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Report: Trent Williams out for Bedlam
Just when it seems it can’t get any worse for the Oklahoma Sooners, it does.
The word is now that starting left tackle Trent Williams could be held out of Saturday’s game with Oklahoma State due to some kind of head injury he suffered in practice this week.
KFOR-TV reported tonight that Williams would be out with a mild concussion, although some people are saying that the head injury wasn’t that serious and that he still could play.
But if Williams indeed can’t go, that would be a catastrophic blow to a Sooner offense reeling from a pitiful performance last weekend at Texas Tech.
The big question now becomes, who replaces Williams, if all this is true?
One of two options the Sooners have left is to slide Cory Brandon over from RT to LT, bump RG Stephen Good over to RT, and insert Tavaris Jeffries or Tyler Evans into the starting lineup at RG.
The Sooners should be fine at guard. Both Jeffries and Evans have started this year.
But tackle? That’s another story.
Brandon has no game experience at LT. Good has no game experience period at tackle.
Which is why the Sooners may start tight end Eric Mensik, who has been playing some at tackle in late in games the last couple weeks, at RT and shift Brandon over to LT.
Whatever they chose, the Sooners have a major hole if Williams can’t play. OSU’s defensive ends are much improved this year, and already were expected to challenge OU’s protection on the corner.
This is the kind of injury that could alter the outcome of the game.
It’s been a crazy season for OU with injuries.
And it just may have gotten more ridiculous.
-JT
Chat with Jake Trotter at 11 a.m.
OU appears Sun Bowl bound
Win or lose at Bedlam this weekend, Oklahoma’s most likely bowl destination appears to be the Sun Bowl.
If Oklahoma State wins Bedlam: The Cowboys would go to the Fiesta. That would leave the Cotton to choose from Nebraska, Texas Tech and Missouri. Except that Tech went there last year, and Nebraska will have just played in the Big 12 title game in Cowboys Stadium. So the Cotton could take Missouri. That would send Nebraska to the Holiday and Tech to the Alamo.
The Sun is next in the pecking order, and would be left to decide between a 6-6 OU or 6-6 Texas A&M. While it’s possible the Sun could take A&M because of its proximity to El Paso, the Sooners hammered A&M 65-10 this year, which probably gives them the nod.
But, if the Sun did take A&M, OU would be snatched up by the Insight Bowl, and ironically play in the same city as the Fiesta, which would be hosting OSU.
If OU wins Bedlam: The Sooners would knock OSU out of the BCS. But because OSU would then go to the Cotton, OU would still be looking at the Sun. Nebraska would head to the Holiday and Tech, the Alamo.
The Sun would then probably take a 7-5 OU coming off a huge victory, instead of Missouri or A&M.
The opponent: At this point, it’s unclear who OU would play in the Sun, which gets the third-place team in the Pac-10. But some possibilities include USC, Oregon State, Stanford, California and Arizona, coached by Mike Stoops.
The date: 11 a.m. Dec. 31.
-JT
Texas Tech 41, OU 13: Thoughts and observations
The biggest surprise from OU’s 41-13 head-kicking courtesy of Texas Tech was not the offense struggling. The offense struggles on the road. It’s what they do.
The surprise was Tech basically moving the ball at will against OU’s previously vaunted defense. And how did Tech move the ball? Yeah, Taylor Potts threw for 388 yards, which is actually fairly pedestrian for a Mike Leach team.
Tech actually moved the ball by running it. Running wide. Running up the middle. Big runs, short runs. In all, Tech ran for 161 yards and averaged 4.1 yards per carry. And that includes the 21 yards Potts lost on being sacked.
The scary part for OU, if there’s anything left to be scared about, is that the Sooners’ next opponent is Oklahoma State.
OU just got done facing THE WORST rush offense in the Big 12 in Tech.
The Sooners are now getting ready to play THE BEST rush offense in the league in OSU.
Even after the OU win, Tech is still averaging less than 80 yards rushing a game.
OSU is averaging 204.
If the Pokes are able to run the ball as well as Tech did against OU, expect the Sooners to fall to 6-6.
Quick hits
* Ryan Broyles’ showboating into the end zone down 34-6 was downright embarrassing. I think you can sum up the lack of focus and discipline with this team on that play alone.
* There really wasn’t one person to blame defensively. Everyone took turns getting beat. Keenan Clayton, Brian Jackson, Dom Franks, Travis Lewis all had their moments. I can’t fault the defense too much. After being lights out the whole year, they were due for a poor game. Not surprisingly, the offense couldn’t bail them out.
* The great thing about Sam Bradford was that he could find the open guy every time. Landry Jones had guys open at times. He just missed them and threw the other direction, often into traffic.
