Kickoff: 7:00 (CST)

Location: Dolphin Stadium, Miami FL

TV: Fox

Radio: SSooner Sports Radio Network

It should be against the law (under the category of cruel and unusual punishment) to make us wait this long! It’s finally here though. Does Oklahoma have the merit to win its 8^th national title? Time to find out!

Post all your comments before, during and after the game here.

Boomer Sooner!!!

In a perfect example of impeccably bad timing I am on an airplane bound for the Republic of Panama today. Don’t worry, barring a mishap in immigration or customs I should be in front of a television by 8:15 Eastern to watch the game. I just most likely won’t be here on the game thread with you fine people.

Time will crawl by for me because I’ll be on an airplane all day but it won’t go any faster for those of you at work or in school either. So I thought that I would schedule this middle of the day thread for predictions and discussions on things like your keys to the game and such. Have fun and keep that clock ticking forward!

My Prediction: 42-35 OU

(Keys to the game are in the posts below)

Boomer Sooner!!

And cue the classless comments by Texas fans in 3..2..1..

If there ever was a Clash of the Titans in college football this is it. Oklahoma’s offense finished as the most prolific offense that the modern world has seen with and average of 54 points per game scored. On the other side of the ball is one of the most dominating defenses in the country with the Florida Gators whose stingy defense only allows 12.8 points per game. Obviously something has got to give here.

The circular arguments of SEC defenses vs. Big 12 offenses will end tonight on the field as the Florida Gators will attempt to do something that no other team has been able to do this season and that is stop Oklahoma’s fast paced/quick strike offense. It should be noted that three of the seven SEC bowl teams (S. Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama) have given up more than their season average of points allowed in their bowl games while only Kansas of the Big 12 has exceeded their regular season offensive output in the bowl game. What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? Absolutely nothing! The SEC has four bowl wins and the Big 12 has three. If we are going to crown a conference king based on bowl performances then let’s just all bow down to the Pac 10 (5-0).

The Big 12 doesn’t have to be better that the SEC for Oklahoma to win its 8^th national championship. Oklahoma just has to be better than Florida tonight and to do that the Sooners are going to have to crank up their offense against what is spastically one of the best defenses in the country. Just as the Gators are lightning quick on the offensive side of the ball they aren’t lacking for speed on defense. They have intercepted opposing quarterbacks 24 times this season and returned 5 of them for scores. Against the rush the Gators are 17^th in the country allowing opponents only 3.3 yards per carry and 105.3 yards per game. They’ve been a little more susceptible to the pass where their defensive unit ranks 31^st in the country in that category by allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 52% of their passes for 174 yards per game. However, the Gators have only given up 10 touchdowns through the air this season.

We know what Oklahoma’s offense is capable of. Led by Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford the Sooners have the nation’s 3^rd ranked passing attack with 356 yards per game. The Sooners aren’t too shabby on the ground either where they are rushing for an average of 205.6 yards per game (12^th in the nation) with OU ball carriers crossing the goal line 45 times this season. Oklahoma brings a truly balanced offensive attack against a Florida defense that has had tremendous success in keeping teams out of the end zone.

When I think of Florida’s defense two things come to mind. First, the Gators have 7 sophomores starting on defense. That’s a whole lot of inexperience on one side of the ball. While Florida has tasted victory and these young guys have established themselves as a dominating defensive unit I can’t help but think that there has to be something in that youth movement that Kevin Wilson can exploit with an offensive unit that is more seasoned. Granted Oklahoma hasn’t faced a defense like Florida’s but the Gators haven’t seen anything like the offensive machine that the Sooners are rolling in either. You just have to feel that experience is going to be a huge factor.

The second thing that I think about is that the SEC had a game that ended with a 3-2 final score this year. I realize that this opens up the whole Big 12/SEC can of worms here but this side of the Sun Bowl how many college football games end with a baseball score. Is that great defense or just bad offense? Four of the SEC bowl teams have also failed to match their scoring output for the season and the Gators haven’t played against a Top 25 scoring offense yet. At least Oklahoma went up against a couple of Top 25 scoring defenses in TCU and Texas and the Sooners also have Cincinnati checking in at #26.

