M-I-Z Q&A: Oklahoma
This week, the M-I-Z Q&A fires up in time for us to trade questions with our SB Nation-brethren over at Crimson and Cream Machine in preparation for Saturday's showdown between No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 11 Missouri. My responses can be found here.
RMN: How do Oklahoma fans see Missouri heading into this weekend? Were perceptions changed at all by Missouri's manhandling of Nebraska last week?
"I picked Missouri to win the north so their play, even after the Nebraska game, hasn’t surprised me at all. The general feeling among Sooner fans is that this is the biggest game of the year, yes even bigger than Texas, and a win would certainly place the Sooners back in the BCS championship hunt while a loss leaves them hoping for many things to happen just to have a chance to win the Big 12.
As far as the Nebraska game goes we don’t think very highly of the Huskers football team this season and are much more impressed with the Tigers win over Illinois."
RMN: OU seems to pride itself on shutting down spread offenses. How do you see the matchup between the Missouri offense and the OU defense?
"Oklahoma has had success against the spread attack in year’s past but the thing that scares me this year is the linebacker’s inability to effectively cover the pass. That, in my mind, will be the key match-up Saturday night. Oklahoma’s linebackers are built to stop the run but have been burned through the air against Miami, Colorado and Texas.
The good news is that Oklahoma did make some adjustments in the second half to limit the Longhorns middle passing routes and they will certainly have to do it again this Saturday against a much better Missouri passing attack. That may mean bringing up the safeties to cover the Missouri tight ends which would leave Oklahoma susceptible to the deep ball.
The key, force Missouri to be one dimensional by shutting down the rushing game and then get tons of pressure on Daniels [sic]."
RMN: Justify my immense fear of the Sooner rushing attack.
"All you have to do is look at the stats to justify it. The Tigers are giving up over 140 yards per game on the ground at 4.0 yards per carry. They currently rank 7th in the conference at stopping the run while Oklahoma’s rushing attack gains 216 yards per game with an average of 5.3 yards per carry.
Perhaps the best way to slowdown the Missouri offense is by keeping them off the field. Oklahoma could do that if they are successful in the running game but they will have to protect the football and make sure that they finish long time consuming drives with a score."
RMN: What did the Sooners learn from the loss in Boulder?
"They learned that Colorado is good! There has been a lot said about the altitude, lack of preparation and Oklahoma not being able finish off the Buffs when leading 24-7 in the third quarter but the bottom line was that Colorado was good enough to make the plays to win the game and Oklahoma wasn’t."
RMN: According to the most comprehensive and most accurate source I could find, Wikipedia, the Sooners have been the feature game on College Gameday 16 times whereas Mizzou is enjoying its first appearance. Give us your favorite OU-related Gameday story and favorite Gameday sign.
"Going to Gameday isn’t all that its cracked up to be. If you actually want to listen to what the Gameday crew is saying then stay home and watch it on TV but if you want to get on television, tout your team, and make some noise then the Gameday set is the place to be. I would recommend that every college fan do it at least once but beyond that it’s really up to a person’s liking.
I guess my favorite Gameday experience was in 2003 when Oklahoma State thought they had a pretty good team and the boys from ESPN agreed thinking that Les Miles was going to back up all the trash he had been talking. Lee Corso made several remarks in favor of the Cowboys and may have even picked them to pull off the upset, I really can’t remember, causing the OU crowd to chant "Corso Sucks!" at several points of the game while the Sooners were thrashing the Cowboys 52-9."
RMN: Bonus - Your prediction and final score.
It’s early in the week for a score prediction but I would guess it to be around 35-24 Oklahoma.
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Comments
Crimson
I've made it known that I've hated OU more than I do now, and it was probably because I can't stand Bob Stoops. I will give it to OU's fans; they are some of the best in the Big XII and you can have a discussion without it turning into "But you would have lost by more than we did!".
Crimson and Cream does a nice job on their blog too. I will disagree on the score. Maybe it's just me being a homer, but I think it'll be a little closer. Oklahoma's defense likes to give up points. If we can hold the Sooner offense to less than 21, I'll be happy and I think we'll walk out Norman with a win.
