Russ...Personally, I think recruiting is a HUGE deal. Especially among the bigger schools like Texas and OU, who go head to head every year. After OU won the national championship in 2000, it carried over to our recruiting and OU out-recruited Texas every year for the next 3 years because of that win. But this changed after the 2005 season when Texas won the national title. They've since pretty much out-recruited OU. I think there was one year where we were pretty even. But this year they so far have the clear advantage. Stoops is recruiting to his needs on defense. As usual he's having a little trouble getting the offensive lineman he desires. The problem I have with the O line next year has more to do with quanity than quality. I believe this 2009 group of players coming in will be a little better run blocking group than our 2008 line. It will probably take them awhile to pick up the pass blocking schemes. OU should be very good blocking on Bradford's blind side with LT Williams coming back, along with Good at LG. The question will be the right side of the line and center. My biggest concern is lack of depth on the OL. We can't afford to have ANY injuries at all there. And this is a problem since inevidently there are always injuries to the big uglies every season or spring coming in. If you put a gun to my head and predict what OU will do next year, I would probably say they go around 10-2 and either get a bye in a BCS game or go to a good minor bowl game. I think going to Miami in the second week and playing in the September heat and humidity early in the season will be tough on the Sooners. And although OU should win, the Nebraska game will be tough simply because it's played in Lincoln, and the Huskers will be jacked up after their loss in Norman this year. And then there is Texas. And Texas Tech is always dangerous in late season games in Lubbock. So OU has a lot more roadblocks next year than they do this year. This is the main reason why I give Texas the slight edge. They have a very easy schedule next year compared to what they had this season in having to play 4 top 10 teams in a row. Ultimatley, when you have a schedule like OU's, unless they get very lucky, injuries are probably going to creep in and take it's toll. So this is something else to think about when evaluating teams and their schedules for next season.
GoSooners: I was stuck in for lunch and I pulled up some info on OU (I plan to do the same thing on Texas next time I get a chance). I think I see why I am so optomistic now.
OU returns 86 from last years roster of 104.
They have 11 returning offensive lineman (including Trent Williams)
Offensively they lose 2 of 3 top receivers but returning players caught 32 of last years 51 passing TD's.
Offensively they return everyone that who accounted for 2778 yards and 45 TD's. They return QB, (3) top RB's, FB, Tight End and One NFL caliber lineman.
Total on Offense they return players who accounted for 77 Tds (that alone adds up to 45 points a game)
All of the above is really only relative to how they perform against Miami, Fl., Texas, and OSU. but it is very encouraging.
In the big 12 it is all about offense and these guys should be able to score on anyone.
I did not really analyze the defensive pluses and minuses but what I found on the offense was even better than I expected.
OU returns 86 from last years roster of 104.
They have 11 returning offensive lineman (including Trent Williams)
Offensively they lose 2 of 3 top receivers but returning players caught 32 of last years 51 passing TD's.
Offensively they return everyone that who accounted for 2778 yards and 45 TD's. They return QB, (3) top RB's, FB, Tight End and One NFL caliber lineman.
Total on Offense they return players who accounted for 77 Tds (that alone adds up to 45 points a game)
All of the above is really only relative to how they perform against Miami, Fl., Texas, and OSU. but it is very encouraging.
In the big 12 it is all about offense and these guys should be able to score on anyone.
I did not really analyze the defensive pluses and minuses but what I found on the offense was even better than I expected.
I feel like I am back in graduate school but I had to finish my homework and take a look at Texas.
Texas returns 97 from last years roster of 116.
Offensively they lose only Quen Cosby and Chris Ogbonnaya. The players returning accounted for 51 of last years 66 TD's or about 30 points per game.
Defensively they lose 4 DL, 1LH, 1CB (wow).
The more I look at it OU matches up against them better than I first imagined. Our OL against their DL may actually be an OU advantage.
A rather cursory overview but I think I like OU more and more.
Texas returns 97 from last years roster of 116.
Offensively they lose only Quen Cosby and Chris Ogbonnaya. The players returning accounted for 51 of last years 66 TD's or about 30 points per game.
Defensively they lose 4 DL, 1LH, 1CB (wow).
The more I look at it OU matches up against them better than I first imagined. Our OL against their DL may actually be an OU advantage.
A rather cursory overview but I think I like OU more and more.
Yikes! While I am in the mood to research (instead of reading the Floridian threads) I ventured in to take another cursory look, this time at the vaunted University of Florida. I am astounded myself, see what you think. Better yet look into it yourself and see if you come up the same as me.
Florida will return 108 from last years roster of 120.
On offense they lose Harvin, Murphy, and Moore who combined for 28 TD's last year. Are you shitting me. The returning starters accounted for 47 TD's putting them at around 28 points a game. Less than OU and Texas as far as points accounted for by returning starters goes. In Harvin and Moore they lose their top two receivers (1300 yds and 14 TD's by air).
Are you shitting me. If they think they are going to reload on those two I for one will have to see it.
The Floridians actually had me half ass convinced that they were a shoe in. They lost about 2 cylinders out of their V8 in my opinion. Wow. I don't even have to look any further. The most TD's anyone returning scored was 12 by Tebow, 7 by Demps, and 5 each by Hernandez and Nelson. They are losing 28 TD's. It staggers my mind to think they are talking about reloading so casually. Like I said look into it yourselves. To put this in perspective for OU Brown, Murray, and Madu (who all return) accounted for 40 TD's on the ground alone. Bradford threw for 50 TD's to Tebows 30. Are you shitting me. I am in shock.