All that said, this game won’t be played by stats but on the field. That means there are some things that the Sooners are going to have to do in order to experience offensive success.

How Oklahoma’s Offense Can Beat Florida’s Defense

*Protect Bradford – Sam Bradford has only been sacked 9 times this season as Oklahoma’s offensive line has remained healthy and lived up to their hype. If Bradford is allowed his normal time in the pocket then its game over for the Gators.

*Maintain Balance – The weakness (if you can call it that) of the Florida defense is against the pass but Oklahoma must run the ball to do what they want to accomplish offensively. The Sooners have proven that they can score points when their running game has been stopped but this offensive machine does the real damage when OU is balanced in their attack.

*Catch the Ball – That sounds pretty basic doesn’t it? After I called out Jermaine Gresham for having the dropsy’s late in the season he went out and proved me to be wrong in both the Bedlam and Big 12 Championship games. Every pass is an opportunity and OU can’t afford to have any of those dropped.

*Protect the Ball – You can almost bank on the fact that Florida isn’t going to turn the ball over and the Sooners shouldn’t either. With the explosiveness of each of theses offenses the last thing you want to do is give them an extra opportunity to score.

*Score Early! – By doing so Oklahoma can set the tone for the game. The Sooner offense has the ability to overwhelm an opposing defense and scoring on early possessions is the key to doing that. Remember this is a young Gator defense. There’s no telling where they’ll be mentally should the Sooners score on three of their first four possessions.  

It seems that the majority of the pundits (and even the general public for that matter) are picking the Florida Gators to win this games based solely on OU’s defensive stats. While I’m not one to stand up and proclaim the Sooners as the best defense in the land I will hold fast to the belief that the quality of the Big 12 offenses had a lot to with the points per game that the Sooners are surrendering. When you look at the fact that Oklahoma played against seven of the nation’s Top 25 scoring offenses with a combined average of 39.9 points scored per game then OU’s average of 24.5 points allowed becomes a lot more respectable.

On the other hand short of Oklahoma there hasn’t been an offense more prolific than Florida’s in college football this year. The Gators run a glorified veer offense and are third in the nation in points scored per game (45.2) with 442.4 yards per game. They rush for 229.8 yards per game (9^th in the country) and have scored 41 of their 72 offensive touchdowns on the ground. The Florida passing attack lacks the punch that their rushing attack does but is still potent none the less. The Gators pass for an average of 212.6 yards per game and have scored 31 touchdowns through the air. Teams of note that have posted more yards through the air than Florida are Oklahoma State, North Texas, Arizona, San Diego State, Iowa State, Texas A&M and several others. In fact, there are 47 teams that posted better numbers through the air than the Gators. Obviously that makes the game plan crystal clear for Brent Venables and the Oklahoma defense.

How Oklahoma’s Defense Can Slow The Florida Offense

Note that I said, “slow the Florida Offense” and not stop it. The truth is, the Gators are going to score. I’m going to go ahead and say that this game has no chance of finishing 13-2 like the 2001 Orange Bowl did. However, there are some things the Sooners can do to slow Florida’s offense and put them in position to win.

* Contain Tebow – The Florida Gators go as Tim Tebow goes. Oklahoma must follow the Mississippi game plan and make him a non-factor in the rushing game. In that game Tebow ran the ball 15 times for 7 yards.

* Account for the Backfield – No one in the country has a stable of backs like the Gators do. While Florida failed to produce a 1,000 yards rusher they did have four guys (including Tebow) run for over 500 yards. The backs are also dangerous in the passing game as well because they are fast. Each one of these guys should be accounted for in order to be contained. For Oklahoma to do that they must play assignment football and play it very well. A blown defensive assignment for Oklahoma in this game is going to result in points for Florida.

*Win First Down – First down is going to be huge in this match up. Ultimately the Sooners are going to have to force the Gators to pass (We’ll get to that in a minute) and limiting them to short yardage is the key. By forcing the Gators into 2^nd & 3^rd and long OU will limit what they are able to do with their rushing attack.

