Bedlam and Thanksgiving - the way it's supposed to be. It's always weird when the two aren't together, at least to me.
Best Bedlam? Another @Mr.Macintosh challenge. Time to re-create the 52-9 thumping in 2003. That is still one of my favorite atmospheres I've witnessed, especially after the 2001 and 2002 upset losses and Les Miles' arrogance heading in.
Ah, good times. Let's roll.
***
Lack of rotations... or the flu?
I think I have to ask this question to Lincoln Riley. Pat Fields, Justin Broiles, Delarrin Turner-Yell and Woodi Washington played all 89 snaps. First, geez, 89, when did it become 2016 again?
Iowa State had 17 third down attempts and seven on fourth down. On the field forever. You get accustomed to the 60-70 mark this season that 89 really stands out.
Then Key Lawrence had 72 compared to D.J. Graham's 17 so that's 89.
Then David Ugwoegbu, Brian Asamoah and DaShaun White added up for the ILBs.
That's nine guys for seven spots. No Billy Bowman, no Danny Stutsman, no Shane Whitter, no Jaden Davis, no Joshua Eaton. We knew there would be no Latrell McCutchin since he wasn't dressed out.
So the question is a simple one, did OU purposely shrink the rotation number? Or were some of these guys battling the flu and thus Riley/Grinch didn't feel like they didn't have good enough preparation heading into a game like that?
To go more in-depth on that, here was Riley's answer on the flu outbreak.
"They did a great job. Like I said, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we had to basically totally change our practice schedule. We didn't have enough guys, near enough guys, to be able to practice the way we're used to practicing as far as — it hit offense, defense and special teams. One day we had an entire position group basically wiped out, which was interesting, a pretty significant position group.
"It hit your scout teams. It hits everything. It impedes your ability to do full-speed work. And it's tough, of all the weeks, not that you want that to happen any week, but I know when you're getting ready for all the challenges that they present schematically, defensively, you're trying to get ready for all their shifts, motions, the personnel groupings, you're trying to get a young quarterback ready to play against this style of defense for the first time, it was a challenge. It was. But it's the hand we got dealt. And that's... we said the whole week, 'Ain't nobody going to feel sorry for us.' We just gutted it out and I think the kids, we explained the plan to them, why we were doing what we were doing, and they just didn't blink."
I think that's where I'm going Tuesday, unless something else pops in my head or get beaten to the punch by someone else.
***
Repeat of 2009, 2013 or... 2011?
I mean which is it, right?
Sure, the four games were Kansas, West Virginia, TCU and Texas Tech, but it's not like OU just handled all four of those teams with ease.
But back to the question, OSU 'felt' like the better team in 2009 and 2013, and we all know how that played out for the Sooners.
Then there's 2011, and there are some similarities based on the schedule. A loss at Waco (RGIII), a meh senior day home win vs. Iowa State and then a shellacking in Stillwater.
This month - a loss at Waco? Yep. ISU senior day win but not domination? Check. Now headed to Stillwater.
You figure it should be No. 7 OSU vs. No. 10 OU when the new college football playoff rankings come out Tuesday evening. Guess it depends if the committee will actually drop Michigan State and Oregon below OU.
Riley loves to talk in hindsight about how he hasn't put Caleb Williams in the best position to be successful. Let's see if they finally fix that in real-time, instead of coming to this conclusion when it doesn't matter.
Riley talking about Williams' reluctance to run:
"I think he's trying to be patient, give guys chances to work in routes. That's a double-edged sword with an athletic guy like that. You want them to be aggressive at times but sometimes you get guys like that and they can get too run-happy and just want to take off and that sometimes is not the answer as well. It was kind of his first time going against a scheme like this. He'll learn from it. I think, already off the top of my head, several things I could've done better to put him and the offense in better positions. He'll learn and grow. I do like the fact that he's trying to be patient and trying to see things and let things develop and give guys opportunities down the field. Am I going to be able to pull back the film and say, 'Yeah, maybe here or there would've been a good time to take off?' Sure. But he'll grasp that more as we go on. I like the fact right now that his patience was there. I think that's a key thing for a young guy."
And here is where we ask @Eddie_Rado to splice in the 2013 Sights and Sounds because if this game feels like anything more than anything, it's the lead up to the 2013 game. Eight years later, and it's still the coldest game I've ever attended.
