Takeaways From Tulane

[bcsoonerfan]

1. Maybe the only thing we all agree on, we gotta quit letting up after building leads. This is the most frustrating aspect of Oklahoma since Mike Stoops 12 yard cushions on 3rd and 3. And equally as head scratching. Why? Why cant the coaches and the players stay motivated for 4 quarters? Nothing leads me to believe it will be fixed but at least it was addressed by Riley and Rattler. But I'm to the point where I think these players are going to have to dominate in spite of the unaggressive play calling. We shall see.

2. Rattler had an off day and still threw for 300 yards. Chill. He'll be fine.

3. Offensive line is a work in progress but i have no reason to believe it won't be good by midseason. Just hope it don't cost us before then. Riley, run the damn ball the next 2 games!

4. Defense is talented but Saturday was sloppy. Busted coverages i can live with. When Grinch let these guys attack they were dangerous. When he follows Lincoln and calls soft, we get chunked for yards and points. Really like what i saw from the CBs and Pat Fields is out to prove me wrong.

5. Brkic...damn boy.

6. The receiver depth is unreal. Get a few guys settled in and Rattler grooving it'll be fun to watch.

7. Lastly, Tulane may be very underrated. Gotta see what they do in their conference but those were not tier 2 scrubs.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

Not the kind of opener I was expecting but I have no doubt we'll find OUr rhythm. I ain't throwin in the towel yet.

 

[bcsoonerfan]

Not the kind of opener I was expecting but I have no doubt we'll find OUr rhythm. I ain't throwin in the towel yet.

Agreed. It's frustrating but the talent is apparent. If Grinch would keep the starters in long enough to let they get settled in we'd probably be alright.

I'll never understand rotating linebackers and dbs like they're dlineman.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

Agreed. It's frustrating but the talent is apparent. If Grinch would keep the starters in long enough to let they get settled in we'd probably be alright.

I'll never understand rotating linebackers and dbs like they're dlineman.

I'm still trying to understand when our defensive philosophy was decided it didn't need defensive lineman.

 

[soonersoldier]

1. Maybe the only thing we all agree on, we gotta quit letting up after building leads. This is the most frustrating aspect of Oklahoma since Mike Stoops 12 yard cushions on 3rd and 3. And equally as head scratching. Why? Why cant the coaches and the players stay motivated for 4 quarters? Nothing leads me to believe it will be fixed but at least it was addressed by Riley and Rattler. But I'm to the point where I think these players are going to have to dominate in spite of the unaggressive play calling. We shall see.

2. Rattler had an off day and still threw for 300 yards. Chill. He'll be fine.

3. Offensive line is a work in progress but i have no reason to believe it won't be good by midseason. Just hope it don't cost us before then. Riley, run the damn ball the next 2 games!

4. Defense is talented but Saturday was sloppy. Busted coverages i can live with. When Grinch let these guys attack they were dangerous. When he follows Lincoln and calls soft, we get chunked for yards and points. Really like what i saw from the CBs and Pat Fields is out to prove me wrong.

5. Brkic...damn boy.

6. The receiver depth is unreal. Get a few guys settled in and Rattler grooving it'll be fun to watch.

7. Lastly, Tulane may be very underrated. Gotta see what they do in their conference but those were not tier 2 scrubs.

Good post. I am a Rattler fan. If he has another performance like that the young qb should see time; I thought he should have this past game.

He is not coming off his first read and making bad decisions...even when he had time. This troubles me. The first pass and the 3rd interception undone by a phantom PI call were beyond ridiculous. Of course it would help if we ran the damn ball more.

The defense did enough to win the game easily and the offense choked it away. I recognize too many missed tackles and poor coverage in the flats as well. I hope the team has to watch the all 22 game replay twice to help make a point; wouldn't hurt for the coaches to do so also.

I am not giving up on what I thought to be a year setup for a championship run, but I was very disappointed by the team (including coaches) on Saturday. I don't expect an apology for winning a game I do expect a team/coach recognizing that effort was unacceptable.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

The defense did enough to win the game easily and the offense choked it away.

Just when I'd thought I'd heard it all.

