KU will attack that HUGE VOID at the MLB position on the field. They will have success. If they start slow, like they have shown a tendency to do this year, they will get too far behind to catch up. If they have early success, this could be a track meet.

OU HAS to be able to RUN THE FRICKIN BALL!

J - Good luck. I can't believe Vegas is putting a 19.5 spread on this game. I'd have it somewhere between 7 and 10. Your points about where Mangino will test the Sooners are right on the mark: the short, middle pass, middle screens, and delay draws right up the middle. KU lacks the speed to stretch the OU defense wide or long. But until Box shows he can handle the job in the middle, that's where KU should go.

Yeah, J. We OU fans tend to get a "sky is falling" mentality. The ironic thing is that traditionally Stoops' teams respond very well after losses and when challenged. Also, OU fans have developed that mentality because when you are hoping for a title every game seems to hang in the balance. It has made a lot of us high strung, defensive, and some a little arrogant. My best friend is an OSU fan and he is starting to understand. He said that he is nervous before every game lately and he is watching the top 10 closely. They are learning how the other half lives, as Im sure KU fans are lately too. OU will be fine, they just have some weaknesses that we fans like to pick apart.

KU fan here. Boy, reading OU fans comments you'd think the OU team was 3-3 and unranked!

Cecil, the only hope KU has is if KU can score at least 35. I don't see that happening because I believe OU will get a lot of pressure on Reesing. KU starts 2 redshirt freshmen at tackle. They will eventually be good, but OU's d-line should be able to handle KU's offensive line. OU should be able to disrespect KU's run game and tee off on Reesing.

KU needs to test the middle of the field early and often with a medium range passing attack to take advantage of the inexperienced linebackers. That requires giving Reesing at least 3 seconds before he gets hit. KU's running game is almost non-existent. Both KU and OU are averaging about 3 yards per carry, which isn't good.

On the other side of the ball, I see Bradford having all day to throw the ball because OU's o-line is stronger than KU's d-line. We haven't been able to pressure anybody rushing 4 all season. I do like the fact that Bradford isn't going to leave the pocket, so you may see KU blitz more in the game.

KU needs to be within 7 points after the first quarter. OU gets off to outrageous starts and KU has tended to start very slow this year. I think the spread is about right at 19.5. If KU stays within 20, it will be acceptable. I wish we could have played OU last season when we had stronger line play on both sides of the ball.

Good luck, and Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

I agree totally. The only issue with playing combo zone/man coverages with a zone in the middle is that they can stretch your corners deep on the outside and have guys wide open on shallow sideline routes. Its all fun to speculate, but really I would just like to see the defense attacking more, and there are ways to do it without losing too much coverage. Tech will eat you alive if you play man. Even if you cover everyone a simple draw play could gain big yards. Zone and pressure is all you can do.

I also don't see a lot of stunts from the D Line, like twists. McCoy was drawing TRIPLE teams on some plays. Delayed blitzes from LBs would be a nice wrinkle. Dropping off Beal into the flat and sending Harris between tackle and guard opposite from McCoy (drawing a double) would work. Brent needs to drop some acid or something to break out of his D rut. I just think sometimes the Sooners set their D schemes by game 3 and then never amend or adjust the rest of the season. Must make it really easy for the opposing O coordinator to draw up a series of plays to beat what we usually do. But, in any case, the Sooners are doing great and will continue to do great with this staff.

Good points, Matt, and FORWARD-LOOKING, rather than the typical backward stuff I see on this site. Yeah, Brent needs to be challenged a little bit, but who doesn't? You're right: with Holmes, Harris, and Clayton, we essentially have 3 LB/Safeties on the field, so we should move them around more: send Harris and drop Clayton. KU really has no run game and they will put it up 75% of the time, so the D needs to get to Reesing and get to him early and often. They tend to throw short. I also like the idea of manning up with our corners and playing zone (with zone blitz) with our safeties and LBs. Franks and Jackson have the size, speed, and technique to play man against Kansas. Against Texas Tech, no, but that is down the road.