Florida will return 108 from last years roster of 120.
On offense they lose Harvin, Murphy, and Moore who combined for 28 TD's last year. Are you shitting me. The returning starters accounted for 47 TD's putting them at around 28 points a game. Less than OU and Texas as far as points accounted for by returning starters goes. In Harvin and Moore they lose their top two receivers (1300 yds and 14 TD's by air).
Are you shitting me. If they think they are going to reload on those two I for one will have to see it.
The Floridians actually had me half ass convinced that they were a shoe in. They lost about 2 cylinders out of their V8 in my opinion. Wow. I don't even have to look any further. The most TD's anyone returning scored was 12 by Tebow, 7 by Demps, and 5 each by Hernandez and Nelson. They are losing 28 TD's. It staggers my mind to think they are talking about reloading so casually. Like I said look into it yourselves. To put this in perspective for OU Brown, Murray, and Madu (who all return) accounted for 40 TD's on the ground alone. Bradford threw for 50 TD's to Tebows 30. Are you shitting me. I am in shock.
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Russ...I think people fail to realize how much things change from season to season in college football. What looks very good for Florida now may not look quite as good for them after the season begins. Also people have a tenedecy to not take into account the general improvement of the other teams around them. In general, the SEC was down this season, with the only two other quality teams in that conference being Ole Miss and Bama. Their defenses also weren't all that special. Both Georgia and LSU showed a lot of holes on that side of the ball. In fact, the best defensive team that Florida faced all year was the Sooners! They made a big deal about OU's mighty offense being stopped by the Gators. But Florida was averaging 45 ppg this year on offense and was held to their season low 24 by OU in front of a partisan crowd. Plus, Florida was much like OU on defense this year. They lived by the turnover and had a +19 turnover margin, with very few mistakes made by their offense. This is a huge number. And one that is just about impossible to duplicate. I look for opposing SEC teams to scheme different on defesne against Florida next season and make it a little harder for Tebow and company to run the ball...I actually think OU is going to run into the same problems. The teams around them will be improved on defense. And I don't look for the production out of the offense that we had last year. Especially with a rebuilt line and limited number of expereinced receivers coming back. I would much prefer that OU was deeper at the WR position. They've basically got 3 players with an adequate amount of experience. The quality drops off quite a bit after that. The biggest shot in the arm that our offense got besides Bradford coming back was TE Greshman coming back. He is absolutely my favorite player on the team. And I was just as surprised at him coming back as I was Bradford. In my opinion he was the best TE in the country this season. He was the best go-to guy in college football. Florida couldn't cover him all night. And he ended up with something like 10 catches and a TD. So he'll be a big shot in the arm for us next season. The only position on defense that they'll need to take care of is the safety position. Hopefully Bobby Wright & Venables won't play musical chairs with these defensive backs like they have the last couple years, and they'll place the players they need there and keep them there.
I took a look at USC today and it is really hard to compare them to Texas, OU, and Florida because all those teams have returning QB's. Taking that into consideration there are a few things that deserve a look.
USC returns 90 out of 108 players from last years roster (best I can tell).
If you give the returning pass receivers credit and disregard who threw them then USC returns players who accounted for 50 touchdowns last year and that would break down to about 30 pts per game. They also lose the place kicker who accounted for 92 points but generally that gap is filled more easily than a QB who is going into the NFL draft. Regardless of whether or not you think he is ready to make the jump, much less successfully, his gap will be harder to plug. That is why even a road game at N. Dame could be risky. All in all they will be highly motivated like the other three teams I mentioned and the BCS game is in their back yard.
Hard to find flaws but this team could emerge and is defintely a possible
BCS champion. The pressure will be on the guy replacing Sanchez and it will all revolve around him. Oh yes, they lost their OC too. I don't know but I can't jump on their bandwagon yet but they have loads of potential.
USC returns 90 out of 108 players from last years roster (best I can tell).
If you give the returning pass receivers credit and disregard who threw them then USC returns players who accounted for 50 touchdowns last year and that would break down to about 30 pts per game. They also lose the place kicker who accounted for 92 points but generally that gap is filled more easily than a QB who is going into the NFL draft. Regardless of whether or not you think he is ready to make the jump, much less successfully, his gap will be harder to plug. That is why even a road game at N. Dame could be risky. All in all they will be highly motivated like the other three teams I mentioned and the BCS game is in their back yard.
Hard to find flaws but this team could emerge and is defintely a possible
BCS champion. The pressure will be on the guy replacing Sanchez and it will all revolve around him. Oh yes, they lost their OC too. I don't know but I can't jump on their bandwagon yet but they have loads of potential.
Had time to take a look at Penn St.
Penn St returns 86 players from last years roster of 105.
They return their QB Clark but lose a very key player in Williams who was a top receiver and returned kickoffs and punts. They lose their top three receivers (including Williams) so that is going to be hard to replace. When you keep your QB and lose that many key receivers it is hard to say how much scoring power they return from last year. If Clark can throw to just any one they return players who accounted for 55 TD's which puts them at about 32 points a game. If you subtract the TD catches from the departing receivers it breaks down to 38 TD's or about 22 points a game. They also lose their place kicker who hit for 20 of 24 so he will not be replaced so easily. All in all this team may take a while to break in some WR's as well as kicker, and kick and punt returners. They have a lot of work to do at Penn St., a lot more than I ever imagined.
