OU review: Mizzou video session
CAMPUS CORNER — Getting a late start on this, so I’ll get in as much as I can before I tire.
It’s nice to be back with Gus Johnson and the FX crew this week. (Sorry, Musburger.) (Sorry I’m not sorry.)
**
Sometimes the fast-paced offense works against OU. Fourth-and-inches, and literally 1:03 is off the clock. If you go three-and-out that fast, you give the other team momentum – home or away. Actually, it’d be much more in an away environment – or even a neutral-field game like Texas.
You’ve seen some of this backfiring in the red zone. You only get three (mostly three) offensive downs. You can run through them quickly when you don’t go very far.
Certainly not the way OU wanted to start.
**
That’s three procedure penalties on the punt team in the past two weeks. What’s going on there? It was on Corey Nelson? Negated a nice Tress Way punt in this case. His second effort was pedestrian, comparatively.
Why did FX’s crew say this was the first false start this season on the OU offense? Guys, it’s the punt team. Different personnel. A linebacker jumped there. C’mon. I think there was a false start for the offense later, but not there.
**
Two snaps, two bad snaps for Missouri’s Travis Ruth. That improved, I guess.
**
Watching T.J. Moe block some Sooners on second-and-3 run to Josey to the left. He pushes back Tony Jefferson and then takes on Tom Wort. Salty one, that Moe. Henry Josey can hit that corner. His first run, for 14 yards, gave him more yards on the ground than FSU’s running backs had all night last week.
**
Holy crap. Just realized how small Josey was. Is. It takes two Joseys to make a James Franklin.
**
Moe flat-out beat Jefferson on the corner route. Just beat him.
**
Josey’s has gigantic holes through which to run. Just imagine if the snaps from Ruth were better.
**
Landry Jones’ first pass attempt on the next drive was deflected at the line. Man, if that were intercepted …
Landry makes a savvy play here and bats the ball to the ground. Quarterbacks and linemen always try to catch this, for some reason.
**
Second-down throw was off his back foot, to Ryan Broyles. Floated a little bit. Not a good throw. (Disclaimer: I’m not picking Jones, or anyone, apart. Just saying what I’m seeing. Note my commentary today about Jones, who I think gets dogged too much for his play. If you have 448 passing yards, you’ve obviously done something right. So, again, don’t think I’m killing the guy. He does more positive than negative; I’ll point out the high notes, as well.)
**
Jones has no time on third down. Lane Johnson whiffs on Mizzou’s Jacquies Smith. The Tigers bail out OU with a pass interference call in which someone just lays on Dejuan Miller for some reason.
**
Dom Whaley’s first carry goes for 30 yards. Imagine that. Play the kid more. He’s your best back. Does special things when he has the ball. (See the later possession in which he has the tip-toe play on a screen pass and then runs in a TD on the next play.)
Key events on Whaley’s run: James Hanna, who came in motion to the right side, threw the initial springing block; Mizzou DB Trey Hobson takes a bad, bad angle; Miller had a decent block; Whaley nearly broke it.
**
Jones gives back the momentum with the pick. Was telegraphing deep to Miller. Wouldn’t have mattered if this were Kenny Stills. Landry just didn’t see the safety, for some reason. Got greedy, presuming the play would be there. Appeared underthrown but, more than anything, just missed the safety. Bad read.
**
Half the time I watched James Franklin, I thought he acted in the pocket like there was a whistle. He just moved so mechanically. Like, in slo-mo. In a good way.
**
Good pressure on third down from David King. Very late grounding call – where was the flag? – but looked like right call. I guess. Josey was right there. Whatever. Punt’s a punt.
**
Sooners’ home unis really pop for night games, don’t they? Don’t change, OU. Don’t change.
**
See, this is what I mean. Miller makes a nice catch to make it second-and-3 at the 9-yard line. Quick to the line, Brennan Clay goes nowhere. Third-and-3, an incompletion to Broyles on good coverage.
FX graphic says 6 TDs, 5 FGs in 13 possessions for Sooners. This is another FG drive, too.
My question on this particular possession is: Whaley had a 30-yard carry on the previous drive. Where’s he for second- and third-and 3 inside the 10?
**
Mike Hunnicutt’s kick was a good one. Not sure what to make of Jimmy Stevens and his quad. Or is it “quad?”
**
Getting beaten on second Mizzou TD. Live, it looked like it’s Gabe Lynn’s fault. It’s a delayed safety blitz from Javon Harris, but I don’t know how that pressure is supposed to get home on a guy like Franklin, because Harris breaks so late.
As a result, Lynn gets caught up in traffic. Heck, the MU receiver, L’Damian Washington, nearly falls down himself. But he doesn’t and it’s a 45-yard score. It’s another three-down-lineman deal. But Harris blitzing. So is Wort from the left side and Travis Lewis from the right. The middle of the field is left open, and that’s where Washington heads. Lynn does get turned around one-on-one, too.
Empty backfield, I think OU is anticipating QB draw here. It’s not.
**
Not to belabor this, but, again, what does a delayed blitz against Franklin do? Even if Harris gets there, Franklin will leave the pocket.
**
Gus said Roy Finch would be more involved. What do you know, Gus, you soothsayer? Finch did get a touch there. And a first down.
