Like Wile E. Coyote with no Roadrunner to chase; OSU is going to have to take a long look in the mirror and ponder who they actually are and where they go from here. In the 'Drawn Together' Movie, when Roadrunner is accidentally run over and killed, Coyote proclaims, "Without you, my life really has no meaning" and shoots himself with a "Bang!" flag gun.
OSU's obsession with OU has been central to one of the most bizarre relationships between programs in CFB. There exists no other college, alumni, nor athletic department whose view of itself is so primarily contingent on the current status of their 'rival' and so completely disconnected from their own condition. If this had been some kind of hotly competitive, long-term arms race for greatness (Mich/Ohio St) it would make more sense. Instead, it's been a decision to tie their identity to a battle they simply can't win. OU has now won 91 of 111 (83%). That's no rivalry, that's dominance. So as we walk away for the last time from the oddity of OSU's fixation, I wish them well. They're getting out of a dead end, toxic, codependent, and frankly abusive relationship that's been no good at all for them and I think we can all agree that we hope they can 'work on themselves' and turn out better for it. On a broader, cosmic scale it's actually ironically charming that they won the last one. Maybe that last one will give them what they need to wander out and find a better, healthier, new reason to exist.
For OU, this was another in a series of crossroads moments on the road to rebuilding. We were an injured and fading team going on the road to play an ascending bunch with the ultimate axe to grind. Far from an easy spot, but if we couldn't get up and get focused for this game, it would mean we've got problems with our leadership and/or dissention in the ranks. If we couldn't come up with an aggressive, attacking gameplan then maybe we've got to replace some of the voices in the room.
I don't feel like those are the reasons we lost. I don't feel like we were unprepared, and I don't think we lacked 'buy-in' from the players. I don't think our strategy on either side of the ball was fatally flawed. I think we generally attacked with what we do best against their weaknesses; and also did a good job of containing their primary weapon/strategy and forced them to do things they are not comfortable or proficient executing.
We lost because we made several critical mistakes at several key moments. Mostly old fashioned human errors. 2 of our 3 turnovers were in the midst of taking big, aggressive swings trying to make big plays. Forced and unnecessary? Maybe. Aggressive and attacking? Certainly. All 3 turnovers came in pivotal moments for the momentum of the game, and kept the outcome in doubt far longer than it should have been.
If we're going to be the program we aspire to be, we can't blame losses on injuries or officiating. There's variance in all of those excuses, and at the end of the day they seriously undermine accountability for winning and losing. They are relevant pieces of the puzzle, and we were clearly disadvantaged in those areas in this game, but they just aren't the reason we lost. If we remain on track, we'll continue to build a deeper, more experienced roster of players who will be ready to contribute when they are called upon. We've made obvious progress in this area, but we still have a ways to go. Fortunately, with the success we've had in recruiting, the Transfer Portal, and the opportunities that some of our young players have now been forced into; the gap should be nearly closed this coming off-season.
Our remaining schedule (WVA, @BYU & TCU) are all winnable games that we'll definitely be favored to win. All 3 are also games that we can very easily lose if we fail to maintain our motivation, focus, or aggression. An 10-2 regular season probably gets us in the XII Title Game, but with much less buzz and far less on the line than seemed certain just a couple of weeks ago. I just don't think we're a 10-win team this year. I had picked us to go 9-3 before the season began and I felt like 9-3 would represent meaningful progress in the right direction and would earn BV continued time and buy-in from all. And, I still believe that's true (except for those with completely unreasonable expectations) so don't lose your perspective. My main points are that:
OSU's obsession with OU has been central to one of the most bizarre relationships between programs in CFB. There exists no other college, alumni, nor athletic department whose view of itself is so primarily contingent on the current status of their 'rival' and so completely disconnected from their own condition. If this had been some kind of hotly competitive, long-term arms race for greatness (Mich/Ohio St) it would make more sense. Instead, it's been a decision to tie their identity to a battle they simply can't win. OU has now won 91 of 111 (83%). That's no rivalry, that's dominance. So as we walk away for the last time from the oddity of OSU's fixation, I wish them well. They're getting out of a dead end, toxic, codependent, and frankly abusive relationship that's been no good at all for them and I think we can all agree that we hope they can 'work on themselves' and turn out better for it. On a broader, cosmic scale it's actually ironically charming that they won the last one. Maybe that last one will give them what they need to wander out and find a better, healthier, new reason to exist.
For OU, this was another in a series of crossroads moments on the road to rebuilding. We were an injured and fading team going on the road to play an ascending bunch with the ultimate axe to grind. Far from an easy spot, but if we couldn't get up and get focused for this game, it would mean we've got problems with our leadership and/or dissention in the ranks. If we couldn't come up with an aggressive, attacking gameplan then maybe we've got to replace some of the voices in the room.
I don't feel like those are the reasons we lost. I don't feel like we were unprepared, and I don't think we lacked 'buy-in' from the players. I don't think our strategy on either side of the ball was fatally flawed. I think we generally attacked with what we do best against their weaknesses; and also did a good job of containing their primary weapon/strategy and forced them to do things they are not comfortable or proficient executing.
We lost because we made several critical mistakes at several key moments. Mostly old fashioned human errors. 2 of our 3 turnovers were in the midst of taking big, aggressive swings trying to make big plays. Forced and unnecessary? Maybe. Aggressive and attacking? Certainly. All 3 turnovers came in pivotal moments for the momentum of the game, and kept the outcome in doubt far longer than it should have been.
If we're going to be the program we aspire to be, we can't blame losses on injuries or officiating. There's variance in all of those excuses, and at the end of the day they seriously undermine accountability for winning and losing. They are relevant pieces of the puzzle, and we were clearly disadvantaged in those areas in this game, but they just aren't the reason we lost. If we remain on track, we'll continue to build a deeper, more experienced roster of players who will be ready to contribute when they are called upon. We've made obvious progress in this area, but we still have a ways to go. Fortunately, with the success we've had in recruiting, the Transfer Portal, and the opportunities that some of our young players have now been forced into; the gap should be nearly closed this coming off-season.
Our remaining schedule (WVA, @BYU & TCU) are all winnable games that we'll definitely be favored to win. All 3 are also games that we can very easily lose if we fail to maintain our motivation, focus, or aggression. An 10-2 regular season probably gets us in the XII Title Game, but with much less buzz and far less on the line than seemed certain just a couple of weeks ago. I just don't think we're a 10-win team this year. I had picked us to go 9-3 before the season began and I felt like 9-3 would represent meaningful progress in the right direction and would earn BV continued time and buy-in from all. And, I still believe that's true (except for those with completely unreasonable expectations) so don't lose your perspective. My main points are that:
- We're not quite ready for the CFP, but the fact that we ever had a moment in that conversation this season created valuable buzz,
- We're many significant miles ahead of where we were this time one year ago, and
- We are going to be ready for the SEC move, which will be an additional shot in the arm and a helluva lot of fun.