Penn St returns 86 players from last years roster of 105.
They return their QB Clark but lose a very key player in Williams who was a top receiver and returned kickoffs and punts. They lose their top three receivers (including Williams) so that is going to be hard to replace. When you keep your QB and lose that many key receivers it is hard to say how much scoring power they return from last year. If Clark can throw to just any one they return players who accounted for 55 TD's which puts them at about 32 points a game. If you subtract the TD catches from the departing receivers it breaks down to 38 TD's or about 22 points a game. They also lose their place kicker who hit for 20 of 24 so he will not be replaced so easily. All in all this team may take a while to break in some WR's as well as kicker, and kick and punt returners. They have a lot of work to do at Penn St., a lot more than I ever imagined.
Russ..It is very hard to compare USC to almost any team in the country because of the amount of 5 star recruits they get every year. These are the special kinds of players that 4 out of 5 times you can plug right into your system and make an impact. That's why even though you can say this team was rebuilding this season with only 11 starters returning (4 on offense) this year in going 12-1, they basically just reload. I think the best time to catch USC is when they lose a significant amount of starters on defense. Like they did in 2005 in losing to Texas in the BCS title game. I'm pretty sure they lose a fair amount this next year too. So they could be a little more vulnerable next season. Plus they'll have a tougher overall schedule. What surprised me is how well LSU is doing in recruiting. They are right up there with USC in commitments and signees. Here is the list of how the recruiting and commitments are going for some of the main power schools from each conference according to Rivals. I'm only listing the 4 and 5 star recruits.
ACC
Florida St.- One 5 star, nine 4 star (another good class for Bowden)
Georgia Tech- One four star
Miami-Two 5 star, nine 4 star
Va Tech-Four 4 star
Clemson-Seven 4 star
North Carolina-One 5 star, 13 Four star (wow! Butch Davis is cleaning up. I really like this team for the years ahead)
Big 12
Colorado-5 Four star
Nebraska-5 Four star
Mizzou-1 Five, 1 Four (wow! the Tigers have fallen off in recruiting)
Kansas-3 Four star
Texas Tech-3 Four star
Texas A&M-1 Five, 4 fours (not bad, but Sherman has a good area to recruit from)
OSU-6 fours (Pretty nice class for the Pokes)
OU-9 fours (We need some 5 stars, but it's getting late in the game)
Texas-3 fives, 11 fours (about what I expected. Good class for mack Daddy)
Big East
West Virginia-7 fours
Cincy-2 fours
USF-4 fours
Louisville- 1 four (the Cards have fallen off the map since Petrino left)
Rutgers-2 fours
Pitt-3 fours
Pac-10
USC-4 five star, 10 four stars
UCLA-7 fours (already starting to get competetive with the Trojans)
Arizona-2 fours
ASU-4 fours
Oregon-2 fours
OSU-1 four
Cal-7 fours (nice class so far)
SEC
LSU-4 five stars, 10 4 stars (wow! Miles can bullshit with the best of them when it comes to recruiting)
Florida-2 five star, 10 4 star
Georgia-1 five star, 14 4 stars (pretty good if Richt can get all his commitements to sign)
Bama-3 five stars, 8 four stars (right up there with Florida)
Tennessee-10 four stars (not bad for a change in coaching)
Ole Miss-2 four stars (I'm surprised it's this low for Nutt)
South Carolina-11 four stars (the ole ball coach is having a good recruiting year so far)
Big 10
OSU-2 five star, 15 fours (great class so far)
PSU-6 four stars
Michigan-1 five, 12 fours
Michigan St.-10 four star (This team will be a player for years to come)
Iowa-2 fours
Wisconsin-4 fours
Illinois-6 fours
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Here's an article where OC Wilson talks about the 2009 OU offensive line. We may not have quite as many worries as I once thought. Although I do think it it's going to take awhile for the line to come together with the chemistry they need from repeated starts. And we can't affrord any injuries.
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<EMBED SRC=http://vmedia.rivals.com/flash/contentheadlines.swf?h1=OU+confident+line+will+rebuild+in+2009+&h2=&lwidth=620&lheight=60&lshadow=1&sFontColor=000000&sLink= WIDTH=620 HEIGHT=60 SALIGN=lt QUALITY=best SCALE=noborder wmode=transparent ID=rvflash NAME=rvflash BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF allowscriptaccess=always TYPE=application/x-shockwave-flash PLUGINSPAGE=http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash></EMBED></OBJECT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT></P>Carey Murdock
SoonerScoop.com Editor
<SCRIPT language=javascript>document.write("<div id=contentcontainer style='font-size: " + currentsize + "pt;'>");</SCRIPT>Talk about it in The Crimson Corner
If anyone has questions about Oklahoma's ability to rebuild the offensive line next season, Kevin Wilson, OU's offensive coordinator has a message for the doubters.
"Four of the last five years we've given up the least sacks in the league," boasted Wilson. "When all those guys were sophomores that are graduating and it was supposed to be our achilles heal on the line, we were the least sacked team."
