*OFFICIAL OKLAHOMA VERSUS UTEP GAME THREAD*

[OUSOONER67]

We gonna be just fine. Will take what this team does this yr over what the guy from Muleshoe would have fielded this yr.
It will probably take 2 or 3 recruiting classes to get where we want them to be. And like others have said, just show improvement from week to week. I think Lebs offense will be fun to watch, I saw quite a few OM Games last season and I liked what I saw from his offense and OM cannot recruit the same type guys OU can and will be able to under Lebby here.
Patience Grasshoppers, we'll get there.

 

[coeSooner81]

Once Jackson Arnold gets here....watch out

 

[Plainosooner]

That's kind of how I looked at it too. We didn't score 70 points, and the new QB is no Murray or Mayfield. But the game was over in Q3 unlike last year vs. the green wave. Much more fundamentally sound on defense.

Still, it sure doesn't look like we have the skill position players on offense like we used to. No Mark Clayton or sterling shepard. No demarco murry or Perine. No Mark Andrews or Orlando Brown or creed Humphries. Mims is a poor mans Hollywood Brown, but that's about it. That can change with a recruiting class or two, sure, but I don't think this years version of the O is going to make opposing DCs lose any sleep. Hope I'm wrong.

CW, I think this is the key thing I saw in the game. This team is woefully short of difference makers on both sides of the ball. OUr punter can be occasionally. I think Stutsman might be, maybe shortly. But I see a team that has worked it's butt off, been well coached and well trained and who plays really hard and mostly very smart. But the eye popping athlete I didn't see anywhere.

I fear we're going to come up short against the top ten talented teams in America. I love having a team that does things right. I just feel like we should light UTEP up for four quarters like we did in the first. It's true that the most improvement anyone makes in their season is between game 1 of the season and game 2. But against a team that we ought to be a lot more talented than, at home, we didn't get a single turnover from OUr first or second team defense.

We played pretty good defense in the second half, but couldn't stop the Mines well enough to have more than four possessions in the second half. I saw way too much of this in 2021. I know they were playing one of the most feeble teams in the country Saturday, but USC had three pick 6's in their first game.

We have a lot of good to very good football players. But we are short on greatness. I like OUr two running backs, but neither is a top ten running back at OU in the last decade. It kind of seems to me that too many of OUr best athletes are freshmen. I like OUr two freshmen running backs. Their hardly played Saturday. I like OUr two freshmen wides. They combined for fewer than ten snaps Saturday and no targets. OUr only turnover came from a freshman stud from BTW in Tulsa. So there is hope.

Who made the most spectacular offensive play Saturday? A true freshman walkon from OKC. After Saturday, I am much less excited about OUr prospects for this season. And we absolutely did not look like a top ten team against a mediocre Miner team, much less a playoff prospect.

 

[Belldozer1]

CW, I think this is the key thing I saw in the game. This team is woefully short of difference makers on both sides of the ball. OUr punter can be occasionally. I think Stutsman might be, maybe shortly. But I see a team that has worked it's butt off, been well coached and well trained and who plays really hard and mostly very smart. But the eye popping athlete I didn't see anywhere.

I fear we're going to come up short against the top ten talented teams in America. I love having a team that does things right. I just feel like we should light UTEP up for four quarters like we did in the first. It's true that the most improvement anyone makes in their season is between game 1 of the season and game 2. But against a team that we ought to be a lot more talented than, at home, we didn't get a single turnover from OUr first or second team defense.

We played pretty good defense in the second half, but couldn't stop the Mines well enough to have more than four possessions in the second half. I saw way too much of this in 2021. I know they were playing one of the most feeble teams in the country Saturday, but USC had three pick 6's in their first game.

We have a lot of good to very good football players. But we are short on greatness. I like OUr two running backs, but neither is a top ten running back at OU in the last decade. It kind of seems to me that too many of OUr best athletes are freshmen. I like OUr two freshmen running backs. Their hardly played Saturday. I like OUr two freshmen wides. They combined for fewer than ten snaps Saturday and no targets. OUr only turnover came from a freshman stud from BTW in Tulsa. So there is hope.

Who made the most spectacular offensive play Saturday? A true freshman walkon from OKC. After Saturday, I am much less excited about OUr prospects for this season. And we absolutely did not look like a top ten team against a mediocre Miner team, much less a playoff prospect.

I see your points to an extent and I also think we're going to have to grind out some wins but I think we're capable. I was watching the Ikard and Lehman show and the Podcast on the Prairie and one of them commented how good they thought UTEP's first qb was and I have to agree. That guy could be starting at OU imo. I hope we get Gibson involved even though he's a true freshman but we may need him just to give us that one tall, fast receiver that defenses have to account for.