**
Whaley takes a little swing there and absorbs a hit and stays on his feet.
**
Charles Davis is talking too much about the loss of Trey Franks. Stills, yes. Franks, no. Franks had no catches at FSU, Charles.
**
Hey, it’s James Hanna. This is like offensive bingo, this drive, for Bob Stoops. A Finch touch and a Hanna catch? Wow!
Seriously, get them the ball more. Trey Millard, too.
**
Broyles just does what Broyles does. How did he make that catch for the 24-yard touchdown? 30th time in their careers, FX tells us.
**
Broyles might be the most underrated player in college football history. I’m going to put that out there. Seriously, who catches 12 passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns and we barely talk about it?
Broyles.
When OU needed a drive, and a TD, it was Broyles. No shock there.
**
So many trains in Norman. No one told me about this when I moved here.
**
A more conservative blitz on third-and-8 on the next Mizzou possession. Wort drops back. No Harris blitzing. Travis Lewis brings enough heat to cause Franklin to get rid of the ball.
**
One of Landry’s best throws in the game. Third-and-8 at his own 29 – it’s always third down, isn’t it? – and he steps up in the pocket to find Broyles on a crossing route. Unreal throw. The kind of throw that makes him a top-five NFL prospect.
He completely misread the D earlier, but this kind of throw makes up for it. He’s very capable. What a strike. It’s a 29-yard gain; field-changer.
**
Just heard former Minny coach/FX sideline guy Tim Brewster and Davis say Millard changes the way defenses have to play, literally.
Without him in game, nickel personnel. When he’s in, base personnel. He dictates defenses. He’s that important. Just a sophomore, OU is still figuring out when and how to use him.
On the play prior to that discussion, Millard ran all the way out wide, leaving Jones in an empty set. I know our Jenni Carlson discussed Millard as a potential solution in goal-line sets, just because of how tough he runs, how big he is. I’m not as smart as OU’s coaches – not by a long shot – but he’s a special player. Get him involved.
**
Great pressure on next Missouri possession. Alexander has been a beast. I thought that was more of intentional grounding than the one that was actually called earlier.
**
Thanks to MU DC Dave Steckel for dressing up for the game. Nice T-shirt.
**
I know I’ve been complimentary of Whaley, but he did have plays in which he went backward – not that it was his fault. Just watched a 6-yard loss on second-and-1. Donald Stephenson and Millard missed blocks and/or fell down and Whaley was swallowed up.
It’s not always going to go in the right direction, but a 6-yard loss on second-and-short?
**
Demontre Hurst’s name has not been called an awful lot this year. That’s a positive.
**
Fourth-and-1 at midfield. You’re up 14-10. Your quarterback, who is huge, just ran for 8 yards on second down.
Don’t you have to go for it here? I really didn’t understand this. To win on the road vs the No. 1 team in the country, where that team never, ever loses … you have to take chances. Smart chances. This was a shot for Gary Pinkel. He didn’t take it.
Think he’d go for it now? This isn’t hindsight’s 20-20. This seemed fairly obvious to me, when you run a spread offense with so much deception.
**
Landry changed the third-and-7 play at his own 24 to a go pattern to Jaz Reynolds. He saw one-on-one and went for it. Mizzou dared him to throw it, Reynolds to catch. Anyone but Broyles, right?
This was absolutely Jones’ best throw of the night. It was breathtaking, quite honestly. Just gorgeous, beating Hobson over the top. Reynolds did his part, as well. Stills had to have been proud, if he wasn’t pacing and looking for his helmet …
I thought this play is where the game changed. Confidence.
**
I love this clear-out screen to Hanna. It’s a corner blitz from Kip Edwards, but the entire MU defense starts shifting to its left, with the play, when Jones dumps off to Hanna underneath. Smart play and executed well.
Hanna’s in red zone by time Tigers can adjust.
**
Sometimes, it’s OK to be lucky. Jones wanted Reynolds on a little out route. He overthrows the pass and, how about that, Broyles is open where the ball is.
That’s one the Sooners could laugh about. Helps OU avoid another field goal. We wondered who it was for. Jones admitted later Reynolds was the target. He was open. So was Broyles, fortunately for the Sooners.
**
Hunnicutt’s PAT wasn’t all that impressive, hugging the right upright. Just saying. Let’s not pile on Stevens and then ignore when Hunnicutt doesn’t split the posts.
**
Kameel Jackson is still learning, but he was really close to making two plays down the field. He sure looks like the next “one” of the receivers going forward.
He’ll get there. Needs more time. This Franks suspension might help him more than anyone, along with Reynolds.
**
I forgot about that Whaley 25-yard reception. Stiff arm. Picks up a first down. This guy’s amazing. Nifty, even.
**
Reynolds with another nice grab in opening in zone. 27 more for OU.
**
The Sooners save themselves from more goal-line woes with Jones’ QB sneak for a score. Like Stoops has said, the ability to run gives you more confidence about OU in the red zone. Still got to execute, though.
**
All right, it’s nearly 1:30. I’m going to pull the plug on this. Some sloppy play late from the Sooners’ D, but this half has essentially told the story of the game, good and bad.
Early meeting(s) tomorrow, so I’m going to rest up.
= Trav
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Thanks again for taking the time…this is a great feature for ou fans