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</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>James Patton calls Donald Stephenson his most athletic offensive lineman</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- End Stephenson Story Image-->Wilson has issued the challenge early – nothing changes in his eyes heading into next season on the offensive line.
There are no excuses for losing players such as Phil Loadholt, Duke Robinson, Jon Cooper and Brandon Walker.
Sure, it will be tough for next year's line to be as dominating as the one Oklahoma has put on the field the last two seasons. Any team losing the conference's offensive linemen of the year as well as three other first-team selections is going to have a drop off.
But talking with Oklahoma coaches, they don't fear the unknown, because they feel like they already believe in the talent waiting in the wings.
"I've got a real good feel about them. I guess we'll see what kind of a coach I am," said offensive line coach James Patton. "It'll be a lot of fun.
"My whole thing with these guys coming up here is that they're young, they're going to be hungry and they're going to want to block their butt off for Sam and all these great players they've got around them – the running backs like Demarco Murray and Chris Brown – they're going to take a lot of pride in that."
The rebuilt offensive line will be constructed around the talent of Trent Williams, who stepped up three years ago and became a starter for Patton after injuries decimated the right tackle position.
Since then he's been a fixture as one of the Sooners' best linemen.
Williams' is likely to make the move to left tackle next season, freeing up players like Jarvis Jones to compete for the right tackle spot heading into next season.
Jones, the LSU transfer, spent 2008 working as a scout team offensive linemen. But even in that capacity, OU coaches were more than impressed.
"He's really good, he's really good," said Patton. "He's really athletic and he could play guard too but right now I'll probably have him at tackle. He played tackle on the scout team all year. He was a transfer kid and ineligible but he is long and tough, athletic and he's big and lean. He's a really good player and I expect him to be pretty good."
Cory Brandon will also figure into the equation at one of the tackle spots as he's served as Loadholt's backup the past two seasons. Patton also feels confident that Donald Stephenson will be in the mix as well.
"Donald Stephenson is one of the most athletic kids we've got," said Patton. "He's developing and getting his weight up and he's played a little bit in some games and he needs to have a great spring but I'm looking forward to having him."
The Sooners will return Brian Simmons at one of the guard positions. His experience will be another major strength along the offensive line.
He could be paired with former Rivals.com five-star offensive tackle Stephen Good at the other guard spot along the offensive line.
If not for the Loadholt/Robinson era over the last two seasons, Good would be the most physically imposing offensive linemen in the Sooner program over the last 10 years.
His frame and size is exceptional, and Sooner fans who have followed his recruiting know he is as physically ready to play as any young lineman the Sooners have ever signed.
"I expect big things and right now he's playing guard and that's what he played this year," said Patton. "Shoot, he's gotten a lot better this season with his footwork and agility. He's so strong and he's athletic. Him and Brian Simmons are in there at guard. You've got Alex Williams (at guard) and you've got Jason (Hannan) and Ben Habern at center."
Hannan and Habern will wage battle this spring to determine who will be Cooper's replacement at center. Hannan has the edge in experience getting most of the backup reps at center during the '08 season.
But Patton believes Habern has the ability to make a serious run at the starting job this spring.
"Ben's probably a little more athletic than Jason but Jason's played a little more and Jason played guard too," he said.
As Patton mentioned, Alex Williams will push Good and Simmons for a job this spring, but there are a couple of other players at the inside position Patton can see as potential fixtures.
"Kody Cooke is coming along as well and Brian LePak, who was a transfer from Colorado State – he came in and walked on and he's doing a heck of a job," said Patton.
There is no shortage of talent along the offensive line as Oklahoma heads into the 2009 season. And even though coaches know how critical their development will be to Oklahoma's Big 12 and national title hopes, they are unflinching in their belief that this line will be capable.
"I say they're young but they've been in the program for a couple of years and they don't have the starting experience those guys have for three years but when I first got here neither did Duke or all those other guys. Phil, Trent, Brandon Walker, all those guys, they were all young players," said Patton.
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<EMBED SRC=http://vmedia.rivals.com/flash/contentheadlines.swf?h1=OU+confident+line+will+rebuild+in+2009+&h2=&lwidth=620&lheight=60&lshadow=1&sFontColor=000000&sLink= WIDTH=620 HEIGHT=60 SALIGN=lt QUALITY=best SCALE=noborder wmode=transparent ID=rvflash NAME=rvflash BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF allowscriptaccess=always TYPE=application/x-shockwave-flash PLUGINSPAGE=http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash></EMBED></OBJECT><NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT></P>Carey Murdock
SoonerScoop.com Editor
<SCRIPT language=javascript>document.write("<div id=contentcontainer style='font-size: " + currentsize + "pt;'>");</SCRIPT>Talk about it in The Crimson Corner
If anyone has questions about Oklahoma's ability to rebuild the offensive line next season, Kevin Wilson, OU's offensive coordinator has a message for the doubters.
"Four of the last five years we've given up the least sacks in the league," boasted Wilson. "When all those guys were sophomores that are graduating and it was supposed to be our achilles heal on the line, we were the least sacked team."
