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Honest Expectations For this Season

I can see Murray being called on to Lead four or five drives a game. With him running the option read. Defenses will not adapt, to his game plan and see a very explosive player. Covering all 11 players gives every defense fits. Baker can scramble but Murray can flat, leave a guy grabbing his jock strap. I honestly think Riley will game plan some complete drives with Murray as the QB
 
We have no idea how good or bad are defense is going to be because the season hasn't started. Right now it's pure speculation and guessing. As for Barrett as I stated I could care less what he does vs other teams, he went up and down the field on our defense.
 
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As he did on most teams last year. He didn't have a great stats game vs rival Michigan and struggled vs the eventual national championships. Mostly everyone else he had success
 
I can see Murray being called on to Lead four or five drives a game. With him running the option read. Defenses will not adapt, to his game plan and see a very explosive player. Covering all 11 players gives every defense fits. Baker can scramble but Murray can flat, leave a guy grabbing his jock strap. I honestly think Riley will game plan some complete drives with Murray as the QB

I 100% agree!
This is what makes OU's offense better than last season. We have dangerous depth at QB with Tyler Murray. He is proven after his year at ATM. .

Last season we had NO depth at QB with only Baker and Kendall an incoming freshman
If Baker went down we were dead.

With Kyler, he is explosive and dangerous and he is fine passer also. He will give defenses hell with his blazing speed and his explosiveness. He is a touchdown waiting to happen.

And we have possible the nation's best OL to help our QBs & our offense.
 
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Like I said OU is a different team especially on defense.

Also do you remember Trevor Knight's deterioration from the great game he played vs. Alabama?
The same goes for Barrett with his great game vs. OU last season.
Barrett deteriorated dramatically as the season progressed and he got shutout in the playoffs. It was like he forgot how to pass the football.He was horrible.
Barrett's issues last year had mostly to do with green receivers and his OL broke down on pass protection......and as OU fans know all too well, Clemson's defense has not been kind to quarterbacks, especially good quarterbacks.
 
Barrett's issues last year had mostly to do with green receivers and his OL broke down on pass protection......and as OU fans know all too well, Clemson's defense has not been kind to quarterbacks, especially good quarterbacks.

But CT, all season Barrett averaged a dismal 6.7 yards per pass He is a good runner & a below average passer.
Vs. Clemson he averaged 6.6 yards per pass about his season average.

Barrett is a poor passer vs. pressure.
 
I hope we win vs Ohio state but I wouldn't be shocked to see OU lose by 10-14 points. It's going to be tough up there in Columbus

Just like OU softball with two pitchers Paige Parker & Paige Lowery, OU football has two pitchers ( QBs) Baker Mayfield & Tyler Murray.

Parker threw the ball fast but Lowery had blazing speed maybe the fastest in lady softball and most players could not hit her blazing speed. .
Baker runs fast & is a great passer but Tyler Murray has blazing speed possibly 4.2 the fastest guy in college football and he is good at throwing the football..
Defenses will really have problems with Kyler Murray at QB running the ball and throwing on the run like softball players had trouble with the speed of Paige Lowery. . OU with Paige Lowery for right handed batters had as special shift having no left fielder as few could pull the ball with Lowery's blazing speed. Similarly Tyler Murray's blazing speed will give opposing defenses hell.
 
I'm not worried about scoring although we will struggle without perine and Mixon, I'm worried about the defense. For years it's been average or really bad
 
Like I said OU is a different team especially on defense.

Also do you remember Trevor Knight's deterioration from the great game he played vs. Alabama?
The same goes for Barrett with his great game vs. OU last season.
Barrett deteriorated dramatically as the season progressed and he got shutout in the playoffs. It was like he forgot how to pass the football.He was horrible.
Saying Barrett deteriorated dramatically as last season progressed means you are only looking at a single stat and basing your entire opinion off that. The later games in the season he wasn't throwing the ball as much because he ran for over 100yds in the last 2 games of the season. Prior to that, he completed over 60% of his passes in every other game but 2.
And Ohio State simply ran into Clemson's defense and a brilliant game plan by BrentV. Ask Bob Stoops about playing against Clemson's defense those 2 years in a row in the post season.
 
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And why all this talk about OUs QB depth? Baker never left the field last year against Ohio State, so lack of depth was completely irrelevant. The ONLY way QB depth comes into play here is if Baker goes down. Having Murray available is a nice insurance policy if that happens, but it's a non-factor if Baker plays the entire game.
 
And why all this talk about OUs QB depth? Baker never left the field last year against Ohio State, so lack of depth was completely irrelevant. The ONLY way QB depth comes into play here is if Baker goes down. Having Murray available is a nice insurance policy if that happens, but it's a non-factor if Baker plays the entire game.