Cecil. You want an idea of a strategy moving forward? I want the Zone Blitz back. You can blitz linebackers and drop DE's back. We have some hybrid-type linebackers in Clayton and Lewis, why not blitz a safety once in a while and drop a linebacker a little deeper perhaps. Also, if linebacker is a problem, which I think it is, and defensive backs are becoming an asset, which I think they have, why not play more nickel? Could be as simple as shifting Clayton out. Then maybe they could bring a little pressure from the outside from the nickel back or blitz the corner and let the nickel back pick up the coverage. I dont know, maybe that is just too much responsability to put on some of the players. But again, I LOVE the zone blitz and I miss it.

Brandon - Agreed, blitzing the corners or safeties occasionally would be a good wrinkle and the LBs need to be taught to disguise and fake blitzes to keep the QBs guessing. The problem there is that Venables gets very anal about the positioning of his linebackers before the start of the play. Fair enough: you don't want the kids freelancing all over the place, out of position. But how about drawing up a standard fake blitz defensive alignment? I see that everyone else on this site is still trying to win last week's game.

offensively sooners are one dimensional in as many as the past few years.

when ou is good at running games their passing games tend to be sloppy
and when their passing games are at all time high .. their running games are no show.

now the question goes back to the coaching staff ... what gives?

why cant the offensive line creates any running lanes is a mystery.

I hope the Sooners dont have a Bill O'Reilly. Just because someone is bold doesnt make them right.

Austin English has not played to the level he did in 2007. That hasn't helped much and definitely played a factor in the Texas game.

Fixing anything in business of at the corporate starts at the top, OU football is a Big Business.
Most CEO's make adjustments in their managers when they suffer loss's or failures in a
particular department. Does OU have a CEO(Head Coach) like Wall Street managers, you and
I have seen their poor management skills in the reflection of the Stock Market, or do the
Sooners have a Bill O'Rielly, not afraid to make a Bold move. Is Joe C a Patriot or a Pinhead.
He calls the shots. Is he a Sooner or a figure head. He saw exactly what thousand's of fans saw last Saturday. He knows that staff better than we do. The ball is in his court. His CEO
is and will not make the changes needed. Loyalty has blinded his better judgement.

I dont disagree that Brent has called good games. I just like a defense to play fast and aggressive. He has a reactionary defense, read, react, hope for the best. Its like the college version of the Tampa 2, play zone, pressure with the front 4, give up short stuff but dont get burned. Problem is, NFL teams pull it off with defenders that close on the ball quickly. Notice also in the NFL, teams that play the Tampa 2 with sub-par talent get worked. Sometimes you have to attack. I will get you burned occasionally, but it wont leave your defense on the field for 2/3 of the game.

We need NIck Saban he'll save us from this debauchery.

I don't disagree, and it is not to say I am not frustrated with the defense as well, but the quote an NBA coach..."Mike Stoops ain't coming back through that door." For the most part, Brent as done a great job. Yielded 14 points in an away game against LSU. Yielded 14 points in an away game against Nebraska for the Big 12 championship. Last team to shut out Texas (with VY).

It just iritates me when people latch on to one stat (that is typically not even correct...ie Mike S. only gave up two 30 point games, and I once saw him walk on water and he invented the internet.) It is the same attitude that people had when nobody wanted Mike Stoops because Rex Ryan had such a great defense under John Blake (...and yes there were actually saying that on the radio in 1998).

Bob is a winner, if he thought that a change was appropriate, he would make it. I just wish they would fix the special teams play.

Basically, I dont care if they bring back Mike or if they dont get rid of Brent, but they need to BRING BACK THE ZONE BLITZ!