I'll be honest I watched a good portion of that USC game and those 3 pick sixes weren't like the db's were playing lockdown coverage and made plays, a couple of them were about a lucky as you can get, deflected balls. I saw nothing out of the USC defense worth a dang. Riley did what he does best. He overwhelmed a weaker team but make no mistake about it and alot of the USC fans were feeling a little squirmy in the first half with a huge sigh of relief with the pick sixes. We all know how to take it to Riley and Stanford will try to keep it out of USC's hands with long grinding drives this weekend.

 

[Oklabama]

CW, I think this is the key thing I saw in the game. This team is woefully short of difference makers on both sides of the ball. OUr punter can be occasionally. I think Stutsman might be, maybe shortly. But I see a team that has worked it's butt off, been well coached and well trained and who plays really hard and mostly very smart. But the eye popping athlete I didn't see anywhere.

I fear we're going to come up short against the top ten talented teams in America. I love having a team that does things right. I just feel like we should light UTEP up for four quarters like we did in the first. It's true that the most improvement anyone makes in their season is between game 1 of the season and game 2. But against a team that we ought to be a lot more talented than, at home, we didn't get a single turnover from OUr first or second team defense.

We played pretty good defense in the second half, but couldn't stop the Mines well enough to have more than four possessions in the second half. I saw way too much of this in 2021. I know they were playing one of the most feeble teams in the country Saturday, but USC had three pick 6's in their first game.

We have a lot of good to very good football players. But we are short on greatness. I like OUr two running backs, but neither is a top ten running back at OU in the last decade. It kind of seems to me that too many of OUr best athletes are freshmen. I like OUr two freshmen running backs. Their hardly played Saturday. I like OUr two freshmen wides. They combined for fewer than ten snaps Saturday and no targets. OUr only turnover came from a freshman stud from BTW in Tulsa. So there is hope.

Who made the most spectacular offensive play Saturday? A true freshman walkon from OKC. After Saturday, I am much less excited about OUr prospects for this season. And we absolutely did not look like a top ten team against a mediocre Miner team, much less a playoff prospect.

Good post. I saw a lot of good effort but the talent isn’t there. Nothing wrong with that as long as the effort is there. I like what I saw Saturday. I like the coaching. I like the effort. I like the players. It’s going to get better.

 

[bcsoonerfan]

I don't think we put the secondary in many opportunities to make big plays. Lots of zone and a vanilla scheme. I expect the same next Saturday but with more running from the offense. Don't figure we'll open up much till Nebraska.

I like Mims, Willis and Gray as difference makers right now on offense and Grimes, Redmond, Stutsman, Downs, Bowman and Key to be playmakers defensively. We just need the rest to do their job. Woodi looked bored out there. Understandable but gotta be ever ready.

 

[Plainosooner]

Good post. I saw a lot of good effort but the talent isn’t there. Nothing wrong with that as long as the effort is there. I like what I saw Saturday. I like the coaching. I like the effort.

We looked pretty ordinary as OU talent goes. It takes more than great effort if the other guys have all the studs.

I like Mims, Willis and Gray as difference makers right now on offense and Grimes, Redmond, Stutsman, Downs, Bowman and Key to be playmakers defensively. We just need the rest to do their job. Woodi looked bored out there. Understandable but gotta be ever ready.

Obo was a difference maker. Jason White was a difference maker. Baker was a difference maker. Kyler was a difference maker. Tommy Harris and Dusty D were difference makers. Mims, Willis, Gray and Redmond are really good college football players. Mims is occasionally was difference maker, but not half time time. We need players who the other guys have to game plan for, and still they make a difference.

I think BV is going to be a great coach. But he has to get his recruits in here. And I'm not sold on Lebby just yet, We'll see.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

We looked pretty ordinary as OU talent goes. It takes more than great effort if the other guys have all the studs.

Obo was a difference maker. Jason White was a difference maker. Baker was a difference maker. Kyler was a difference maker. Tommy Harris and Dusty D were difference makers. Mims, Willis, Gray and Redmond are really good college football players. Mims is occasionally was difference maker, but not half time time. We need players who the other guys have to game plan for, and still they make a difference.

I think BV is going to be a great coach. But he has to get his recruits in here. And I'm not sold on Lebby just yet, We'll see.

One game plaino? C'mon man😅 let's not go anal.

 

[bcsoonerfan]

We looked pretty ordinary as OU talent goes. It takes more than great effort if the other guys have all the studs.

Obo was a difference maker. Jason White was a difference maker. Baker was a difference maker. Kyler was a difference maker. Tommy Harris and Dusty D were difference makers. Mims, Willis, Gray and Redmond are really good college football players. Mims is occasionally was difference maker, but not half time time. We need players who the other guys have to game plan for, and still they make a difference.