<!--Start Stephenson Story Image--><SCRIPT language=Javascript>document.write(insertImage('http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/895/748516.jpg', '748516.jpg', 0, 267, 200, 1, 'James Patton calls Donald Stephenson his most athletic offensive lineman', 'SoonerScoop.com', 1232487238000, 'Stephenson Story', 895, 'Align=Left'));</SCRIPT><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=202>
There are no excuses for losing players such as Phil Loadholt, Duke Robinson, Jon Cooper and Brandon Walker.
Sure, it will be tough for next year's line to be as dominating as the one Oklahoma has put on the field the last two seasons. Any team losing the conference's offensive linemen of the year as well as three other first-team selections is going to have a drop off.
But talking with Oklahoma coaches, they don't fear the unknown, because they feel like they already believe in the talent waiting in the wings.
"I've got a real good feel about them. I guess we'll see what kind of a coach I am," said offensive line coach James Patton. "It'll be a lot of fun.
"My whole thing with these guys coming up here is that they're young, they're going to be hungry and they're going to want to block their butt off for Sam and all these great players they've got around them – the running backs like Demarco Murray and Chris Brown – they're going to take a lot of pride in that."
The rebuilt offensive line will be constructed around the talent of Trent Williams, who stepped up three years ago and became a starter for Patton after injuries decimated the right tackle position.
Since then he's been a fixture as one of the Sooners' best linemen.
Williams' is likely to make the move to left tackle next season, freeing up players like Jarvis Jones to compete for the right tackle spot heading into next season.
Jones, the LSU transfer, spent 2008 working as a scout team offensive linemen. But even in that capacity, OU coaches were more than impressed.
"He's really good, he's really good," said Patton. "He's really athletic and he could play guard too but right now I'll probably have him at tackle. He played tackle on the scout team all year. He was a transfer kid and ineligible but he is long and tough, athletic and he's big and lean. He's a really good player and I expect him to be pretty good."
Cory Brandon will also figure into the equation at one of the tackle spots as he's served as Loadholt's backup the past two seasons. Patton also feels confident that Donald Stephenson will be in the mix as well.
"Donald Stephenson is one of the most athletic kids we've got," said Patton. "He's developing and getting his weight up and he's played a little bit in some games and he needs to have a great spring but I'm looking forward to having him."
The Sooners will return Brian Simmons at one of the guard positions. His experience will be another major strength along the offensive line.
He could be paired with former Rivals.com five-star offensive tackle Stephen Good at the other guard spot along the offensive line.
If not for the Loadholt/Robinson era over the last two seasons, Good would be the most physically imposing offensive linemen in the Sooner program over the last 10 years.
His frame and size is exceptional, and Sooner fans who have followed his recruiting know he is as physically ready to play as any young lineman the Sooners have ever signed.
"I expect big things and right now he's playing guard and that's what he played this year," said Patton. "Shoot, he's gotten a lot better this season with his footwork and agility. He's so strong and he's athletic. Him and Brian Simmons are in there at guard. You've got Alex Williams (at guard) and you've got Jason (Hannan) and Ben Habern at center."
Hannan and Habern will wage battle this spring to determine who will be Cooper's replacement at center. Hannan has the edge in experience getting most of the backup reps at center during the '08 season.
But Patton believes Habern has the ability to make a serious run at the starting job this spring.
"Ben's probably a little more athletic than Jason but Jason's played a little more and Jason played guard too," he said.
As Patton mentioned, Alex Williams will push Good and Simmons for a job this spring, but there are a couple of other players at the inside position Patton can see as potential fixtures.
"Kody Cooke is coming along as well and Brian LePak, who was a transfer from Colorado State – he came in and walked on and he's doing a heck of a job," said Patton.
There is no shortage of talent along the offensive line as Oklahoma heads into the 2009 season. And even though coaches know how critical their development will be to Oklahoma's Big 12 and national title hopes, they are unflinching in their belief that this line will be capable.
"I say they're young but they've been in the program for a couple of years and they don't have the starting experience those guys have for three years but when I first got here neither did Duke or all those other guys. Phil, Trent, Brandon Walker, all those guys, they were all young players," said Patton.
If Texas goes undefeated and they start in the top 2 next season, you seriously think they will not get in the BCS game? Mack is a serious proponent of playing teams he can beat. It sucks for the fans, but it makes all the sense in the world, especially if we were in his shoes. It's great Stoops and Castiglione are scheduling these tough teams, but let's see how this effects him and the fan base next season. If they can win those 1st 4 games, great. But if not, with everything that's already happened to OU in the recent "big" games, I promise you that's a snowball that will get out of control. It's happened at OU (and Texas) plenty of times before, and it can certainly happen again, even with little Bobby Stoops. Stoops is getting into the "what have you done for me lately" scenario, and it's hard for him to answer with a straight face these days. It'll be a long off-season in Norman, and i wouldn't be surprised to see OU start pressing. And pressing is never good. We're hoping down here in Austin that it all blows up in Stoops' face.