Scott, so, ok, I will play devils advocate with you on defending Venables. Yes, they werent ALL his fault and NO Mike Stoops was not perfect. However, if you think that was good defense on saturday you were watching a different game than I was. Tech last year, bad defense. Mizzou in Norman, bad defense. Colorado last year, bad defense. Texas last year, bad defense that became decent defense when Lofton forced a fumble on what surely would have been a UT touchdown. It isnt about the stats or even the score. A GOOD DEFENSE GETS STOPS WHEN THEY HAVE TO. We havent been doing that. You rarely see good opponents in 3rd & long and any 3rd downs within 5 yards get picked up easily with a dump to a TE or RB or even a QB scramble. Mike Stoops did get burned a few times, but he rarely gave up long drives. With this offense we could outscore any team that is throwing deep all the time. Lastly, they have different philosophies. Brent basically runs a standard 4-3, pressure with the front 4, blitz the LBs some. They sprinkle in a little Nickel too. This works fine against most "pro-style" offenses but not against 21st century spread offenses that are all over college football. Mike runs a zone blitz scheme, which can be very confusing for a QB under pressure and makes short passes tough to complete, especially in the middle of the field. Brent did a good job against Mizzou last year with the same formula that OSU used. They pressured with the front four using stunts. This apparently works great on Mizzou, but not on all teams.

Cecil, You are correct in that the sooners do need to blitz the crap out of kansas. however, the manner of the blitz is what is important. OU ran a ton of blitzes against texas, almost every single one of them was done by the linebackers. That is too easy for a team and a qb to pick up on. when we blitzed our backers against texas mccoy recognized it early and dumped it off over the middle where our linebackers were no longer occupying. they need to start utilizing the safety and corner blitz packages, as well as the delayed blitz by the linebackers. I could tell when OU was going to try to blitz every single time they attempted it, and I didnt even spend an entire week studying them on film. they need to mix their packages up more because it keeps the opposing qb on his toes. also a corner blitz eliminates the chance of a qb scrambling away, because like mccoy showed, he was quicker than our linebackers when they broke through the line. so i do think that you have a decent defensive game plan but this minor adjustment in blitzing the safeties and corners is probably the most important thing the sooners need to add to the scheme for this week.

This defense will never be good unless we get rid of Brent.
I know Bob calls him the 4th Stoops brother but you have to wonder when enough is enough...He is going down the same path that Bowden did with son as offensive coordinator.Do yourself a favor Stoops and let him go!!!If not well,then we will be the almost boys of college football...Stats do not lie...OU has been ranked 13th,16th,18th,17th, and 11 in total defense since he took over for Mike Stoops...With Mike Stoops we ranked 6th,4th,6th,1st,1st..I see a drop off here,dont you?
Give Brent the boot

I see that NO ONE is going to take me up on the "Gameplan KU Challenge", so I'll do it: their D is not what it was last year, particularly in the secondary and at linebacker, so its a replay of the Baylor strategy of throw a lot, run uptempo, and score early. Forget pounding the rock unless we get up by 21: Murray and Brown lack the burst and the O Line has not been opening holes. Spread the field and make use of superior Sooner speed. Make it a track meet. On the D side of the ball, blitz, blitz, blitz, because Reesing has been antsy this year and our corners have been playing well. Whoever is the new Mike linebacker is not experienced enough to cover the middle, so mask that by blitzing him, rotating Clayton to the middle, and dropping Beal or English into short, flat cover. Mangino likes to counter by running screen passes. Reesing's arm is not that strong, so worry less about the long ball, and more about the short 5-15 yard area. Perhaps consider going nickel full-time and only play the replacement Mike in obvious run situations. Okay, let's hear what the rest of you would-be coaches have to offer.

Keith, you are right on the money aboutg the 94 yard touchdown return. I was sitting on the 50 yard line and at 14-3, the life had just been sucked out of the TX stands. You could almost feel TX thinking "OU is going to score at will here today" and OU fans certainly felt that way. After that return by Shipley, TX never believed they were not in the game. I missed the first score of the second half, but when I returned to my seats, there was definitely a change in the defense. Only later did I learn that Ryan Reynolds had left the game w/ an injury. -13 rushing yards the 1st half and approx 162 yards the second half. You could definitely see the difference on defense when he left the game....and let's not kid ourselves, TX played a heck of a game.

Floyd I can see where you are coming from about the coaching issue but the other stuff is just crap. You can bet that if Bob thought he needed a change one would come at the end of the season. Not in the form of firing but strongly suggesting that Venables take a head coaching job. However he will not and there is no change needed. I guess you want a win every game like everyone else but as you stated Texas has gotten better and OSU has never been a pushover. If you are a fan I know you remember the times before Bob and if you got trough that you will get through this. Take a chill pill Sooner Nation it will fix it self.