The Patrick/Murray combo will give me nightmares tomorrow night though.
by Big Head on Oct 11, 2007 10:18 AM CDT 0 recs
I think it comes down to this:
If you think we can score 30 in Norman on OU's offense, then we can win the game ('can', not 'will'). Last year we scored 10 at home, playing very poorly. This year, OU's defense isn't quite as sharp, and we're running on all cylinders. Does that equate to 20 more points? You know OU will get their big plays, but if we minimize the big plays and make them drive the length of the field (CU did a decent job of that), then they can get pretty bogged down...but they're still going to score in the 20's at least.
by The Boy on
Oct 11, 2007 10:41 AM CDT
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We all make mistakes...
and I could double post this too :)
by Big Head on
Oct 11, 2007 11:49 AM CDT
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Points
I think OU will put up points too, but don't you think if we can hold them even to 24 that we will win? I'm sold that OU is a good team, but their defense lately has been a little suspect. They've not looked overly dominating against Texas or Colorado on the defensive side of the ball. Granted, neither of those games were in Norman.
It's not really fair to put our offense in 2006's catagory. It's a lot better than last year. Pinkel finally isn't relying on Tony Temple. Our wideouts (Saunders, Franklin, Maclin, Alexander) are better than OU's top to bottom (Malcolm Kelly is one of the best in the conference though), and that's not even counting Rucker/Coffman. Chase has so many targets this year that aren't named 'Ekwerekwu'.
Their offense is explosive as well, so it's coming down to who's defense is hot and able to make a big play. The Tiger D looked great last week. I feel bad relying on our defense to carry us in this game, but I think that's what it will come down to. Our rush defense MUST show up or this one will be done by halftime.
by Big Head on Oct 11, 2007 11:09 AM CDT 0 recs
Colorado
I know it's two different schemes, but our offense is a lot better than Colorado's. I'm sure a big part of the comeback was that it was in Boulder. I'm expecting a great duel.
by Big Head on Oct 11, 2007 11:36 AM CDT 0 recs
Colorado
I know it's two different schemes, but our offense is a lot better than Colorado's. I'm sure a big part of the comeback was that it was in Boulder. I'm expecting a great duel.
by Big Head on Oct 11, 2007 11:37 AM CDT 0 recs
I think...
by The Boy on
Oct 11, 2007 11:52 AM CDT
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Big XII Freshman/Sophs
-Maclin
-Alexander
-Demarco Murray
-Sam Bradford
-Jermichael Finley (Texas' TE)
-Ndamakhon Suh (DT Nebraska)
-Michael Crabtree
-Colt McCoy
-Josh Freeman
How bright does the future look for the Big XII? I don't see how a BCS title doesn't come through the Big 12 for the next three years. Those are the names that just pop to mind. I'm sure I'm missing several more.
by Big Head on
Oct 11, 2007 12:00 PM CDT
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The Spread
Here's how I see the spread: both the line and the offense.
I'm surprised the line didn't move down into single digits. Mizzou is 4-0 against the spread so far this year (no line vs. Illinois State) and if my money was on this game (let it be known that it is NOT), I like the Tigers to improve to 5-0 against the spread, even if its in a loss. If the Mizzou offense is clicking, there's no way the Sooners win by more than 10.
As for the "nightmare blitz," it's highly likely, especially given how badly the Sooner linebackers were exposed in coverage against UT's tight ends. BUT, if Chase is on top of his game, he may take a few hits but he should be able to expose the Sooners in coverage. If the Sooners bring 6 or 7 on the rush, imagine how many options he'll have to throw to as long as he can get the ball off in time.
And I think you're correct about gambling with the deep ball. I expect to see William Moore in the box a lot, but I also expect Willy Mo to get torched deep because his greatest asset (his pursuit) also has a tendency to get him in some deep, deep s* on playaction. But I'd rather make a pressure Bradford beat us rather than a free-to-run Patrick and Murray.
by rptgwb on Oct 11, 2007 1:23 PM CDT 0 recs