 

[bcsoonerfan]

Good post. I am a Rattler fan. If he has another performance like that the young qb should see time; I thought he should have this past game.

He is not coming off his first read and making bad decisions...even when he had time. This troubles me. The first pass and the 3rd interception undone by a phantom PI call were beyond ridiculous. Of course it would help if we ran the damn ball more.

The defense did enough to win the game easily and the offense choked it away. I recognize too many missed tackles and poor coverage in the flats as well. I hope the team has to watch the all 22 game replay twice to help make a point; wouldn't hurt for the coaches to do so also.

I am not giving up on what I thought to be a year setup for a championship run, but I was very disappointed by the team (including coaches) on Saturday. I don't expect an apology for winning a game I do expect a team/coach recognizing that effort was unacceptable.

What I'd give to rip them coaches asses and ask them just why in fvk all they can't coach a game for 4 quarters and expect the players to stay motivated for 4 quarters when it's obvious they're not going to call plays to let these guys do anything. And why they can't evaluate who is the starter by week one and let the damn starters play together until the other team throws in the towel. This either/or starter shit just seems like they're trying to appease kids so they don't transfer. Play the best guy and then play the 2nd best guy when necessary! You don't see this crap in Tuscaloosa. I'd like to know how many snaps Thomas and Winfrey played together.

 

[soonersoldier]

What I'd give to rip them coaches asses and ask them just why in fvk all they can't coach a game for 4 quarters and expect the players to stay motivated for 4 quarters when it's obvious they're not going to call plays to let these guys do anything. And why they can't evaluate who is the starter by week one and let the damn starters play together until the other team throws in the towel. This either/or starter shit just seems like they're trying to appease kids so they don't transfer. Play the best guy and then play the 2nd best guy when necessary! You don't see this crap in Tuscaloosa. I'd like to know how many snaps Thomas and Winfrey played together.

Honestly I think Grinch got caught trying to be too cute rotating players with the big lead....and then it was close. I will give LR he said during post game players would start playing more based on results and others would have to fight for time.

I just don't remember Bama or Clemson having these issues with non-power 5 teams. And yes that is the bar these days. My hope is this was a wake up call but only time will tell. Still love my Sooners always will.

 

[OUSOONER67]

Not giving up here but lots and lots of room for improvement up and down. Coaches, Players, everybody. Myself included. 😁

 

[bcsoonerfan]

Honestly I think Grinch got caught trying to be too cute rotating players with the big lead....and then it was close. I will give LR he said during post game players would start playing more based on results and others would have to fight for time.

I just don't remember Bama or Clemson having these issues with non-power 5 teams. And yes that is the bar these days. My hope is this was a wake up call but only time will tell. Still love my Sooners always will.

We rotate players by the 2nd series. And not traditional rotating positions. I could understand having one or two position battles still ongoing and see those guys rotate, but not damn near every position.

 

[Crimson_Warrior]

1. Maybe the only thing we all agree on, we gotta quit letting up after building leads. This is the most frustrating aspect of Oklahoma since Mike Stoops 12 yard cushions on 3rd and 3. And equally as head scratching. Why? Why cant the coaches and the players stay motivated for 4 quarters? Nothing leads me to believe it will be fixed but at least it was addressed by Riley and Rattler. But I'm to the point where I think these players are going to have to dominate in spite of the unaggressive play calling. We shall see.

2. Rattler had an off day and still threw for 300 yards. Chill. He'll be fine.

3. Offensive line is a work in progress but i have no reason to believe it won't be good by midseason. Just hope it don't cost us before then. Riley, run the damn ball the next 2 games!

4. Defense is talented but Saturday was sloppy. Busted coverages i can live with. When Grinch let these guys attack they were dangerous. When he follows Lincoln and calls soft, we get chunked for yards and points. Really like what i saw from the CBs and Pat Fields is out to prove me wrong.

5. Brkic...damn boy.

6. The receiver depth is unreal. Get a few guys settled in and Rattler grooving it'll be fun to watch.

7. Lastly, Tulane may be very underrated. Gotta see what they do in their conference but those were not tier 2 scrubs.

Agree with just about all of this.