OK, Sooner fans here is a dirty little secret. As leader that has let Brent Veneables become a best friend, Bob Stoops cannot make a change with his defensive coordinator. This is Bob's best buddy that he plays golf and hangs out with. No change coming on the OU staff, so quit complaining and expect to be just good. Expect to get beat by teams that out hustle you, and in some cases with less talent. Over and over again. Your complaining is fruitless! Did you notice that improvement in the Texas defense? The Sooners could not run the ball with any sustained effort. Hello? A coaching change made that difference. My hats off to Mack Brown, he is a boss not a best buddy anymore. Get ready for a Texas run, Mack just found Bob's number. Others will too. You think this one hurts, wait until Stillwater.

Let's revisit some of those scores:
2004- OSU scored 14 points one drive that lasted 2 plays and 14 yards, and one defensive touchdown....(Surely this is Venables fault)
2004: USC - OU turns the ball over five times (three drive for touchdown that totaled 24 yards) then the entire team quits.
2005: UCLA - Fumble return for a TD, 1 play (15 yard TD drive), 4 play (7 yard drive for a FG). In all, 5 scoring drives start on the Sooner side of the ball.
2005: Texas - Nobody was stopping VY that year.
2006: Oregon speaks for itself.
2006: BSU - 4 turnovers (One drive goes for 2 plays and 9 yard = TD, Int = TD, and an effing hook and latter)

Point being, when we fail, it is usually a team effort. And don't forget M. Stoops’ loss to A&M 30-26 in 2002 when we never let them inside the 40 yard line and they still scored 4 TDs....and KSU in 2000 (OU 41 - KSU 31)....and A&M in 2000 (OU 35 - A&M 31)....but who's counting? (MS 9, BV 11)...and less we forget Stoops was using his scheme with the best safety that ever played at OU (Williams), the best corner that played at OU (Strait), and arguablely the best lineman that ever played at OU (Harris....I never saw Selmon play). It's much easier to run a defense when you don't have to worry about the middle of the line or one half of the field.

Cecil I couldn't have said it better!

Let's back up this Venables talk with some stats. As the great Parcells once said, "You are what your record says you are." So what are Venables stats in comparison to Mike Stoops?

We'll leave it at the most basic stat for defenses, points allowed. First, let's take out 1999 and the transitional year so from 2000 - 20008, the question is, how many games did OU allow an opponent to score 34 points or more?

Under Mike Stoops - 2. That's twice. And we lost one.
2001 - OU 38 v. KSU 37
2003 - OSU 38 v. OU 28

Under Venables - 11. I say again, 11, and we've lost 9. Sure, a few are unfortunate (i.e. Oregon or Tech), but worse, 6 of those 9 came in either the Red River Rivalry, the Big 12 Championship or a bowl game/national championship.
2003 - KSU 35 v. OU 7 - Big 12 Championship
2004 - OU 38 v. OSU 35
2004 - OU 42 v. A&M 35
2004 - USC 55 v. OU 19 - National Championship
2005 - UCLA 41 v. OU 24
2005 - TX 45 v. OU 12 - Rid River Rivalry
2006 - OR 34 v. OU 33
2006 - BOISE 43 v. OU 42 - Fiesta Bowl
2007 - TECH 34 v. OU 27
2007 - WVU 48 v. OU 28 - Fiesta Bowl
2008 - TX 45 v. OU 35 - Red River Rivalry

We are what our record says we are, and with Venables it says our D is not as good. We get torched at the elite level. Who cares if we dominate the Iowa State's, K-States, Nebraskas, Baylors and insignificant non-conference teams? When it gets to the big stage, we lose because our defense isn't capable of competing at that level. It's not players, it's SCHEME.

For example, everyone knew Jordan Shipley was UT's leading receiver coming into the game. He lined up in the slot and we left a LB on him or kept a safety on him 10 yards over the top. How many of his catches came in the middle of the field or on short passes where he could run after the catch? I don't care if it's Reynolds or Crow, that's a mismatch and the UT coaches exploited it and we never adjusted. That's being outcoached and it's bound to happen again as long as Venables is there.