I differ with you Billy.
Last season with only Baker & Kendall a true freshman Baker played most of the snaps.

We will see what happens but this season I'll bet you Kyler Murray plays many snaps. He is seasoned, explosive, dangerous and perhaps at a 4.2 40, he is the fastest guy in College football.
 
But CT, all season Barrett averaged a dismal 6.7 yards per pass He is a good runner & a below average passer.
Vs. Clemson he averaged 6.6 yards per pass about his season average.

Barrett is a poor passer vs. pressure.
Yeah....Barrett sure sucked against OU last year: 14 of 20 passes, 152 yards, 4 touchdown passes.....74 yards rushing.
 
Yeah....Barrett sure sucked against OU last year: 14 of 20 passes, 152 yards, 4 touchdown passes.....74 yards rushing.

Who said he sucked vs. OU last season???

2017 a different OU defense and Barrett a different QB only averaging 6.7 yards per pass & he deteriorated as the season progressed.
 
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Bull how many games has the 2017 OU defense played? You have no idea if it's going to be improved.

Everything that I have read and heard the OU LBers (much much better lead by Obo & 5 star Caleb Kelly) and the OU DL will be much better.
And the DBs led by seniors Stephen Parker and Thomas will be solid.
 
Berryhill, as bad as the defense played the most of last year it's pretty easy to say the defense is going to be better. The defense can be better than last year and still be bad!
 
If Riley can't find a way to replace the production of Perine, Mixon, & Westbrook, he is the one to blame. He was the OC the last 2 years and responsible for the last 3 offensive recruiting classes. Mayfield, Perine, & Mixon were already here when he was hired. His guys are Freshman, Sophomores and Juniors this year.

Whoa, man. Why all the hostility with our new Dude Coach? Take a minute to reflect on what you're saying here. Let's be fair.
 
Whoa, man. Why all the hostility with our new Dude Coach? Take a minute to reflect on what you're saying here. Let's be fair.
OU's recruitment of running backs starting with the 2015 class (Riley's first year) was likely impacted by the presence of Perine, Mixon, Ross and Brooks already on the roster, so only Anderson came on board. A similar scenario in 2016, when only Adams came.
Now with Perine and Mixon leaving early, only Anderson (recovering from a neck injury and coming off a medical redshirt and missing two years of football) and Abdul Adams are left over.....but 3 highly touted freshmen backs are here and are all said to have a chance to contribute in 2017.
The 2017 class was ranked 7th, the 2016 class was ranked 16th since Riley was hired in January 2015.
Right now there are 5 running backs, 9 WR's, 2 hybrid TE's, 3 ZB/FB, 4 quarterbacks and a slew of offensive linemen on the roster.
Riley is not having problems recruiting good offensive players.....and throwing him under the bus for how the roster has evolved ( through injuries, early exits and suspensions) since 2015 is unfair and irrational.
 
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I differ with you Billy.
Last season with only Baker & Kendall a true freshman Baker played most of the snaps.

We will see what happens but this season I'll bet you Kyler Murray plays many snaps. He is seasoned, explosive, dangerous and perhaps at a 4.2 40, he is the fastest guy in College football.
I don't disagree with you that Kendall has sick potential. But I really don't know where you think Riley is going to pull a Heisman finalist QB off the field so he can get Kendall on the field in critical games. Now maybe they can get Kendall on the field to make some plays, but it will still be Baker taking the snaps. And why gamble with getting your prized backup QB injured on some plays, unless the offense is going to be short on playmakers after losing Dede, Mixon and Perine.
 
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OU's recruitment of running backs starting with the 2015 class (Riley's first year) was likely impacted by the presence of Perine, Mixon, Ross and Brooks already on the roster, so only Anderson came on board. A similar scenario in 2016, when only Adams came.
Now with Perine and Mixon leaving early, only Anderson (recovering from a neck injury and coming off a medical redshirt and missing two years of football) and Abdul Adams are left over.....but 3 highly touted freshmen backs are here and are all said to have a chance to contribute in 2017.
The 2017 class was ranked 7th, the 2016 class was ranked 16th since Riley was hired in January 2015.
Right now there are 5 running backs, 9 WR's, 2 hybrid TE's, 3 ZB/FB, 4 quarterbacks and a slew of offensive linemen on the roster.
Riley is not having problems recruiting good offensive players.....and throwing him under the bus for how the roster has evolved ( through injuries, early exits and suspensions) since 2015 is unfair and irrational.

I totally agree. Not to mention that Riley was the quarterback coach and how long has it been since OU had such a talented quarterback group on campus?
 
