OUInsider - Owen Field

I want to first offer my sincerest condolances to the the family of the late Bob Barry Sr. His passing is a dark moment for all of the Sooner Nation.

As is the norm, I'll re-visit the other action from this week and then dive into OU/KSU. I'll follow that up with a touch of BCS talk. Away we go...

1. It was nice to see Cristobal and Co. get back on the winning track. It's hard to win at FIU. He is a coach I expect to see at a more prominant program within 3-4 years.

2. Despite being 4-4 and despite getting run over by Rutgers, Pitt actually controls its own destiny in the Big Least. What a mess that conference is. I think that the mid-major schools rumored to be getting invites should avoid that league like the plague.

3. I know that Rice is not a good team, but NINE TD passes is just stupid. At what point do you just start dropping 9? Seriously.

4. Is there a more inconsistent team in the FBS than Miami? They lost to Maryland (currently 2-6), then beat Ohio State (currently 5-3), then played close games with quality teams in losses to VaTech and KSU, then dominated GaTech (currently 7-2), and finally turned around and lost at home to Virginia. Al Golden must be wearing a wig by now to hide the fact that he's pulled out all of his hair.

5. On a related note, did anyone else notice how sparse the crowd was for the Miami/UVA game? Really? I know they don't sell out, but I was shocked.

6. A young but talented TCU team looks like it is starting to get things together. They are 6-2 now and looked pretty good in their win over BYU where they led 35-10 at one point, especially in ST play and in the turnover margin (3-0). They have one more game (against Wyoming) to work out some more kinks before they travel to Boise. TCU looks like the only team left on Boise's schedule that has a real chance to pull off the upset.

7. FSU is starting to get it together again now that they have most of their starters back. In the event that Boise and Stanford do get upset, a strong finish by FSU could help OU.

8. Kevin Wilson's crew is finally showing signs of life on offense, but their defense is still awful. It does appear that Gunner Kiel could only stomach so many beatdowns before a longer drive started to look less and less daunting. There is a beer goggle joke in there somewhere, but I just can't put my finger on it....

9. I still think Louisville makes more sense as the newest Big 12 team than WVU. That said, they won again to get to 4-4 and still have to play Pitt and WVU, so they are still somewhat of a player in the Big Least. I see UL as a program with a lot of potential for a good coach. Perhaps Charlie Strong is that guy.

10. Michigan won again to stretch their record to 7-1. If Michigan can beat Nebraska on 11/19 it is quite IMpossible that UM, MSU, and NU could all be 11-1 (7-1) in a perfect 3-way tie like we saw with OU/UT/TT in 2008. I had to go back and fix this since I forgot about Wisconsin's win over Nebraska. Thanks Nebraska.

11. Speaking of NU and MSU. That's the first of the upsets from last week, at least in my opinion. After MSU handled Wisconsin in such an emotional game though, it cannot be too much of a surprise that they struggled the following week. Those are some tough back-to-back games to manage. MSU had to get back in gear after a seriously emotional win and then hit the road, whereas NU was at home a week after a cakewalk beatdown of lowly Minnesota (more on them later).

12. TA&M blew another double-digit halftime lead. There you have upset #2. They really seem to want to hold that title of worst second half team. If they had managed to win those games over Arkansas, OSU, and Missouri, they'd be at WORST #3 right now instead of OSU. As much as our loss to TT stung, those three losses, especially taken together, must sting infinitely worse.

13. Speaking of Arkansas, that's about as close to losing as a team can get without actually losing. That 94 yard scoop and score was painful to watch. Vandy was soooo close to that marquee win that they could probably taste it. Ironically, that's likely one of the reasons that it managed to slip away.

14. VaTech looked very vulnerable against lowly Duke. It was not a good week for the ACC.

15. Wazzou actually managed to hang with Oregon somewhat for a good part of their game. That would have been unimaginable 2 or 3 years ago. That said, WSU still has a ways to go before they are a player in the Pac-12 conference championship picture.

16. It can be well argued that Mark Richt is no longer on the hot seat. This has been a nearly miraculous season for UGA after their rough 0-2 start. If South Carolina loses to Arkansas this coming week, UGA suddenly controls its own destiny for getting to be the team that loses in the SEC CCG. I didn't think they had a prayer when they were 0-2.

17. It appears that Navy's ability to beat ND is on hiatus. I enjoyed seeing Navy beat them a few times recently, and I'm glad I was able to see it, because it may not happen again for a while. That said, ND has barely a prayer of going to a BCS game, even if they somehow manage to beat Stanford. With 1 of the 10 spots guarenteed to a mid-major (for all practical purposes), 9-3 isn't going to get it done.