Your totally wrong and you know it! Don't try to cover up for Texas cupcake schedule and turn the tables by critisizing Stoops and what OU's Athletic Director are doing with scheduling good OOC games that people like to see.... If Texas goes undefeated next season and Florida and USC do to, don't come crying to me in my threads that your team got shafted again by the BCS. And it's somehow all Stoops and OU's fault. You know very well how it works. And there's no excuse with what we know now, for all of your major college powers to play somebody with a heartbeat to help raise their BCS standing for a possible BCS title opportunity.. Stop your Longhorn homerism and stop defending Mack Brown and the Texas athletic department for this stupid move of dropping BCS OOC conference games. JB...I have a lot of patience, and I put up with a lot of your nonsense this year. But the free pass ends next year in my threads. You'll either get your ass straightened out and start making some kind of contribution to this forum, or you'll be put on ignore by me and I'll never have to read any of your posts again. I've already dropped a couple IQ points from reading your nonsense. Make your plays or offer some intelligent discussions for something not involving the color burnt orange, or get the fuck off the forum! This is a gambling site. I'm here to make money. Not here to hear a baby crying by making 50 threads about how great Texas was and how they got worked..Like 99% of the other people here, I don't give a shit!
GS, I'm not attempting to take up for UT's schedule AT ALL. And I've never blamed Stoops or Castiglione for what happened last year. We knew very well when it all came down to it that Texas should've beaten Tech if they wanted to get where they wanted to be. What I'm saying is in this day and age of college football, a win is a win. If yours and my salary depends on winning or losing, Which would you rather do, win or lose? Who the hell is going to schedule a bunch of OOC extremely tough games? NO ONE! You don't see but 1, MAYBE 2 great OOC games anymore. The only one that comes to mind last season was USC/ Ohio State. How'd that treat Ohio State? You think Tressell wanted that game there? Hell no! The Big 12 gets it's face kicked in during the conference schedule, as do the other major conferences. What's the point, if you're in control of the schedule, to schedule 3 more extremely tough OOC games? As I said up top, IT SUCKS FOR THE FANS. Believe me, my favorite trip of the last 8 years (sans the BCS bowl games) was going to the Horseshoe and watching Texas/ Ohio State. And having Ohio State down in Austin was electric. If we had a playoff in college football, scheduling harder OOC games would make a bit more sense because you'd be able to lose one game and still be in the mix. But seriously GS, how can you argue that it's a smart move to schedule extremely tough OOC games, other than the fact that "It's great for the fans"? Since when do major college programs do what the fans want? I totally agree w/ you that if USC and Florida go undefeated along w/ Texas next season, there's no way TX gets in over them, UNLESS TX starts out ranked 1 or 2. The chances of that happening are extremely low however. I'll give OU credit for scheduling these games, but it's not a smart move in the long run. I could be wrong, but wasn't 2009's schedule for OU planned about 8 years ago? I bet if you gave truth serum to Stoops or Castiglione, they'd tell you that next year's OOC schedule is the last thing they want with the team they'll have returning. I know they wish they had Sam Houston and a couple other cupcakes, in order for the O-line to gel, receivers to get their feet wet, etc. Of course they won't say that in public though.
Come next season you won't have to worry about any of this "homerism". I respect your thread and won't put any more personal stuff in your threads. When it comes down to it, you don't like my Alma Mater, and I don't like yours. As I've said in threads past, I have 1 cousin currently in the Athletics program at OU, so I know more than most people do about your program. Say what you want about my age, maturity, etc. I'll admit I got a bit carried away with some of my posts late last year. What happened sucked, and the way it happened couldn't have been worse, with a program that we in Austin think cheats and does whatever they can to get to the top, regardless if it's legal or not. And recent history has proven the cheating.
Gosh GoSooners how do you really feel? I think that's what some people on here don't understand is that we are pooling info and intelligent input in the pursuit of winning money. That's what kills me about all this Best Conference BS. I am an admitted homer when it comes to OU and I have had to do a lot of in depth studying and with help from you and a few others I am forming intelligent opinions which could prove right or wrong.
I have come from being pessimistic to wavering to optomistic just in the last couple of weeks. You have to support your favorite team but you don't have to randomly fire off countless arrows which will probably not even hit the target much less the bullseye. Texas fans will never even acknowledge that playing them in Dallas is not really a neutral field. But it is a tradition that will probably never change. Does it really make any sense? Do we ever cry about it? No. After OU lost to Florida and taking into consideration how they got there and how they lost that game, I dwelled on the negative, OL, etc. I have never ever heard a Texas fan account for how they plan to replace 4 DL, 1LB, and 1CB. At least I admitted that we had areas of concern. These Texas guys are like wanta be Floridians. I can see some Longhorns with Long Faces if they lose to OU and quite possibly OSU. In summation, I have gotten my point across without taking potshots at Texas and I have not made any absurd boasts about OU. Now I know why you take a few weeks off of here in the summer.
I have come from being pessimistic to wavering to optomistic just in the last couple of weeks. You have to support your favorite team but you don't have to randomly fire off countless arrows which will probably not even hit the target much less the bullseye. Texas fans will never even acknowledge that playing them in Dallas is not really a neutral field. But it is a tradition that will probably never change. Does it really make any sense? Do we ever cry about it? No. After OU lost to Florida and taking into consideration how they got there and how they lost that game, I dwelled on the negative, OL, etc. I have never ever heard a Texas fan account for how they plan to replace 4 DL, 1LB, and 1CB. At least I admitted that we had areas of concern. These Texas guys are like wanta be Floridians. I can see some Longhorns with Long Faces if they lose to OU and quite possibly OSU. In summation, I have gotten my point across without taking potshots at Texas and I have not made any absurd boasts about OU. Now I know why you take a few weeks off of here in the summer.