I think BV is going to be a great coach. But he has to get his recruits in here. And I'm not sold on Lebby just yet, We'll see.

Let's see where we stand in a few weeks. I think we're going to see some guys emerge. Nobody in the conference is out of our league with talent so energy and effort can carry the torch for now.

 

[CTOkie]

With everything this program has been through since the start of the 2021 season, with a coach who did not want to be at OU and revealed it by poor coaching, and then took a secret trip during the season to find a new team, and then poached the roster and recruiting after leaving and then handed Venables a team without a QB and its best receiver, running back and the team's 4 best defenders, I'm okay with a 32 point win in blistering heat against a UTEP team that I believe is better than advertised and seeing so much raw talent show well.
To compare OU to USC after one game and declaring that UTEP or Rice are good barometers to judge this team is at the very least premature and shortsighted.
Most of us know and accept that this team is in a transition stage after so much upheaval and that anywhere from 2-4 losses may be ahead, but the pieces are coming together quickly for Venables to take OU to a higher level.
And what OU may lack in "greatness" can make up for it with resolve and motivation......and elite coaching.

 

[Senior Sooner]

With everything this program has been through since the start of the 2021 season, with a coach who did not want to be at OU and revealed it by poor coaching, and then took a secret trip during the season to find a new team, and then poached the roster and recruiting after leaving and then handed Venables a team without a QB and its best receiver, running back and the team's 4 best defenders, I'm okay with a 32 point win in blistering heat against a UTEP team that I believe is better than advertised and seeing so much raw talent show well.
To compare OU to USC after one game and declaring that UTEP or Rice is a good barometer to judge this team is at the very least premature and shortsighted.
Most of us know and accept that this team is in a transition stage after so much upheaval and that anywhere from 2-4 losses may be ahead, but the pieces are coming together quickly for Venables to take OU to a higher level.
And what OU may lack in "greatness" can make up for it with resolve and motivation......and elite coaching.

Super, Level-Headed Evaluation, CT...Thank You!

 

[CTOkie]

Super, Level-Headed Evaluation, CT...Thank You!

Thank you, Senior Sooner.
Knowing of your long time following of OU football, I want to ask you a few questions:
1963...OU was a preseason pick to contend for a national championship and I recall how excited everyone was when OU beat USC 17-12 before the showdown with #2 Texas two weeks later. Royal brought a team into the OU game that was more focused and better prepared and won 28-7.
In the week that followed, Joe Don Looney was kicked off the team, which I believe may have impacted team moral even further after the Texas loss and they played ugly the rest of the way, losing to Nebraska 29-20 for the conference title.
Do you think Looney's act of hitting a coach and getting kicked off the team.....combined with Wilkinson having an eye on politics following the season.....undermined the 1963 team, and perhaps even the 1964 team under Gomer Jones?
Prentice Gautt: I have felt that if Wilkinson had Gautt being only a halfback, OU's offense in 1958 and 1959 would have been significantly better. Gautt's speed and power was the team's best and I've always believed there would have been more runs like the ones he has against Colorado in 1958 and Syracuse in the 1959 Orange Bowl. He would have had similar influence that Earl Campbell had with the 1977 Texas team. I know Gautt played during the era when players played both ways, but Gautt could have been an exception(?).
Your thoughts?

 

[Scottsdale.Sooner]

Super, Level-Headed Evaluation, CT...Thank You!

I had a chance to zip back from Norman on Monday in time to catch the gathering of my buddies/football minds at my local watering hole for the Clemson/Geo Tech game last night. I was pleasantly surprised at their analysis of the OU/UTEP game. They cast a special eye knowing I would be pressing them for their "coach's opinion". They made we feel better about the game. BTW: The complete game and BV's post game interview can be seen on Youtube.

BV did exactly as they expected. He played as many people as he could (68?) and played a pretty vanilla game on both sides of the ball with the intent to allow the players to get the feel of game time speed. Off target passes, snap infractions, soft secondary, basic run plays were expected in early season.

One of my friends played baseball with the UTEP QB dad many years ago. He was of the opinion that this kid has been exposed and well coached most of his life.

OU has much to be excited about. Stutsman, Grimes & Bowman are "full motor" guys on the field. OLine will be better than good. They called out some freshmen. Thomas DL, Gilliam DL & Barnes RB.

After hearing them and watching the game on Youtube gave me a better perspective. Boomer Sooner.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

Let's see where we stand in a few weeks. I think we're going to see some guys emerge. Nobody in the conference is out of our league with talent so energy and effort can carry the torch for now.

The beauty of players emerging. Coach Brent will make this happen. 👍