18. It was a good week for Coach Kill at Minnesota. He got a nice contract extension and then his first big win. On the flip side, Kirk Ferentz's seat just started getting warmer. This game goes on the upset list even though Iowa was not ranked.

19. I really thought that Rutgers might hang on to beat WVU, but instead WVU joined the comeback victory train. That would have put Rutgers in a good position in the Big Least. Seeing Eric LeGrand lead the team onto the field was really cool. Rutgers may not win the conference, but in looking at their remaining schedule, 7 wins and a bowl game is very likely. 8 wins is not at all out of the question either. I think that's good personally.

20. Someone needs to check and see if the small contingent of Baylor fans in Stillwater are still outside the stadium awaiting the Baylor team buses since Baylor has apparently not yet shown up....

21. I'm still not sure what to make of OSU's defense. Plenty of people are trying to paint their defense as better than it appears on paper due to the turnovers and garbage time points allowed. The turnover numbers are certainly impressive, but what happens if they play a team that protects the football?

22. It was ugly and cold, but PSU managed to win again. Their offense is nothing to brag about, but their defense is really good. I like how they found a way to get it done in the last quarter. That speaks of good leadership and character to keep battling.

23. Western Kentucky is a front runner in the Sun Belt. Now, that's not normally considered much of an accomplishment, but they've only been an FBS team for 2 or 3 seasons. Hell, let's add WKU to the Big 12. That sure would cause a stir lol.....

24. ASU looks like a lock to go to the first Pac-12 CCG. That's not even due to USC being ineligible since ASU handed USC a beatdown earlier this season.

25. In case you forgot, Colorado still sucks.

26. Ole Miss plays its next game at Kentucky. After that, their remaining two SEC games are Miss. State and LSU. Look for them to go winless in the SEC this year. Their next SEC win will be under a new coach next year. I like UK to pull the upset at home. Of course, we have all seen what happens when I predict a team to go winless the rest of the way. Sorry Kentucky.....

27. I find it perplexing that Turner Gill was able to craft a winning program at Buffalo but can't make any progress at Kansas. Mangino did not leave him that empty of a cupboard. Their showing at Texass was just inexcusable. Good thing for them that nobody saw it.

28. Utah finally found a Pac-12 team that it could beat. It looks like Oregon State and Colorado will have to duke it out for the fine distinction of being the worst team in their conference. I think Colorado will get the nod.

29. Does anyone disagree that Texas Tech was way too hung over for way too long after their win in Norman? It appears that their buses got lost on the way to the stadium just like the Baylor team buses did. They looked like they were literally up all night partying the night before the game. It reminded me of that movie Varsity Blues. That game also has a seat on this week's upset victory train. All Aboard!

30. Despite booting his QB and losing his star RB, the Ol' Ball Coach is 7-1 and has the inside track to lose the SEC CCG after squeaking by Tennessee (currently 0-5 in the SEC). I don't like their chances of taking down Arkansas though.

31. Stanford should have lost that game. I'm somehow even less of a fan of Kiffin than I was. I didn't think that was possible.

32. It's hard to explain the Clemson loss to GaTech. GaTech was really struggling the past few weeks, but was still 7-2. It's not like they were sneaking up on anyone. I guess it was just Clemson being Clemson. That freshman receiver at Clemson, Sammy Watkins, is stupid good though.

33. Wisconsin may be the only team in I've ever seen that I think needs to play MORE prevent defense. Seriously.

34. It appears that the euphoria of rallying around the new coach has worn off at Arizona. They are what their record says they are.

Okay, let's talk some OU/KSU beatdown.

1. This game reminded me of the Kansas game in that we sort of stumbled around a bit in the first half, and then came out in the second half and made it clear to the opponent that they were done.

2. One of the most impressive things about this year's OU team, and this dates back to last year's Bedlam game, is that OU is a really good second half team. Even in our only loss we made a 17 point halftime deficit into a 3 point loss.

3. I thought Landry Jones played better this week than last week (obviously), especially considering the wind. One thing I noticed though, was that he and Stills' timing was off. Jones was just late and off target on his deep throws to Stills several times before Stills finally pulled one down in the third quarter.

4. It seems that mobile QBs still give OU fits (like they do to a lot of teams). I'm glad that OSU does not have a mobile QB. However, if I'm Monken, I throw a few draw plays or designed QB runs at OU that I saved just for Bedlam.