#7 on the list is interesting. That Tulane QB is a gamer man. We beat the crap out that kid, and he kept on coming. That was inspiring to watch, and he might make Tulane might be a top 25 team. Maybe.

 

[8085sooner]

Rattler is a very naturally talented QB. His or Lincoln, stupid deal of attacking deep, early kills.

We can't run the ball very often with only 2 RB on scholarship.

The rotation in the back 7 has to stop. They're 2nd and 3rd string, deal with it. But and a huge but, they suck if they can't get the job done against Tulane!

I'm over Riley offense that relies on blown assignments or mismatched schemes. We have a 5 star QB and 5 star WRs, that should be able to execute a flawless ran route with timing, if not bench them. These guys are suppose to be future NFL guys! I gave them the benefit of the doubt last year, with limited practice, for timing routes.
If Lincoln wants to go "protect" the lead, he needs guys that can execute.

Speed D sucks if they're out of position. Gap control and assignment football. The LBs, reminded me of a bunch of Ronnel Lewis types, great Athletes with, zero football brains.

The Oline not any good, we do not have any maulers. I thought we would be WAY ahead this year 1st game, we are not and nobody looks great. A few looked decent but not that nasty, Olinemen of past.


We have a great kicker. Brookes and Grey are very good RBs, but zero depth. Rattler has a great arm, now just better decisions. Thomas, Gilmaim and Redmond are studs and their backups looked good.

Kelley and White are football players. Bonita and Ashomore need to learn, more then rushing the QB. Key Lawrence needs to start,

 

[Scottsdale.Sooner]

Stop pushing the ball down field on so many plays. Home run balls are low percentage. Take what the defense gives you. Rattler did not take what the Tulane D gave him on several plays.

 

[Oklabama]

I’ve read every post and there’s a lot of good s**t that has been pointed out. Actually I’ve enjoyed following this thread a lot more than I did watching the game. Keep it up, gang. BOOMER!

 

[Scottsdale.Sooner]

Inversely, Tulane took what we gave them on just about every third down play. I don't recall them punting very often. We gave them the underneath gap of about 7 or 8 yards and allowed them to pick up 1st downs at will.

 

[CTOkie]

In 1977 and 1978, OU had two great teams, but narrowly escaped the opening games: beating a 2-9 Vanderbilt team 25-23 and beating an 8-4 Stanford team 35-29.
As for Tulane, I saw a team that played hard and one that should be very good this season. Maybe that's a key reason for such a close game last Saturday.

 

[bcsoonerfan]

In 1977 and 1978, OU had two great teams, but narrowly escaped the opening games: beating a 2-9 Vanderbilt team 25-23 and beating an 8-4 Stanford team 35-29.
As for Tulane, I saw a team that played hard and one that should be very good this season. Maybe that's a key reason for such a close game last Saturday.

It's part.

The rest is the same ol same.

Grinch's defense is not successful unless it's pressuring. A 3 or 4 man rush isn't going to apply much pressure often even with guys like Bonitto and Thomas. I'll see if i can like the article i read yesterday but it broke down some telling numbers regarding snaps.

 

[soonersoldier]

It's part.

The rest is the same ol same.

Grinch's defense is not successful unless it's pressuring. A 3 or 4 man rush isn't going to apply much pressure often even with guys like Bonitto and Thomas. I'll see if i can like the article i read yesterday but it broke down some telling numbers regarding snaps.

Is this what you are talking about:

A deeper look: Rotations and positions need to be re-evaluated going forward

A deeper look at how the snap counts for both the offense and defense might have had an impact on the final score in OU’s win over Tulane.

soonerswire.usatoday.com

 

[Soonermikee5]

In 1977 and 1978, OU had two great teams, but narrowly escaped the opening games: beating a 2-9 Vanderbilt team 25-23 and beating an 8-4 Stanford team 35-29.
As for Tulane, I saw a team that played hard and one that should be very good this season. Maybe that's a key reason for such a close game last Saturday.

Very insightful post CT

 

[bcsoonerfan]

Is this what you are talking about:

A deeper look: Rotations and positions need to be re-evaluated going forward

A deeper look at how the snap counts for both the offense and defense might have had an impact on the final score in OU’s win over Tulane.

soonerswire.usatoday.com

Thats it. I'm still flabbergasted that multimillion dollar coaches can't figure out that not playing your starters leads to bad things. They need game reps too. They need to get in a rhythm too. Rotating to build depth isn't something you do on the 2nd or 3rd series of the game.