That game had some wackiness between Jalen Saunders PR TD, Grant Bothun-to-Michael Hunnicutt fake FG TD, using Kendal Thompson/Trevor Knight/Blake Bell at quarterback. Whatever it takes to win a game like that, definitely feels Saturday is gonna need some shot in the arm from an unexpected spot.
For the record, I've never seen OU lose at Boone Pickens Stadium. 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, perfect 4-0. Hmm.
***
Oh, you want that one back
About all you can say about OU's late-game execution in the 73-70 loss to Utah State, the first under Porter Moser. Elijah Harkless hits that 3-pointer to make it 64-58 with five minutes left and feeling good.
You ready?
Missed 3
Missed 3
Missed 3
Turnover
Groves FG
Missed 3
Missed 3
Offensive foul (bogus charge on Goldwire)
Gibson FTs
Goldwire layup
Goldwire missed FT
Ouch.
You knew OU vs. Utah State should have been the final for Myrtle Beach, but OU felt like it had done enough in the second half to take home the trophy.
It wasn't just the missed shots, but the timing of them. Not working the clock, not valuing possession and time-n-score.
That's why I asked, to go along with the disappointment, how shocked Moser was about the late-game errors?
"If you're coaching a team for many, many years and you have veteran guys who have been with you, it would've been surprising. But there's so much newness to what we're doing. We're just in our first few games together. We're yelling time and score. Some guys are in rolls they haven't been in – you know – late games, and they just took some ill-advised shots. If you had a veteran team and you've been there for a long time as a coach, you're shocked because you've been through so many situations together. But we've got to grow from this. We've got to establish some guard leadership down the stretch. I've got to help them with that. I've got to help them with that."
OU has UCF, Florida, Butler and Arkansas after the gimme vs. Houston Baptist. You get three of four there, and the USU loss won't sting as much. Gotta get at least a split, but that's a rough four-game stretch in next two weeks.
Something Moser said actually resonates with Bedlam. He kept mentioning how old and experienced the Aggies were. We hear that a lot about the OSU defense, about how guys should be long gone from college by now. Oh well, deal with it and find the answer.
Best Bedlam? Another @Mr.Macintosh challenge. Time to re-create the 52-9 thumping in 2003. That is still one of my favorite atmospheres I've witnessed, especially after the 2001 and 2002 upset losses and Les Miles' arrogance heading in.
Ah, good times. Let's roll.
***
Lack of rotations... or the flu?
I think I have to ask this question to Lincoln Riley. Pat Fields, Justin Broiles, Delarrin Turner-Yell and Woodi Washington played all 89 snaps. First, geez, 89, when did it become 2016 again?
Iowa State had 17 third down attempts and seven on fourth down. On the field forever. You get accustomed to the 60-70 mark this season that 89 really stands out.
Then Key Lawrence had 72 compared to D.J. Graham's 17 so that's 89.
Then David Ugwoegbu, Brian Asamoah and DaShaun White added up for the ILBs.
That's nine guys for seven spots. No Billy Bowman, no Danny Stutsman, no Shane Whitter, no Jaden Davis, no Joshua Eaton. We knew there would be no Latrell McCutchin since he wasn't dressed out.
So the question is a simple one, did OU purposely shrink the rotation number? Or were some of these guys battling the flu and thus Riley/Grinch didn't feel like they didn't have good enough preparation heading into a game like that?
To go more in-depth on that, here was Riley's answer on the flu outbreak.
"They did a great job. Like I said, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we had to basically totally change our practice schedule. We didn't have enough guys, near enough guys, to be able to practice the way we're used to practicing as far as — it hit offense, defense and special teams. One day we had an entire position group basically wiped out, which was interesting, a pretty significant position group.
"It hit your scout teams. It hits everything. It impedes your ability to do full-speed work. And it's tough, of all the weeks, not that you want that to happen any week, but I know when you're getting ready for all the challenges that they present schematically, defensively, you're trying to get ready for all their shifts, motions, the personnel groupings, you're trying to get a young quarterback ready to play against this style of defense for the first time, it was a challenge. It was. But it's the hand we got dealt. And that's... we said the whole week, 'Ain't nobody going to feel sorry for us.' We just gutted it out and I think the kids, we explained the plan to them, why we were doing what we were doing, and they just didn't blink."