5. We had good success running the ball against a stout run defense. That's a good sign, especially since we were on the road. That said, for Finch to be averaging 8 yards per carry and yet only have 8 carries boggles the mind. I am well aware that he is not a 20+ carry per game type of back, but 8 is just way too low. There's no reason he should have less than 15 carries on top of his receptions.

6. On a related note, Millard's 1 carry was a pretty solid showing of why he should have more than 1 carry.

7. I really liked the new Blake Bell package the first time we put it out there. The next two times, not so much. I love the potential. Hopefully the kinks will get worked out in practice in the coming weeks. I also think that the new Blake Bell package will make the QB battle that may be happening this offseason more interesting since Bell is getting the in-game experience that, before last Saturday, was Drew Allen's big advantage.

8. We definately throw the ball downfield more than we did last year. I really like that. Despite that, LJ still has a higher completion % and higher YPA than last year. Those numbers are good signs of growth for a QB. He still needs to cut down on the INTs though. He has thrown 9 picks. That's a bit on the high side.

9. I was crushed when I saw the replay of Whaley's injury on the first play. I didn't need to hear the official report to know what it was going to say. I hate it for the kid and wish him a full recovery. I hope we see him get some playing time next season. He'll have a tough fight on his hands to win some meaningful playing time next year.

10. It was nice to see our defense finally force a turnover. The fumble recovery by R.Lewis was our first turnover since the RRS. Still though, we have lost the turnover battle in three straight games. That's not a good recipe for success.

11. I was still really happy with the defense overall though. KSU was well below its season averages for rushing yards, points, and especially passing yards. KSU basically had three effective possessions that were helped by some sloppy play by our defense, and then that was it. Having our starters back certainly helped.

12. Did we really make a 54 yard FG? Really?

13. What was the deal with our fist two kickoffs being so short? Were we trying to cope with the wind on those or something? It was just wierd.

14. One thing I noticed this week, that I also saw last week, is that we changed our punt return scheme. Now Broyles has a blocker placed about 15 yards in front of him to pick up the first guy running free down the field. Suddenly, Broyles is seeing more running room. It's about time they made that adjustment.

15. The catches by Jaz Reynolds were amazing.

16. Some of his attempts at blocking were not so amazing.

17. I liked seeing D.Miller catch a few passes. He's been here a long time and has never given up, so I think he deserves some time in the spotlight. Also, every time he makes a catch in a real game he gets better, and we need the depth.

18. What happened to Trey Franks? I know that Reynolds has been playing well, but Franks was playing well early on also. I'm surprised he has disappeared. It appears he is now behind D.Miller on the depth chart.

19. We had 7 sacks. That's awfully good. I'm quite anxious to see how our pass rush does against OSU on 12/3. That will be a huge factor in the game.

20. Our TEs and FB had a combined 5 receptions. That, to me, is an improvement, but still not enough. I think forcing teams to better respect our TE passing game will help open up the run game.

21. We do not run nearly as many plays per game as we did last year. I'm still not sure if that's good or bad.

22. Drew Allen is now 18/30 in his career throwing the ball. Blake Bell is now 1/2 in his career throwing the ball. In the event LJ leaves after this year, those numbers need to go up dramatically.

23. OU has now won 5 straight true road games, 7 straight games outside of the state of Oklahoma, and 5 straight games against ranked teams (all away from Norman).

24. I'm anxious to see which OU team shows up on Saturday to give A&M its sendoff. I'll be in the stands to find out.

Alrighty, a few thoughts on the BCS and I'm done.

1. We need Stanford to lose. Duh.

2. We need Boise to lose also IMO. I think they've built up enough credibility over the past three seasons and won enough marquee games that they'll get the nod over a 1-loss team.

3. One big problem we may face is the boost that Oregon would get if it beats Stanford. We'll get a big boost if we beat OSU as well, so it may not be a problem, but Oregon's only loss is to LSU in Dallas. That means they don't have the embarrasing loss at home that we have, and they don't have a Wisconsin-esque non-conference schedule either.

4. If LSU beats Bama, then Oregon is no longer a worry since nobody will want to see the rematch. That sort of sucks for OU because an LSU win over Bama likely means LSU playing a home game for the NCG. Yuck.

5. If Boise gets into the NCG I'll be rooting for them with every ounce of strength I can muster. Even the mighty SEC would not be able to live down losing to Boise State in the NCG.

Boomer Sooner