I'm not throwing Riley under the bus. He was the OC the last 2 years and it shouldn't have been a surprise that 2 quality backs would leave after 3 years. It happens everywhere. OU has lost 4 games the last 2 years and the offense didn't score more than 17 points in 3 of those losses and only scored 6 points in the second half against Houston. The offense put up points against bad defenses and against average to good defenses they struggled.
 
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I can't be critical of Riley as a HC but as the OC the last 2 years the offense was as much of a problem as the defense in the 4 losses. As for the QB depth, Jones was the backup to Bradford and both are playing in the NFL.
 
I don't disagree with you that Kendall has sick potential. But I really don't know where you think Riley is going to pull a Heisman finalist QB off the field so he can get Kendall on the field in critical games. Now maybe they can get Kendall on the field to make some plays, but it will still be Baker taking the snaps. And why gamble with getting your prized backup QB injured on some plays, unless the offense is going to be short on playmakers after losing Dede, Mixon and Perine.

It will be Kyler Murray getting a lot of snaps with Baker starting.

Kendall will play very little in my opinion.
 
1 to 2 losses. Is really all we should have. If we have 1 then we have a shot at the playoffs if it's against tosu. Another loss in the big 12 we can still get to the championship game as long as that isn't the loss.

I hope Baker doesn't press like last year, when he was uncertain with his receivers to start the year. Hopefully the line will ease some of that with a clean pocket.

We need Badet to be that guy immediately and Mead to continue to improve on last year. Hopefully Calcaterra can step right in when Andrews needs to take some plays off, so we doesn't lose the presence of our TE receiving threat. We really need one of RB's to step up a lot like Perine did his fr. yr. I don't expect a 1700 yard rushing season but 1000 yd back would be nice.


Most importantly how does the d play. Will we see the 4 3. Will this help, and will please stop seeing the 10 yard off the receivers and no looking back for the ball in the secondary.
 
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I believe we are going to struggle offensively during the early season. You don't lose 2 great running backs and a receiver like Westbrook and not feel the impact. I'm not sure who is going to step up in those positions. I'd like to think Andrews could be the go to guy but that still hasn't materialized.
 
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I expect to go 11-1, with our only loss at Ohio State.

I expect to beat Oklahoma State for the second time to win the Big 12 CCG.

And even though I think we lose to Ohio State, it has less to do with Barrett as it does all their other talented players. Believe it or not, Barrett's 152 yards through the air against us was still his 8th best passing game of the year. There were five other games where he threw for LESS yards than he did against us! That's because their offense was more predicated on the run than the pass. For whatever reason, Mike refused to stack the box and make Barrett beat us with his arm. To his credit, it's probably because their WRs looked like Heisman finalists against our DBs. I don't think I've ever seen a team score four TDs through the air in only 152 yards.
 
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I can see Murray being called on to Lead four or five drives a game. With him running the option read. Defenses will not adapt, to his game plan and see a very explosive player. Covering all 11 players gives every defense fits. Baker can scramble but Murray can flat, leave a guy grabbing his jock strap. I honestly think Riley will game plan some complete drives with Murray as the QB

You have to be kidding ... really you think Riley is going to sit a two time finalist for the Heisman QB on the bench for roughly 30 to 40% of OU's possessions?

OU will get somewhere around 11 to 15 possessions a games and you are going to give 5 of them to Baker's backup QB? No way that happens.

Riley isn't going to a two QB system, ever, at least on purpose. The only way Murray or any other OU QB will get possessions when the game is in doubt is if Baker were to get hurt.
 
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You have to be kidding ... really you think Riley is going to sit a two time finalist for the Heisman QB on the bench for roughly 30 to 40% of OU's possessions?

OU will get somewhere around 11 to 15 possessions a games and you are going to give 5 of them to Baker's backup QB? No way that happens.

Riley isn't going to a two QB system, ever, at least on purpose. The only way Murray or any other OU QB will get possessions when the game is in doubt is if Baker were to get hurt.

I think it's more likely we'll see Kyler on the field with Baker. Trickery and what not combined with his athletic ability to play as a slot type.
 
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Big XII title?..........YES
Playoff appearance?.......YES
First season speed bumps?.......NONE
Win total predictions?......UNDEFEATED

I'm shocked. Like the fat guy on Orangebloods predicting a Texas win.

I'm not optimistic this season. I think Lincoln will find out how hard it is to play call, coach the quarterbacks, AND be an HC. I think we win nine games with no conference title, and maybe not even a CCG appearance. Love the OLine and the quarterback, but think that the defense won't know who's running things, and the guy who is, shouldn't be.

We have serious if's at running back and elsewhere.

We usually play better when I play the pessimist role.
 
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