Now that OU's 2015 season is over....

[CTOkie]

a few things come to me:
* OU was a Cinderella team this year. No one could have seen OU reaching the 4-team playoff bracket last summer, and especially after the Texas loss on October 10th.
* Of the four teams, Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State and Oklahoma, the Sooners were clearly the 4th best team....and certainly not on the same level as Alabama. Not by a long shot. But then, who is ?
* OU lost to a better team in Clemson and lost in every way, even with some shaky calls by the zebras in OU's favor. Clemson ultimately ran and passed OU into the ground in the second half, scoring 21 unanswered points, as OU's defenders were on the field way too much.
* There's no need to blame any coach or player for this loss....OU just was not a national championship caliber team when you compare OU with the other three teams and perhaps even a few other top ten teams.
* OU's three game sweep vs TCU, Baylor and OSU was without question influenced by the absence of the three starting quarterbacks of these teams. This fact gave me a concern as OU was selected as the fourth seed in the playoffs. Unfortunately, Clemson's quarterback was up and running....and running.....and running, and he did to OU exactly what I thought he would do.
* Football is now a game of increased serious injuries, especially with concussions and spinal injuries. These injuries are random and untimely. OU now has concerns about Mayfield, Mixon and Walker and there will be more to come. Faster and bigger players cannot be protected very well regardless of changes in equipment or tackling techniques. When I look at OU's roster before every year I wonder who and how many will wind up injured and how the season be impacted. I never had these concerns 30-50 years ago.
* There should be plenty to feel good about in the future as OU can reload with good recruiting and the coaches can learn from this game. As fans I believe we can appreciate how this team played most of the year and appreciate what Stoops did after 2014 to rejuvenate the program.
* Bottom line is : OU had a good season and a season to build upon.

 

[bcsoonerfan]

Nobody, yourself included, had anything to say about Oklahoma being the inferior of the 4 teams prior to losing.

A comforting rationalization but we played poorly. And I'm baffled by you saying OU got questionable calls in their favor.

 

[CTOkie]

Nobody, yourself included, had anything to say about Oklahoma being the inferior of the 4 teams prior to losing.

A comforting rationalization but we played poorly. And I'm baffled by you saying OU got questionable calls in their favor.

Many of my feelings prior to every OU game are not always presented on this message board.
Believing that OU might be the 4th best team in the playoffs was a gut feeling after the OSU game that I had, based on OU not facing the starting QBs of TCU, Baylor and OSU (which I mentioned on at least one previous thread).....and knowing that Watson would likely be one of the best QBs to ever play against OU in any game ever. I felt that OU was the 4th best team and the fact that you don't accept that as the truth is irrelevant.
OU played as hard as it could. The effort was there, but so was Clemson's superiority, which ultimately tipped the scale in the second half.
The interference call and the Clemson interference sideline calls were at the very least questionable. But at the time, I was happy to accept any and every break my team could get. If you're "baffled" by what I said, then you should have watched the game.
OU had a good season and a very surprising one. I'm not that disappointed.

 

[soonermade]

After Bama's beat down on MSU, it's clear that MSU was the 4th rated team. I'm sure we could beat MSU. However, in hindsight, if OU had to face Baylor, TCU and OSU with their starting QBs, OU's record might've been 8-4 and with a loss in a bowl game, the exact same record as last season, 8-5.

OU has to open the season with Houston and Ohio State, followed by TCU and Texas so if they don't really get after it in the offseason, OU could be 0-4 when it faces TT. WOW!

Hate to say it, but if that happens, I'm pretty sure the Stoops brothers will no longer be part of the OU program.

 

[CTOkie]

What Alabama did to Michigan State could have happened to OU had it played in that game. How OU would have fared against MSU is anyone's guess.
Alabama is just on a different level at this time than any other team. I expect them to beat Clemson.

 

[soonermade]

Alabama should have no trouble stopping Clemson's rushing attack which killed OU, but Clemson can also throw the ball and Bama's weakness is vs the pass. Clemson did a pretty good job at shutting down OU's vaunted rushing attack so if they're able to do that against Henry, Bama will have a long day. This game could be very low scoring.

 

[soonerfastnloud]

Many of my feelings prior to every OU game are not always presented on this message board.
Believing that OU might be the 4th best team in the playoffs was a gut feeling after the OSU game that I had, based on OU not facing the starting QBs of TCU, Baylor and OSU (which I mentioned on at least one previous thread).....and knowing that Watson would likely be one of the best QBs to ever play against OU in any game ever. I felt that OU was the 4th best team and the fact that you don't accept that as the truth is irrelevant.
OU played as hard as it could. The effort was there, but so was Clemson's superiority, which ultimately tipped the scale in the second half.
The interference call and the Clemson interference sideline calls were at the very least questionable. But at the time, I was happy to accept any and every break my team could get. If you're "baffled" by what I said, then you should have watched the game.
OU had a good season and a very surprising one. I'm not that disappointed.

The call on Flowers appeared to be a turning point in the game, even though Clemson player clapped and no call. Bob was mad about it. If we could have scored a TD it could have been different.

 

[CTOkie]

Alabama should have no trouble stopping Clemson's rushing attack which killed OU, but Clemson can also throw the ball and Bama's weakness is vs the pass. Clemson did a pretty good job at shutting down OU's vaunted rushing attack so if they're able to do that against Henry, Bama will have a long day. This game could be very low scoring.

Clemson has a superior QB that of Michigan State and could give Alabama a good game.

 

[soonerfastnloud]

Having Charles Walker out was huge, Walker could have been a factor in tackling Watson.

 

[soonerfastnloud]

MAYBE WALKER COULD HAVE DONE THIS

 

[soonermade]

OU did that all night, but then the Tiger took one big bite and the head came off.

 

[bcsoonerfan]

I watched the game CT, same as you. The 2 calls you mentioned were questionable, I agree. But the block in the back, the call against Flowers, and the PI against Parker were horrendous and untimely. And there were several 'no calls' where their DBs did the same to our receivers that Parker got flagged for. There were at least 10 obvious holds that the refs didn't flag against Clemsin as well.

I still give them credit for their 2nd half dominance on the LOS being the difference in the outcome, but you could see the mounting frustration and discouragement every time a bad killed a Sooner drive or kept one alive for Clemson

 

[CTOkie]

I watched the game CT, same as you. The 2 calls you mentioned were questionable, I agree. But the block in the back, the call against Flowers, and the PI against Parker were horrendous and untimely. And there were several 'no calls' where their DBs did the same to our receivers that Parker got flagged for. There were at least 10 obvious holds that the refs didn't flag against Clemsin as well.

I still give them credit for their 2nd half dominance on the LOS being the difference in the outcome, but you could see the mounting frustration and discouragement every time a bad killed a Sooner drive or kept one alive for Clemson

No question it was poorly officiated both ways. You make good observations, bc.
I believe that through it all, Clemson was significantly better. I had a concern even with the 17-16 lead at halftime.
The Alabama-Clemson game will be very interesting, but I have a feeling there will be a very focused and motivated Alabama team for Clemson to deal with. I'm tired of Alabama's dominance, but it's apparent to me that Saban's teams have been THE template for having a championship team year after year.