(P.S. even if you throw in the '99 season Mike's still allowed fewer games of 34 points or more. His total would be 6.)

Here's a challenge for all you would-be coaches: give me the wrinkles and the gameplan for the upcoming Kansas game. Its easy to look back, but tell me what you would do to beat the Jayhawks.

Agreed that the kick-off coaching and execution is poor. But that is about the only area where any non-knucklehead can criticize. Perhaps they need to go to the "pack" formation on kick-offs, just to throw off the kick receiving team. That vanilla, line-up 10 across formation is just too easy to scout in terms of figuring out what the lanes are. Apart from that, you'd be hardpressed, unless you were drinking, to find any true fault with the coaching. Yeah, it stinks to lose a game or two a year, but GROW UP, it's going to happen (just ask Pete Carroll, Les Miles, Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel, and Mack Brown). Glad to see you all care so much, but get some perspective.

Paul, Im not defending Venables because I dont like his style either, but what was wrong with the defensive backs? I really only saw a couple of plays given up by DB's and they were really only due to trying to be aggressive and make a play. Most of the issues on defense were in the middle, in linebacker territory. Anyone who watched the game knows that. Just because it is a pass doesnt make it a DB's responsability. Now, if you want to come down on DBs for their special teams performance that is fair game but they have been a bright spot on this defense overall. If you follow recruiting you will notice that the DBs OU gets are highly sought after nationally. Also, the past few years the DBs havent been the whole problem, its been the D-line. The best corner in the world cant cover forever.

Stoops arrogance and his reluctance to put the blame where it deserves, on Brent Venables and his poor defensive schemes will continue to be the downfall of OU. The vaunted OU defensive personality went to Arizona with Mike Stoops and the passion he used to bring with the defense. Why we can't recruit any decent defensive backs continues to be a mystery. If I was the recruiting coordinator the pitch would be very simple: if you are a decent corner or safety you can come to OU and play from the 1st game as a freshman. Every big game recently that OU has played, they have lost, we can't win the big bowl games and when we are in position to win a BCS game then either USC or LSU wipe up the field with us. Get rid of Brent Venables, OU will not win a championship as long as he is on running the defense.

I'm not sure what the deal is but special teams are killer. Bob needs to get ahold of that because they're killing us. Cinci showed us how vulnerable we were there but we didn't fix it in time for Texas. Brandon mentioned Big Game Bob. I don't know where that guy went but we need him back. I don't know if we need fire anyone but we definitely need to do something to light a fire under our teams butts! Friday before we left work I shoe polished my coworkers car windows because she's a Texas fan. Today she got me back by simply putting "Big Game Bob My A**!!" on mine.

Last week, I was excoriated for daring to say OU doesn't play well in the second half---it's like all the momentum built up in the first half somehow gets lost in the locker room at halftime. Some clowns writing in this venue cried foul for my even hinting that OU should stay with the game plan and not introduce anything Texas might not have seen. Not my point at that time, and still not. No matter what OU does or doesn't show, the key is play full out for four quarters. And, dammit, they haven't done that even once. One more thing, stop bragging about this "great offensive line." The only thing offensive about this bunchn is a 2.5 yard per carry by the running backs. I'm a Sooner fan for life, and this year's loss to Texas is far worse than any other I've seen over the past 50 years.

Brandon, I agreed with you. Don't know where you were confused. Go back and read the messages. I was saying its dumb to just throw out "Bandwagon" every time someone has insightful criticism of OU.

Carson, It isn't being a bandwagon fan when you are unhappy that your team constantly comes up short in the big games. Early in Stoops career he was called "big game bob" because it always seemed his teams were more prepared and discipline than the other teams. That obviously isn't the case anymore as we constantly get points put on us in a hurry in the big game. If you are naive enough to think that a change isn't needed then you are not a real sooners fan. Real fans believe that if something isn't right then it needs to be fixed. How can you call yourself a true fan if you can constantly sit there and watch your team lose the big games? I know I can't take it because it literally pains me inside whenever we lose games like the one we lost this weekend. So the next time you question a persons loyalties to their team for wanting it to perform at its best then maybe you should check your own supposed support for our team.