I think that's where I'm going Tuesday, unless something else pops in my head or get beaten to the punch by someone else.
***
Repeat of 2009, 2013 or... 2011?
I mean which is it, right?
Sure, the four games were Kansas, West Virginia, TCU and Texas Tech, but it's not like OU just handled all four of those teams with ease.
But back to the question, OSU 'felt' like the better team in 2009 and 2013, and we all know how that played out for the Sooners.
Then there's 2011, and there are some similarities based on the schedule. A loss at Waco (RGIII), a meh senior day home win vs. Iowa State and then a shellacking in Stillwater.
This month - a loss at Waco? Yep. ISU senior day win but not domination? Check. Now headed to Stillwater.
You figure it should be No. 7 OSU vs. No. 10 OU when the new college football playoff rankings come out Tuesday evening. Guess it depends if the committee will actually drop Michigan State and Oregon below OU.
Riley loves to talk in hindsight about how he hasn't put Caleb Williams in the best position to be successful. Let's see if they finally fix that in real-time, instead of coming to this conclusion when it doesn't matter.
Riley talking about Williams' reluctance to run:
"I think he's trying to be patient, give guys chances to work in routes. That's a double-edged sword with an athletic guy like that. You want them to be aggressive at times but sometimes you get guys like that and they can get too run-happy and just want to take off and that sometimes is not the answer as well. It was kind of his first time going against a scheme like this. He'll learn from it. I think, already off the top of my head, several things I could've done better to put him and the offense in better positions. He'll learn and grow. I do like the fact that he's trying to be patient and trying to see things and let things develop and give guys opportunities down the field. Am I going to be able to pull back the film and say, 'Yeah, maybe here or there would've been a good time to take off?' Sure. But he'll grasp that more as we go on. I like the fact right now that his patience was there. I think that's a key thing for a young guy."
And here is where we ask @Eddie_Rado to splice in the 2013 Sights and Sounds because if this game feels like anything more than anything, it's the lead up to the 2013 game. Eight years later, and it's still the coldest game I've ever attended.
That game had some wackiness between Jalen Saunders PR TD, Grant Bothun-to-Michael Hunnicutt fake FG TD, using Kendal Thompson/Trevor Knight/Blake Bell at quarterback. Whatever it takes to win a game like that, definitely feels Saturday is gonna need some shot in the arm from an unexpected spot.
For the record, I've never seen OU lose at Boone Pickens Stadium. 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, perfect 4-0. Hmm.
***
Oh, you want that one back
About all you can say about OU's late-game execution in the 73-70 loss to Utah State, the first under Porter Moser. Elijah Harkless hits that 3-pointer to make it 64-58 with five minutes left and feeling good.
You ready?
Missed 3
Missed 3
Missed 3
Turnover
Groves FG
Missed 3
Missed 3
Offensive foul (bogus charge on Goldwire)
Gibson FTs
Goldwire layup
Goldwire missed FT
Ouch.
You knew OU vs. Utah State should have been the final for Myrtle Beach, but OU felt like it had done enough in the second half to take home the trophy.
It wasn't just the missed shots, but the timing of them. Not working the clock, not valuing possession and time-n-score.
That's why I asked, to go along with the disappointment, how shocked Moser was about the late-game errors?
"If you're coaching a team for many, many years and you have veteran guys who have been with you, it would've been surprising. But there's so much newness to what we're doing. We're just in our first few games together. We're yelling time and score. Some guys are in rolls they haven't been in – you know – late games, and they just took some ill-advised shots. If you had a veteran team and you've been there for a long time as a coach, you're shocked because you've been through so many situations together. But we've got to grow from this. We've got to establish some guard leadership down the stretch. I've got to help them with that. I've got to help them with that."
OU has UCF, Florida, Butler and Arkansas after the gimme vs. Houston Baptist. You get three of four there, and the USU loss won't sting as much. Gotta get at least a split, but that's a rough four-game stretch in next two weeks.
Something Moser said actually resonates with Bedlam. He kept mentioning how old and experienced the Aggies were. We hear that a lot about the OSU defense, about how guys should be long gone from college by now. Oh well, deal with it and find the answer.
