Red River Rout.

Prior to the season kickoff, many people speculated that this year's version of the Red River Rivalry would be a mismatch in favor of Oklahoma, who at the time were ranked #1.  


Despite the fact that Texas managed to generate some positive buzz going into the game, casting some doubt on earlier predictions, Oklahoma ran riot in a 55-17 win.  A few things still held true; the game was a mismatch after all, and the Longhorns aren't really that much improved from last season's 5-7 debacle.

Jones had a school record 17th career 300yd passing game

Landry Jones passed for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns; all before halftime.  With the Sooner offense matched up against a young and inexperienced Longhorn secondary, there could really only be one outcome.  


Jones has come a long way since that October day when he had to replace (yet again) Sam Bradford, who re-injured his throwing shoulder following a hit on a blitz by Texas corner Aaron Williams; it was to be Bradford's last ever play for Oklahoma.  


Playing behind a patchwork offensive line and no running game (the Sooners racked up negative yardage), the weight of delivering a victory were placed upon Jones' shoulder.  Even though he had seen some significant playing time, the Longhorns were a whole different monster.  Jones showed occasional flashes of brilliance, but threw 2 costly interceptions late when the game was still within reach for the Sooners.

Flemming returning one of the Sooners 3 defensive TDs

And while the offense will get the credit that's due them, it was the Sooners' defense that had their fingerprints all over this one.  Turning in yet another fine performance - and probably their best in the season yet - the Sooners raked in 8 QB sacks, 15 tackles for lost yardage and 5 turnovers (3 INTs and 2 fumble recoveries); 3 of which were returned for touchdowns.

Besides putting constant pressure on Longhorn QBs Case McCoy and David Ash, the Sooners showed a lot of discipline by staying on their defensive assignments.  Texas tried to run a couple of gadget plays that seemed worked wonders against teams like BYU and Iowa State, but the Sooners weren't taking any mess.

Texas seemed to get a little momentum going when Foswhitt Whittaker returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to cut the margin 27-10.  Oklahoma snatched it right back though, marching 83 yards in 7 plays ending with a Kenny Stills 14 yard touchdown reception.


Ryan Broyles and Kenny Stills played brilliantly, but a worthy mention goes to Jazz Reynolds who finished with 92 yards on 6 receptions.  Reynolds came through making a big catch for a 1st down when it was "3rd & 25".  Jones found Broyles in the end zone a few plays later. 


For those of you who may not remember, Reynolds was dismissed from the team days leading up to this very fixture last year for improper conduct (I'm only putting it lightly).  Given another opportunity, he's definitely making the most it.

Whaley had 117 total yards & 1 TD

The next item up for discussion: what more does Dominique Whaley have to do in order to get a scholarship?  The man appeared from nowhere and has taken the Sooner nation by storm.  He had a game-high 83 yards rushing, most of it coming on a 64 yard sprint.  FOX announcer Gus Johnson has been campaigning hard for Whaley to get a scholarship, and I'm sure he echoes the sentiments of many fans.  I think Whaley has surely paid his dues.


Up next for Oklahoma is a trip to Lawrence to face a Kansas team that is fresh off a 70-28 mauling at the hands of Oklahoma State.  The Jayhawks defense is ranked next to last nationally, and you can understand why most people will be predicting another blowout win for the Sooners.

Oklahoma wards off Tiger upset bid.

The last time Oklahoma faced off against Missouri, they were ranked #1 in the newly released BCS rankings, but were left picking themselves off the mat after the Tigers sprung an upset in Columbia, MO.  It was the third successive week in which the top ranked team fell on the road; Alabama lost to South Carolina a fortnight earlier, and Ohio State followed up with a loss to Wisconsin the week after.


This time around, Oklahoma made sure not to stumble, despite a slow start in which they trailed 14-3, ending the 1st quarter at 14-10 after a Ryan Broyles touchdown catch.  In the absence of Kenny Stills and Trey Franks, Jazz Reynolds and DeJuan Miller had to step up and fill the void.  Both receivers were starters at some point earlier in their careers, but due to various issues (Miller suffered a season ending knee injury, while Reynolds was suspended due to violation of team rules), they had been firmly supplanted by the aforementioned duo.  Reynolds came up with a huge 39 yard reception in the 2nd quarter that possibly shifted the game's momentum in favor of the hosts.


Oklahoma was eventually able to wear down their opponents with a short passing game, and running the ball taking time off the clock.  Also defensively, they made enough plays to hold off the Tigers until the game was beyond reach.  It may not have been the most satisfying performance, but a win's a win, right?


Landry Jones to Ryan Broyles seems to be the key to get this offense going.  In their previous match against Florida State, they hardly connected much after the opening drive.  Jones went over 400 yards passing (AGAIN!!) and Broyles had yet another 10+ reception, 100yd receiving game; numbers that seem to be pedestrian to these two guys.

Despite giving up a lot of yards, OU's defense clamped
down when it mattered the most.

It was nice to see coaches try to get Roy Finch involved, including him in the kickoff return unit.  With Brennan Clay and Dominique Whaley getting the lion's share of the carries in the running game, the only time Finch gets to see the field is while on the sideline.  It would be nice to get him more touches, but that's really up to the coaches.


This was clearly not Oklahoma's best defensive showing.  They gave up 532 yards and two big scoring plays; L'Damian Washington's catch and run for 45 yards & score, as well as Henry Josey who ran 48 yards for a touchdown off an option pitch.  They didn't force any turnovers either, but you can credit Mizzou for protecting the ball.  The defensive unit played really well in between the 1st and 4th quarters, so that's a positive. 