* Center Ben Habern’s injury is unfortunate. Ben seems to be a really good kid, and a potential leader for this team down the road. Very similar to Jon Cooper that way. But with a broken fibula, we may not see him for another 5 months. The last thing this line needs is guys missing spring drills. OU will be without Jarvis Jones, at this point the 2010 starting LT, as well. Walk-on Brian Lepak will start at center the rest of the way.
* RBs DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown were total non-factors in this game, combining for 51 yards rushing on less than 3.0 yards per carry. Murray and Brown, each 1,000 yard rushers last year, will probably each finish with 700 yards apiece this season.
* OU really needs Brandon Caleb to get healthy. For whatever reason, he played special teams, but not WR. Adron Tennell really struggled. Tennell has been good against the bad teams. But they’ve needed him to shine in big spots, and he has disappeared.
* Freshman Jaz Reynolds had a nice 57-yard grab. Is it not time to get him more PT to get ready for 2010?
* At least penalties and FG kicker were not the reasons for this loss. OU only committed six penalties for 66 yards. And Pat O’Hara nailed both of his FG attempts, including a 47-yarder.
* OU is going to finish 4th in the South. In 2005, a down year, OU finished 3rd.
* Bowl game options now appear to now be Alamo, Sun and Insight. Beat OSU, and it’s either Alamo or Sun, though probably Sun at this point. Lose, and it’s Sun or Insight.
* The all-white uniforms were terrible. Looked like a more boring version of Stanford. Good thing is, after that loss, we’ll never see them again.
They said it
DT Gerald McCoy: “As good as we’ve been playing on defense all year and we allow something like that?” McCoy said. “That’s just no heart, no pride at the end of the game. That’s just not good enough. That’s not Oklahoma.”
Coach Bob Stoops: “They executed it and blocked it better than we were able to get off blocks and tackle. They didn’t come up with any new run plays. It’s what we worked on the whole week and again, they executed better than we were able to defend it.”
Stoops, on QB Landry Jones: “Again, I think you’re isolating one guy and I don’t know think that’s fair either. It’s fair to offensively say that that’s the case and your quarterback is a part of that but receivers dropping balls doesn’t help. Their supporting cast has to be there as well and we haven’t been good away from home.”
DE Jeremy Beal: “When the defense has been playing so well throughout the whole year, it’s disappointing to come in here and have a performance like this. It’s always disappointing.”
LB Travis Lewis: “It’s disappointing as a defense, especially as a linebacker and them being able to run the ball on us at will. Converting all those third down-and-ones, us not being able to get off the field, that’s huge.”
Landry Jones, on struggling on the road: “I think it’s something that has to do with intensity. Going on the road, you just can’t expect something to happen; you’ve got to make it happen. You have to create your own energy and stuff like that we’ve been kind of talking about in practice, and that’s what we were hoping to do today. We just didn’t get it done. We didn’t execute the plays we needed to. I didn’t play very good, and obviously I need to play better for us to win.”
WR Ryan Broyles: “We just came out and couldn’t make the big downs when we needed them. We didn’t make big catches. We didn’t make big blocks when we needed them.”
By the numbers
5: Number of TDs Sooners have scored combined in games against BYU, Miami, Texas, Nebraska and Tech.
5: Number of season-ending injuries the Sooners have suffered on the offensive side of the ball. Center Ben Habern, who broke his fibula, made it No. 5 Saturday.
1: Number of bowl teams OU has beaten this year (Texas A&M).
-JT
Chat: David Ubben (11.20)
Video: What to expect from the Sooners
Stoops: ‘Who knows what’s in store?’
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops did a Q&A with Rivals.com writer Tom Dienhart, and if you haven’t checked it out, you should. Stoops is more frank than his usual self, and he touches on, among other things, the Sooners’ injury-plagued season, Landry Jones and possibly leaving Oklahoma in the future.
A couple highlights:
Has this been your most difficult year?
Oh, absolutely. With all of the different players being gone at different times, sure. No doubt about it.Is this your last coaching stop?
Oh, who knows? I’m not that old, I guess. I haven’t reached 50 yet. So, who knows what’s in store, you know?
See the full interview here.
Murray: ‘Pretty sure I’ll be back’
When DeMarco Murray dazzled fans in the spring game before his freshman season, plenty in attendance wondered how long they’d get to watch the Las Vegas native run over and around opposing defenders.
Injuries have kept Murray from playing in several of the Sooners’ biggest games since, including last year’s national title game, and they’ve no doubt played a role in his draft stock as well.
With at least three members of his offense destined to hear their name called on draft day next April, Murray said on Tuesday he likely won’t make it four.
“It’s something my family and I will look into, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be back here next year,” he said.
Non-committal, perhaps, but Murray likely didn’t expect the questions about his future to come so soon. He’s played the entire season without suffering a major injury, sitting out just one game, and making it through a second injury-free season could only help his stock.
As he showed on Saturday, there’s been little doubt about his performance when he’s on the field.
The only worries are making sure he stays there.