 

[CTOkie]

That's it. I'm still flabbergasted that multi-million dollar coaches can't figure out that not playing your starters leads to bad things. They need game reps too. They need to get in a rhythm too. Rotating to build depth isn't something you do on the 2nd or 3rd series of the game.

One thing that surprised me was the absence of Knowles and Hudson, especially Knowles.
I guess the closeness of the game kept Riley away from playing them.....but Knowles looked like he could play immediately in the spring game.

 

[JConXtsy]

1. Maybe the only thing we all agree on, we gotta quit letting up after building leads. This is the most frustrating aspect of Oklahoma since Mike Stoops 12 yard cushions on 3rd and 3. And equally as head scratching. Why? Why cant the coaches and the players stay motivated for 4 quarters?

Ironically, Riley said in his post game presser that he got too aggressive in the second half in a move to put Tulane away, and it caused a couple of the scenarios where the defense overran the play leading to busts in coverage.

Whether that's true or not, he did address his knowledge of "lightening up" concerns, so let's hope he keeps listening.

 

[Medic007]

Thats it. I'm still flabbergasted that multimillion dollar coaches can't figure out that not playing your starters leads to bad things. They need game reps too. They need to get in a rhythm too. Rotating to build depth isn't something you do on the 2nd or 3rd series of the game.

Brother, it was a scorcher on the field. There's a reason the snap counts looked the way they did. I'm not at liberty to provide further detail, but it was a strategy based on the heat. If it helps, it's going to be stupid hot at kick this Saturday... wink.

 

[bcsoonerfan]

Brother, it was a scorcher on the field. There's a reason the snap counts looked the way they did. I'm not at liberty to provide further detail, but it was a strategy based on the heat. If it helps, it's going to be stupid hot at kick this Saturday... wink.

I'm not arguing against that point, but it was hot for Tulane too and I've noticed this trend over multiple seasons now.

And the heat is why I don't attend early season games.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

Inversely, Tulane took what we gave them on just about every third down play. I don't recall them punting very often. We gave them the underneath gap of about 7 or 8 yards and allowed them to pick up 1st downs at will.

I hate to open up an old can of worms here but wasn't that Mike's mo? I think we can shake the ghost of Mike personally. First game jitters I hope.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

Thats it. I'm still flabbergasted that multimillion dollar coaches can't figure out that not playing your starters leads to bad things. They need game reps too. They need to get in a rhythm too. Rotating to build depth isn't something you do on the 2nd or 3rd series of the game.

Venebles had it figured out.

 

[OUSOONER67]

One thing I hope they can and will improve on is converting the turnovers to TD's. What did we get Sat, 3 or 4 fumble recoveries? And I think 3 of those only resulted in 3 FG's, 9 points.

 

[newnasty]

In 1977 and 1978, OU had two great teams, but narrowly escaped the opening games: beating a 2-9 Vanderbilt team 25-23 and beating an 8-4 Stanford team 35-29.
As for Tulane, I saw a team that played hard and one that should be very good this season. Maybe that's a key reason for such a close game last Saturday.

Tulane HC Fritz has won two Natty Titles while at Blinn Jr College in 94 & 96. He also took Sam Houston State to back to back National Title games in 2010 & 2011. The guy knows how to coach big games. And for Tulane, it didn't get much bigger than this past Saturday.

I think OU will be fine. But I do not think they will win a Natty this year and also believe their pre-season ranking was over rated a tad. I think this team is on a course to win it next year. It needs another great class and the one in the works is looking really, really, good. Having said this, OPs points are good by me.

Oh .... and HC Fritz has a smoking hot daughter. google Lainie Fritz. It has nothing to do w/ OU football but I thought I'd share it.

 

[coeSooner81]

Fritz was a coach of mine while I was at SHSU, he is a great coach and his players love playing for him.