At the end of the day, Oklahoma got the result that it wanted, and it's a lot easier to fix any errors - be they mental or tactical - after a win than a loss.

OU vs Tulsa: The review

In their first season opener at #1 since 2003, Oklahoma did what they had to do against an overmatched opponent, they dominated.  Not that Tulsa is a "run of the mill" kind of team, but the last time the Golden Hurricane visited Norman in 2009, they were on the receiving end of a 45-0 mauling.  Landry Jones was making his 2nd start in an unexpected, yet speedy acceleration to the reins after Sam Bradford's injury in the season opener a fortnight earlier.

Dominique Whaley was the toast of the town.

It took a while for Oklahoma to kind of settle into the groove, but I guess that's just the result of running a "no-huddle" offense.  It might be just me, but sometimes it seems like the players are on the same field, just not on the same page.  Everything settled down once the points started rolling in.


A major improvement of course was in the run-blocking.  Last season, Oklahoma started off well trying to establish the ground game, but kind of went away from it, favoring the aerial attack more.  That really hurt them in during their 2 losses to Missouri and Texas A&M.  Granted, Faurot Field and Kyle Field aren't exactly easy venues to play in, but Oklahoma's offense became a tad predictable.  That will need to change this season.  They'll need to run the ball a lot more efficiently especially on the road.  Translation?  Let's hope it doesn't come down to Landry Jones having to throw 62 passes just to give the team a chance to win.

I know Bob ain't looking forward to seeing
li'l brother Mark so soon.

The redzone issues are still prevalent, but not as much as last season, when Oklahoma settled for field goals when it seemed easier to score touchdowns.  The Sooners won some close games - that should have never been that close to begin with -, and lost games because they were unable to impose themselves in the redzone.  Considering how many offensive plays the team runs, you can understand why the redzone dominance is a big deal.


When it comes to defense, there's a few loose ends that will need to get tied.  It was great to see them shut down Tulsa's offense for majority of the game, but Hurricane QB GJ Kinney was still able to complete some deep passes.  Some of those went for long gains and one of those resulted in a touchdown.  Tulsa receivers were also able to get open and make catches without a crimson jersey in sight.  Seminoles' QB EJ Manuel is just as athletic if not more than his Tulsa counterpart, and that could pose problems for the secondary.


All in all, it was great start to the season.  The team being able to run 100+ snaps on offense without a single penalty is a huge plus and they'll need to carry that momentum with them against Florida State.  The team will put in some more work and you can expect them to be ready in a couple of weeks.

Fiesta indeed



When Oklahoma was matched up with Connecticut, we already knew two things would happen; the Sooners would end their 5 game losing streak in BCS games, and it would also be a blowout against an over-matched opponent.  They delivered on both accounts.



Fleming's return that effectively iced the game.



Oklahoma executed on both offense and defense, delivering a win that was long overdue.  When Landry Jones found Cameron Kenney in stride for 59 yard touchdown, followed by Jamell Fleming's interception that he returned 55 yards for a score on the next series, it pretty much put the game out of reach for Connecticut; who returned the subsequent kickoff for a touchdown.  I'll give the Huskies credit though, for hanging in and trying to make the scoreline respectable.

Connecticut hadn't scored an offensive touchdown in 7 quarters of football, and even though the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt, Oklahoma still had enough gas in the tank to stuff Jordan Todman on a 4th & goal from the 2 yard line.  The way the Sooners played, you'd have thought that game was in Norman.  They moved the ball really well on offense, seeming at will sometimes, and their defense played as good as they could have at anytime this season in their run to another Big 12 Championship.

Immediately after the game, UConn running back Jordan Todman declared for the NFL draft.  The next question becomes whether OU stars Ryan Broyles and Travis Lewis will follow suit.  Broyles has set just about every receiving record at Oklahoma.  I've said this time and time again; he is the second coming of Mark Clayton.  Lewis has been a standout at the linebacker position that has featured names such as Rufus Alexander, Curtis Lofton, Lance Mitchell, Teddy Lehman, Rocky Calmus & Torrance Marshall et al.  Whether they return or not, it is likely that Oklahoma will be a preseason top 5 team.  They have a lot of returning starters on both sides of the ball, who were key players this past season.



Offensive MVP, Landry Jones

Landry Jones, along with the MVP honors, became the 3rd quarterback in the Stoops era to win a BCS game, joining Josh Heupel (2001 Orange Bowl) and Nate Hybl (2003 Rose Bowl).  He also joins Nate Hybl (who started in 2002 Cotton Bowl) as the only QB's in the Stoops Era to win 2 bowl games.  While his play has been sometimes superb and sometimes shaky, he can only get better as Oklahoma prepares for a run at the national championship next season.

While Jones played exceptionally well, my personal MVP of the game was receiver Cameron Kenney.  A juco transfer, Kenney was the culprit behind a number of dropped passes last season and this season; that saw him move down the depth chart.  He redeemed himself, making crucial catches in the Bedlam and Big 12 championship games and he closed out his OU career with 154 yards and a touchdown on 7 catches; a career night indeed.  Way to go, Kenney!!

The good thing is that now, we don't have to hear about that losing streak in BCS games anymore.  The bad this is that we'll always hear about how Connecticut should have never been in this game to begin with.  I guess that just comes with the territory.