. If we had been playing either of those teams, or Miami in Florida, it could’ve been a much wider loss.
The problem boils down to this: the U coaches took the same scheme from last year and applied to a mostly-new group of players. Nice thought, but now we know that having Sam and the running back’s back doesn’t make this last year’s team. Maybe by the end of the season they’ll get it and be running on all cylinders (a la the Bomar year) but I think we may see two or three more losses before then.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens for OU this year. Bradford will eventually come back, but his top target (Jermain Gresham) won’t, which means that someone, anyone has to step up as a consistent, trustworthy playmaker. The offensive line needs to come together and settle down; I think Stoops’ decision to abandon the no-huddle will help a great deal.
Two side notes: After the game I immediately received several messages from Mormon friends who saw it as an opportunity to promote their religion. Sorry folks, but I think that’s a low-class move. It’s a football game, not the freakin Crusades, and if God were really behind a team, wouldn’t they win by more than a point?
The only thing I can think to compare it to is this: When Texas Christian beat BYU fairly soundly last year, would it have pissed off LDS folks if people were posting to Twitter about the game with the good ole #christian hashtag, talking about what a great win for Protestants it was? Of course it would.
It’s a football game, folks. A bunch of Mormons beat a bunch of Christians/Muslims/Hindus/Whatever OU players worship on a football field, and outside of a few PR opportunities for the LDS, it means NOTHING to religion. If it does mean something to you, then you might want to rethink your confidence in whatever faith you have.
Irregardless, I pass their zealotry off to simple excitement, and my crankiness due to seeing my team play like crap, and we all moved on.
Again, it’s a football game.
Which brings me to the point number two, and it’s the most important one of all: I heard earlier in the day about a plane crash in Tulsa, and didn’t think much more about it until late at night after the game. As it turns out, I knew the five people who died in the crash, and one of them fairly well.
Suddenly the football, and the idiot religious zealots, and the hurt quarterback, all meant very little. I hate that it takes something like this for me to remember how fragile life is and how little something like a football game can be.
The Lesters are a family I was familiar with and had been around a couple of their kids a few times. They were just one of those special families that emanated love and were good to everyone that came around them.
Same thing with Dr. Ken Veteto. He was one of those guys who spent a lot of time at church and even if he didn’t know you that well, would do whatever he could to lend you a hand. It’s people like him that I strive to be like, and I can’t imagine what it’ll be like to have Park Plaza without him.
God rest their souls, and thanks for letting us share your lives.
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