Jblonghorn....Here is something you need to think about that isn't really discussed much here on the RX. The harsh reality of winning the BCS title demands that you have to be battle tested. There is no if's, ands or buts about it. You don't get in it and win it without sacrifice. If you have 4 non-BCS conference games and only one tough true road game, and if they get that far, the Big 12 Championship game against what will probably be a weak Big 12 North team that won't even be in the top 10, do you really think this will be good enough to get the Horns a title over a battle tested Florida or USC team? Look at the teams who have won the title the last few years. They all had very difficult schedules to negotiate. Besides their SEC schedule, this year Florida had to win games against Miami and Florida State out of conference. They were battle tested. Look at LSU the year before. Besides having the SEC to contend with, they also had to play Va Tech on their OOC schedule. And Va Tech ended up being a BCS Bowl team that year. That's why LSU was able to get into the BCS title game with two losses. And look at your own team Texas the year before when they won in 2005. The Big 12 was up that year, and also had a winning record in the bowl games. So besides a tough schedule, the Longhorns also had to beat Ohio State on the road. They were battle tested leading into the BCS title game against USC. And there's a good chance if they hadn't been tested, they would have lost to the Trojans. Scheduling tough out of conference games means something. You see, it's not only for their BCS standing, but because of the confidence of being battle tested from these games. And their also even more important if your conference as a whole isn't that strong. You need something else to lean on in a close computer battle with a team with an identical record. If your afraid of losing these kinds of OOC games, it means you don't have the confidence in your team it takes to be a champion. Over the years your going to win a few and lose a few of these games. But if you have a world class college football power, you'll take care of business. Just like Florida did this year. Go back to my bowl thread and look at the first page where I mentioned the comparable records of all of the BCS champions and their opponents. Every year the team whose conference had the best record wins the BCS title game. There's a reason for this. They've been through the true wars. The SEC went 6-2 in their bowls this year, and the Big 12 went 4-3. I knew OU was in trouble when Texas Tech and OSU got beat. And Texas barely scraped by Ohio State. What it meant was that the Big 12 South really wasn't as good as advertised. Even with all of this, OU still gave Florida a good game because the Sooners were in some good early season battles against BCS bowl team Cincinnati and TCU. But it just wasn't quite enough against a Florida team who was even more battle tested. For me, once all of the bowl games have been played, the BCS title game is one of the easiest to cap. I haven't missed one in many years. And it's because it all comes down to your schedule. If you have a strong schedule your a contender. If you have a weak schedule going in then your going to be a pretender. At the end of the year we all know who has been through the wars and who hasn't.
Good points. But my point is you have to get there to win it. And the easiest way to get there is to win all your games. I don't see Florida, Georgia or any other SEC teams scheduling tough OOC games. I think you said above that Florida was battle tested, yet look at their OOC schedule. That's because they're gonna get their nose bloodied during the conference stretch. Same goes w/ the Big 12. Unfortunately we won't know how truly good the conference is until bowl season next year. But if pre-pre-season talk says anything, the Big 12 will be loaded again, and those conference games will be all all of the Big 12 coaches will want. But if it's anything like this season, regardless if it's Oklahoma State, Tech, Nebraska, OU, Texas, Baylor, Missouri, that's all a program wants, or needs, to be battle tested. Had Texas gone undefeated through last season's schedule, their OOC schedule would have NEVER been brought up. Instead, everyone would've been talking about how Texas just went through the hardest gauntlet of games in 47 years. But due to the circumstances, people were relegated to talk about how they should've scheduled harder OOC games. It's silly. So my answer to your good point above is, battletested teams are tested through the conference schedule. If you get through that, anything can happen in the final game. See 2005, when Texas wasn't the best team on that field against USC...but for one night, they were.
No, your not making a bit of sense. And you missed my point. I don't care if you get to the title game or not. If your not battle tested your not going to win it. It turns out that the four game span Texas went through last season wasn't as spectacular as we all thought. Mizzou turned out to be a dud. OSU lost their bowl game and got killed by TT. Texas Tech got spanked by both OU and Ole Miss. Texas would have run into the same problems with Florida as OU did. You can deny this all you want. But Texas played the same teams OU did, but without the tough OOC schedule. And I'm not sure what you mean by saying your not seeing Georgia or Florida schedule tough OOC games. I just told you who Florida played. FSU and Miami both went to bowl games. Georgia had ASU on their shecdule. ASU turned out to be a dud. But Georgia still had no idea how good they good would be when they schduled them. And Georgia still had to travel to the desert. Georgia wasn't a BCS player anyway. As for the Big 12, I wouldn't hold my breath on them being loaded next year. Texas Tech is rebuilding. Texas A&M isn't there yet. Neither is Baylor. Mizzou loses a ton of talent. KSU and ISU never had any. Colorado still hasn't proved anything under Hawkins. That only leaves Nebraska, who is about a year or two away from being a real player in the Big 12. and Kansas, who has a good chance to win the North, but are nowhere near the same kind of team as a OU or Texas. In order for Texas to get into the BCS title game and win it, two things have to happen. The Big 12 will have to be a huge surprise of a conference and have a winning record in their bowls. And whoever the Horns BCS title opponent is, they have to hope they don't come out of the SEC. But like I said, I've never seen a team outside of the SEC come in and win the BCS title with a weak OOC schedule. Argue with me all you want. But I'm not making it up. Those are just the facts. The day the SEC loses a title game will be when one of their teams gets into the title game with a weak OOC schdule and faces a team from another conference who is up that year. And that team played a brutal schdule and survived. USC would probably qualify based on their OOC schedule. I believe they play Ohio State and Notre Dame on the road next season. Those will be good tests for the Trojans. OU plays Miami and BYU on the road. And have a tough road schdule within the Big 12. Will it be enough? i don't know. It depends who their opponent is. The only thing Texas will have to hang their hat on is a couple games within the conference. That's it. Is it enough? I seriosly doubt it unless they can somehow draw Ohio State out of the Big 10, or possibly the ACC champ. I wouldn't hold my breath on that happening..