OK Zach I will pick up your question about why Box was not put in for Crow. THe answer is I dont know, no one does except Venebles. Watching Box on the sideline he seemed to be ready to go, as in the coach said "get ready". I have coached High school ball out here in CA and have endured some of the same criticisms by parents and fans. The fact is the coaches know thier players and ablities better than ANYONE. They see them everyday in practice and meetings and so forth. They have a much better informed opinion to evaluate who plays and where than anyone sitting at home does. I will apply Stoops own logic here (think back to when they chose Bomar over Thompson): This is Crow's third year in the program...not much going on there. Boz is in his second year in the program...perhaps more upside there. Play they guy who MIGHT still have some undiscovered potential rather than they guy who has been there the longest and still seems like a red-shirt freshmen in his skills and positioning. Maybe even try out the Juco dude. But I agree with others, do not move clayton or lewis...the middle of the d-line got stronger with Granger back, it will make the MLB position a little more do-able for a more inexperienced player. Saturday's game against Kansas will tell us alot about this defense- will they come out with fire or will they wilt with self pity. I will bet they come out to kick some arse. Sooner Born and Sooner Bred, and when I die Sooner Dead..Go OU

FIRE BRANDON CROW TOO!! BRING ON MIKE BALOGNA!! HE WAS THE MAN IN SPRING PRACTICE!!

That's a good point, and the case can be made against the coordinators, but give them credit where credit is deserved. The coordinators didn't lose the game for OU. Reynolds injury hurt OU more than anything, and Texas scored mmore points (25) after his injury than they did when he was in there. And perhaps, with him in there, Texas doesn't hit Shipley for the touchdown after OU's fake punt. Crow just looked lost on that play. And Wilson kept the offense scoring and humming.

It's way too eary to call for the coaches jobs. I still think they've done a great job thus far in the season, and I think Venables has done a great job in his tenure, but maybe his fixation on stopping the run has hurt OU in the passing game a few times over the past two seasons, but it's never hurt them to the point of calling for their jobs. I don't take credit from Venables. I give credit to Greg Davis and Colt McCoy.

Look guys, Im not turning in my Sooner card, but the bottom line is that Venables is getting worked. If you think that was good defense and special teams saturday then you are nuts. It has nothing to do with stats. A good defense gets stops when they need them. We had no answer. I personally think Wilson is doing a great job though. Not his fault the line isnt getting push and the runners dont hit the holes.

Zach, those who know football have been saying this for a while. Those who know trite sayings "Bandwagon," etc. never have anything substantial to say. Just same ole recycled jargon. That's kind of why I put the word "intelligent" in there so as to exclude some.

And as for your "Intelligent Sooner Fans Everywhere" Carson, maybe it should be "Bandwagon/Fairweather Sooner Fans Everywhere"

Wow...what's with all the bandwagon fans? OU's got great coordinators. If they were so bad then why are six currently head coaches? Why do two of them currently have their respective program ranked No. 16 and No. 7? Why did one of them put up 487 yards and 37 points on the same OSU team that is now ranked No. 8? You guys blow my mind.

Venables doesn't have this defense ranked as one of the best in the country because he's a bad play caller or a terrible coach. He's a head coach in waiting and the sad thing is that all OU fans know it and as soon as he's gone and someone else steps in you'll all call for him to come back. That's exactly how it was with Bo.

Same goes for Kevin Wilson, he's a head coach in two or three years, if not at the end of this year. The only intelligent comment I've heard from anyone on the coaches was what Bob said about Wilson being stubborn about his play calling. That didn't stop OU from having two running backs with 700+ yards rushing last season. And eventually they'll pick up this year.

But I'll repeat the question, if Box is the replacement, why didn't he come in AT ALL on Saturday? Even to at least try something new. It was obvious that Crow was either lost or just didn't know the defense, or maybe he was just nervous, while he was in. Box seems like the best bet to replace Reynolds as a leader on the field if you listen to all the coaches play. But I don't think you move Lewis to middle when he's done so well at outside unless it's the last resort.

Finally, I think they need to get Clayton more involved in pass defense. He's a former safety so he knows what he's doing. Another option if to start Sam Proctor, who the coaches have apparently been AMAZED with in practice, and move Holmes to the linebacker position.

