Can we now consider the Sooners defense championship caliber?
- Thread starter soonerrhea
- Start date
OU is playing in the Conference Championship, so technically they are championship caliber.
OU has won the Big 12 eleven times since 2001.
I think it’s time we should aim higher.
...and that can be the End of OUr Championships Run for 2019, or it can be one final Stepping Stone to The Big Dance...
Signed: Captain Obvious
Doesn’t OU need to beat Baylor first ?
Well at least the fellow that wrote this article agreed w/ me!
“Under new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, there was a clear improvement over the first seven games on the season.”
“Under new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, there was a clear improvement over the first seven games on the season.”
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No one can deny that.
But this thread references championship caliber defense. That has yet to be seen although Grinch has narrowed the gap from last season.
Apparently our defense has been big 12 championship caliber for several seasons now. National championship caliber? In a season or 2 maybe....not now
Technically, no. They are championship caliber by participating in the game.
Just like a .22 caliber (or above) is still the same whether it's shot or not...
Our D is decent. Sometimes they play terrible and sometimes they play above their heads. Its improved a little since last season, but we aren't in the same league as Clemson or Ohio State. Maybe we'll get there
We are a 20 gauge shotgun up to this point. Not quite up to 12 gauge with deer slugs. Beat up Baylor and maybe we get up to a 12 gauge with a duck load.
True CT but you can't win one without the other unless your name is Alabama or LSU if they lose to Georgia.
OU has won many Big 12 titles without a Championship Caliber Defense while not being able to get number 8 so having a Championship Caliber Defense is not a requirement to win the Big 12. Good thing too as we probably would have not won as many.
As for the other Championship I guess we will see if we beat Baylor and Utah and Georgia fall this week.
He has got a fire in the belly. Maybe he is embracing coaching and the need to hustle on every play. Keep it up Bookie. You got this.
Our defensive improvement has provided the most concrete evidence I've seen that many in this fan base are both spoiled and ridiculous. It's never good enough. It will never be good enough.
There were some frustrating lulls for a two and a half game stretch. They figured it out. Guys who were wrote off like Motley, Gallimore and Bookie bought in and turned it around. Things are only going to get better.
When I was younger I was spoiled by the magical run of 2000 and the early Stoops years. Didn't take me long to realize how difficult it is to win it all. We are close. We stay close. What's their to contain about?
Good stuff BC. And you're right. There are some that think negatively all the time. Comments of "They have to prove themselves", "they haven't been tested", and "They aren't a Championsghip level...." This is their right as a fan to think this way and even post accordingly. But I can't. Try as I might. When I see good things, I post what I think. When I see bad things I do the same. As fans each of us are different.
The good news? Great things are happening to OU's football program. Most fans can see this. I'm not going to list the accomplishments this program has done the past couple of years. There's no need. Everyone sees them. Most acknowlege them.
I'm so glad I'm not an Aggie fan. Or a Hawkeye fan. Or even a Gamecock fan. But I do look at the love they bestow on their respective teams and simply marvel. My point is, they haven't won anything in years but their fan base loves them dearly. I think sometimes we win so much that we forget what most fans have to endure.
The good news? Great things are happening to OU's football program. Most fans can see this. I'm not going to list the accomplishments this program has done the past couple of years. There's no need. Everyone sees them. Most acknowlege them.
I'm so glad I'm not an Aggie fan. Or a Hawkeye fan. Or even a Gamecock fan. But I do look at the love they bestow on their respective teams and simply marvel. My point is, they haven't won anything in years but their fan base loves them dearly. I think sometimes we win so much that we forget what most fans have to endure.
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I haven't flamed on the hawk board this year once except to point out that in spite of their sense of superiority over the Clones (11-9) under Ferents is inflated just a bit and they were within a muffed punt of losing, perhaps this year. Campbell is a great young coach with a huge future.
Definition says so. If a team is playing in a championship game, whether it be conference or national, by definition, is it not a championship caliber team? Has the cold NE climate frozen your objective comprehension?
You seem content on winning only conference championships and then falling short in the CFP.....while opposing teams score 40-plus points.
When I refer to championship caliber defense I'm referring to to the playoffs.
I voiced no personal opinion or made no statement of contentment. In fact, my comments do not reference winning or losing any particular game. My point is simple but you seems to have trouble comprehending: if a team (any team) is playing in a championship game then by definition they are championship caliber. Personally, I want and believe OU can win in the CCG and then both CFP games.
Scottsdale....I"m happy as you are to win and dominate the Big 12 so often.....and there's no lack of comprehension whatsoever.
I am just saying I want OU to ascend to a NATIONAL championship level on defense. I know that you remember the last two years vs Georgia and Alabama and I know you see my point.
Your last sentence in the previous post reflects my thoughts as well.
Answer to OP question: No. That being said, OU beating Baylor and then winning two playoff games, though improbable, is well within the realm of possibility.
Good question. I prefer to re-frame the question as what would the teams in the past two years do with this year's defense?
I would say about the same. We have not played the same type of offenses we did those 2 years and we lost one we shouldn't have like those 2 teams did and we have had some very close calls this year just like last year. Probably a good thing the Big 12 offenses were down this year, our defensive stats this season might be the result of that more than anything else. We have at least 2 more games to find out hopefully 3 more.
What is most encouraging to me is that players seem to be getting better, not regressing, under Grinch.
In the Stoops era, DBs would show promise as Freshman, but end up like burnt toast as Jr.s and Sr.s
Motley was headed in that same direction, but now the kid has turned into maybe the 2nd or 3rd biggest play maker on defense.
In the Stoops era, DBs would show promise as Freshman, but end up like burnt toast as Jr.s and Sr.s
Motley was headed in that same direction, but now the kid has turned into maybe the 2nd or 3rd biggest play maker on defense.
#1 biggest playmaker if you look at it.
And yes DBs regressed significantly under Mike Stoops. That dude owes Jordan Thomas some money.
He destroyed their confidence with his 10 yard cushions and then chastising them when the receiver picked up a 3rd and 3 with a slant.
Mike should have been out the door with Huep and Norvell in 2014. I still punch my neighbor's dog every time I think about that 2014 Baylor game.
That Baylor game left me physically ill. That was the only time I left a game early that I attended.
Because you are such a good poster here, I won't ask how it would be possible to leave a game early that you didn't attend.
Nope. Not going to ask.
EDIT: We left the NC game against USuCk in Miami at the end of the third quarter. Only game I've ever left early.
I was attending that game at a former friend's house watch party with my kids along. We left in mid Q3 because of a fairly substantial snow event that evening and didn't wish to get snowbound.
That was the end of my defense of Mike Stoops.
And I still contend Tayvon Austin broke Mike in 2012.