Russ...There will be question marks on both Texas and OU next year. But OU has just a little more work to do. The offensive line can be a very tricky thing to replace. But this much you can count on; no matter how much talent is coming in to replace Loadholt, Duke, Coop and Walker, they won't have the chemistry that these players had in working together for 3 years. You never realize how good these guys are until they leave. Even if the players from an offensive line don't go high in the NFL draft, it's their work as a single unit that made them special in college football. You just can't replace that overnight. I have a lot of hope for our offensive line. But I also know that we're not going to see results overnight. First, you'll have all of these players fighting it out in the spring for starting positions. Then when the games start, we'll more than likely see one or two players that don't perform up to expectations. And so the OC Wilson will be going through a lot of trial and error with these players to get the right chemsitry together. And all the while hoping that we don't incur any injuries or more setbacks along the way that further blocks our progress. Offensive lines simply don't come together as a cohesive unit right out of the chute. And we can't let our OU homerism get in the way of making money when the season starts. Unlike this past season where OU went 11-2 ATS, I think the Sooners are going to have problems covering the spread next season against teams with a pulse. Especially in the first half of the year. Right off the bat in OU's first game, they'll be facing a BYU team who returns 9 starters on defense. And Mendenhall is a defensive type of coach. So the OU offensive line will be tested severely in their first game. And after that game I think everybody will find out that we still have a ways to go to get up to speed. As for Texas, their probelms won't be apparent because they play 4 cupcakes to open the season. We really won't know if they'll miss those players off of their defensive line until the meat of their schedule starts. But Texas is a pretty deep team. I don't expect a big dropoff on defense. The linebackers may have a little more pressure put on them until their defensive line gels. But Muschamp is such a good defensive coach and motivator that I'm really not expecting much of a dropoff. Plus a lot of these replacement players got a lot of playing time this past season because of all of their blowout games. But where Texas could possibly be a bit weaker on defense, they'll be stronger on offense. So it's kind of a wash. My only beef with Texas and a certain fan is their schedule. It may get them in the BCS title game if their lucky. But it's not condusive to helping them win it once they get there.
GoSooners: I am not taking anything for granted, especially the OL. Continuity is important but every time you have a changing of the guard like this you can take on a different identity, and sometimes different is good, sometimes bad. When you can rebuild around an NFL type at "the key" OL position you are not starting from scratch. We may have to dump the ball off a little more and when we do it goes to three proven veterans.
The Texas DL is what sets up the blitzes that the Texas DC uses. And they are replacing a LB and we know what havoc that can cause. At this point I am only concerned with getting by Texas. The way our lines match up I think it is in our favor. In the games Texas will play prior to OU they will not have seen anything like OU. OU runs plays in a frenzy, bam bam bam. Our OL will be in shape from doing that in earlier games. The Texas DL could be sucking air before the whole thing is over. Another hangover from playing panzies early on. They could be like deer in a headlight. DL are a different breed and it is all straight ahead stuff, more brawn than brains. But the pace of the OU offense may pay it's biggest dividends ever in this years Texas game based on the way everything sets up.
I could be wrong. I am not saying I am going to bet on OU everytime out. I either bet on them or I do not bet that game. It will be interesting to see who wil be favored (probably Texas) and if so I will go with OU.
I would like to repeat that I have never started studying this stuff this early before. I am discovering all kinds of things. I love to do research but this whole thing is a rough draft in progress until sometime in July. My opinions and my attitude may change by then.
The Texas DL is what sets up the blitzes that the Texas DC uses. And they are replacing a LB and we know what havoc that can cause. At this point I am only concerned with getting by Texas. The way our lines match up I think it is in our favor. In the games Texas will play prior to OU they will not have seen anything like OU. OU runs plays in a frenzy, bam bam bam. Our OL will be in shape from doing that in earlier games. The Texas DL could be sucking air before the whole thing is over. Another hangover from playing panzies early on. They could be like deer in a headlight. DL are a different breed and it is all straight ahead stuff, more brawn than brains. But the pace of the OU offense may pay it's biggest dividends ever in this years Texas game based on the way everything sets up.
I could be wrong. I am not saying I am going to bet on OU everytime out. I either bet on them or I do not bet that game. It will be interesting to see who wil be favored (probably Texas) and if so I will go with OU.
I would like to repeat that I have never started studying this stuff this early before. I am discovering all kinds of things. I love to do research but this whole thing is a rough draft in progress until sometime in July. My opinions and my attitude may change by then.