 

[LVPack]

7. Lastly, Tulane may be very underrated. Gotta see what they do in their conference but those were not tier 2 scrubs.

They're horrible. They just got whipped 40-22 by Houston to fall to 1-5 on the year. Their only win so far is against an FCS team, and their best game so far was against OU.

 

[OUSOONER67]

They're horrible. They just got whipped 40-22 by Houston to fall to 1-5 on the year. Their only win so far is against an FCS team, and their best game so far was against OU.

Yep, looking back at that game had we lost it would have been one of the biggest upsets ever. I still don't understand how it was as close as it was. Well after seeing the games vs Neb, WVU and K State I really am not that surprised.
I watched them when they played Ole Miss and Ole Miss ran over them like they were a HS team and Tulane actually looked like a HS Team playing that night. Wacky season so far.

 

[Crimson_Warrior]

We didn't lose to them though. We're 5-0, and it's not the weirdest thing in the world for a team to struggle in it's opener. Tulane had all summer to game plan for that match up.

I'm not saying we're that good, or that we're going to go on to win the natty, or anything like that.

I'm just saying OU's performance in that game doesn't define us as a team. We could still beat TX, and run the table in the Big XII (although little bubba's defense is starting to worry me).

 

[OUSOONER67]

We didn't lose to them though. We're 5-0, and it's not the weirdest thing in the world for a team to struggle in it's opener. Tulane had all summer to game plan for that match up.

I'm not saying we're that good, or that we're going to go on to win the natty, or anything like that.

I'm just saying OU's performance in that game doesn't define us as a team. We could still beat TX, and run the table in the Big XII (although little bubba's defense is starting to worry me).

Yes, very true. I was thinking the other day about Clemson having a similar year in 2016. I remembered people were saying during that season that a lot of times during a title run you need some luck to win some games and a few breaks to go your way. Clemson had a few close wins starting at the second game of the seaon with a 30-24 win over Troy and a one point loss late in the Season to Pitt 43-42 in which Watson had 580 yds passing in the loss. Clemson went on to beat Bama for the title that year. 35-31.
You just never know what a team is capable of even when games are close most of the season. Take a look at the schedule results.

 

[LVPack]

Clemson had a few close wins starting at the second game of the seaon with a 30-24 win over Troy and a one point loss late in the Season to Pitt 43-42 in which Watson had 580 yds passing in the loss. Clemson went on to beat Bama for the title that year. 35-31.

For comparison's sake, I'd point out Tulane is one of the worst teams in the FBS this year, while that 2016 Troy team won 10 games including their bowl game.

 

[soonersoldier]

For comparison's sake, I'd point out Tulane is one of the worst teams in the FBS this year, while that 2016 Troy team won 10 games including their bowl game.

For comparison's sake Troy was one of the close games that year for Clemson. The point by both of you is well taken. Tomorrow's game is the team pushing all their chips in. As the team only meeting indicates, this season is about to go really well or very disappointing. Boomer F#@king Sooner!

 

[OUSOONER67]

Yep lets get it on! Tuck Fexas!

 

[iasooner2000]

With or without Bullmarket on hand
(He promised me over a month ago he’d be back soon)

 

[Crimson_Warrior]

Yes, very true. I was thinking the other day about Clemson having a similar year in 2016. I remembered people were saying during that season that a lot of times during a title run you need some luck to win some games and a few breaks to go your way. Clemson had a few close wins starting at the second game of the seaon with a 30-24 win over Troy and a one point loss late in the Season to Pitt 43-42 in which Watson had 580 yds passing in the loss. Clemson went on to beat Bama for the title that year. 35-31.
You just never know what a team is capable of even when games are close most of the season. Take a look at the schedule results.

Good post, and I agree. Luck is a thing in sports, and you need a little. Also, some teams get better as the year progresses. Not always, and not always enough to avoid a loss or two, but as of 9:41 this morning OU still controls it's own destiny.

But while the Tulane game did not define us, in my humble opinion, today's game against TX will be a litmus test in terms of our playoff aspirations.

Win today (even by a point), and the playoff train keeps rolling. We can keep working to get better, and who knows what could happen in January.

Lose today though, to a rookie QB, and vs. TX team who's online and secondary are both a little shaky, and I'm afraid we'll have our answer about how good we really are.

just my two cents.