*Force Tebow to Pass – Tim Tebow doesn’t turn the ball over very often nor does he make many mistakes. However, the times that he does are when there is pressure coming on him. Oklahoma fans need to be aware of the fact that the Gators have a very legitimate chance of winning this game. What the Oklahoma defense will do is play to stop the run and make Tebow beat them through the air. It is a known fact that the Gators are worried about OU’s fast paced, no-huddle offense and in order to counter that they are most likely going to attempt to eat up the clock with their rushing attack. Take away the rushing attack and force the 48^th ranked passing offense to beat you is the best option for the Sooners.

Orange and Blue Hue and the Crimson and Cream Machine have done our best to bring you the various fans perspectives on the BCS Championship Game. Now we’ve each had the opportunity to state our cases on the Pigskin Podcast. You can check me out around the 13:10 mark followed by Ryan giving the Gators perspective.

 
This thread will move over to the main page after the Oklahoma basketball game ends. So far the Big 12 South is 0-2 in bowl games and the conference needs Texas to win in order to have a chance for a winning bowl record. Surely the Longhorns won't go down to the Big 10, right? Or do you even care? Can Sooner fans cheer for Texas as long as it is for the greater good of the conference? I have to admit that I'm going to have a hard time with it because I know that they won't be cheering for us on Thursday night!

Tip Time: 7:07 pm (CST)

Location: Lloyd Noble Center

TV: Fox Sports

Radio: KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City, KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa

Jeff Capel won’t be on the sideline for the Sooners tonight but it may not matter for this game. Here’s to hoping that he’s healthy and ready to go when the Sooners begin conference play Saturday at Kansas State.

The Texas/Ohio State game thread will be located in the Fan Posts section and then moved to the main page after the basketball game. My son has a basketball game tonight a 7:00 as well so I’ll be on as soon as possible.

After dropping their first game of the season at Arkansas last week the Oklahoma men’s basketball team dropped to #6 in this week’s AP and Coaches Polls. Texas checks in at #7 and Baylor is #23.

AP Top 25

We hooked up one more time with our man Gatorpilot from Orange and Blue Hue, an outstanding Florida fansite, to get his final thoughts on the national championship game Thursday night. You can head over there later this week to find my thoughts for the Gator fans but for now let’s see what Gatorpilot has to say.

CC Machine: What match-up concerns you most in this game?

GP: Bradford vs. Florida's secondary.  Our hope is that the UF defensive backfield is the best that Oklahoma has seen this year and that Bradford will have a tougher time getting the balls to his playmakers.  This concern has more to do with Bradford's amazing ability and less to do with any fear that our secondary isn't up to par.

CC Machine: Where do you have the most confidence?

GP: Tebow.  First, last, and always.

CC Machine: Oklahoma has to play the Gators in the state of Florida. Does that provide UF a little extra advantage and motivation to win a championship in their home state?

GP: We're hoping it will be a home game atmosphere.  The weak economy might keep the ratio a little more evenly-distributed than it would be in better years, but the general thinking is that this should be a home-field advantage for the Gators.  Most fans who live in Florida can drive to Miami -- the cost of tickets is another matter.

CC Machine: Keys to the game. What must Florida do to win this game?

GP: In our view, Murray's absence hurts Oklahoma most in terms of field position; the other disadvantage comes on third down, where we've found Murray to be one of Bradford's favorite targets, particularly on flare-outs and screens, and/or checkdowns when his primary targets are covered downfield.  The question is, can Mossis Madu fill in that role?

So if Florida can get the short field on kickoff, and keep Oklahoma near their 20 when kicking to the Sooners, there's a built-in advantage for the Gators' offense.

During the game, if Florida is able to put Bradford in 3rd-and-long consistently, Florida wins this game.  So it comes down to Florida's defense.  If they play to their ability we believe the Gators' chances to win the game are reasonably good.

CC Machine: Give us your score prediction.

GP: Florida 42, Oklahoma 34.

Tip Time: 12:37

Location: Lloyd Noble Center

TV: Fox Sports

Radio: KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City, KTBZ AM 1430 in Tulsa

Series History: 12-0, OU

The Sooners dropped an egg in Arkansas but are back home today for a chance to set things straight against Coppin State. Hopefully they’ll get it cranking back up with a renewed passion and intensity.