"Special Teams Guru"? Difference in the game was special teams; fake punt that didn't work and the kickoff return for a TD....maybe the guru needs to coach execution instead of acting

Remember, Venables is Stoops No.#1 crony, pizon, so he's not going anywhere. Stoops needs to
find him a vacant head coaching job at the end of the season, or sooner. Then have Stoops
take over the defense, earn his keep, after all he came here with the reputation as a great
defensive co-ordinator and special teams guru. If he takes the defense and improves it, or it
stays the same or worse it will tell the tale about what a lot of us have known since his
brother left. Bob is very loyal to his close personal friends, and sometimes loyalty gets in
the way of good judgement. Mack has hired and replaced several coaches on his staff over
the years, and looks like his judgement has served him well. His staff talent has been
improving with every change, especially with his latest defensive coach move. Muschamp took a young defense and whipped OU all over the field. The best staff Stoops has had since he's
been there was from '99-'02. since then it's been a rotating door with his coaches, getting
worse with every change. I just hope the defensive assistant's don't take the fall for Venables
consistent poor game planning and preperation. Bob needs a strong minded person like Mike
was that will not tolerate bad plays or play on defense. If you go back to the LSU Sugar Bowl game, read between the lines when the local press interviews Venables, and watched his
defense since he took over, and look back over all the bowl games and Big Games, this has
been coming for along time, and it's going to happen a couple more times. TCU and Baylor
exposed OU's weakness and Texas exploited them. We can only hope that the local press
will wear Stoops out at his press conference and in the paper long enough to make him be
accountable for his lack of head coaching skill. Remember if the fans that pay for their gas
lodging, meals, tickets, etc. were holding the press conferences, they'd be "Bring'in some
Heat". We aren't compt. tickets or go to the games on per-diem.

FIRE DEMARCO!! HE'S NOT AS GOOD AS HE SHOULD BE! BRING ON JERMIE CALHOUN!!

Is it just me, or does it seem like DeMarco is affraid to get hit, there will be a whole in the line with a linebacker coming so he tries to move outside and runs into his own team mate then just kind of falls to the ground, he gets tripped up way to easy and he goes down all time on arm tackles, HE IS SCARED OF SOMETHING. The same is true with the kicking game, they are affraid to hit people. you should not be able to run straight up the middle on a kick off and not get touched. If the stars dont want to hit the runner put some second teamers in there, they have a lot to prove. The pro's use back ups on kick off coverage maybe to Sooners need to do the same. The better team lost Saturday because Texas wanted it more

And stop ripping on our coordinators: all they've done is make OU a top 20 team in just about every category. Fire Stoops? You guys are nuts. You give the rest of us Sooner fans a bad name. Congrats to the Longhorns, as much as that makes me sick to write it.

Calm down, people. Root for Mizzou this weekend. Box will fill in ably for Reynolds. Texas won a great game, but OU did not lose. One or two plays made the difference, and they went Texas' way. Take you hand off the "Panic" button. Congrats to the Cowpokes! Now, let's beat Kansas. No more caffeine for some of you people.

Brandon, I agree on the defense. Problem is that Bob and Venebles are friends. I disagree on some other comments. First, on Stoops, you know people that say he cant coach, just recruit, but others have said he could only win with Blakes players. So which is it? Blake couldnt do anything with his recruits, Stoops won a title. He hasnt won one since with his own players. Keep in mind that Stoops has won a lot of games. We are just discouraged by the results of some of the big games. We need a new D-Coordinator, but I still think the offense is good. Just need to be tougher in the run game so we can work the clock. 2nd, on throwing deep, Gresham scored on a deep ball and Bradford got picked on another. also, remember all those times Bradford had to scramble? That means nobody open, probably were deep calls. I think we should have thrown underneath more. Those slip screens were awesome, the drag routes to Broyles worked great too, but we kept trying to run and couldnt. That put us in too many 3rd and long plays

Matt, I agree, at least Mike was aggressive. We have a good passing game, but can not control the clock when we need to.(4th Q) The special teams are bad.

Bob's comment will serve as by-laws. It will be titled, "Stubborn Vanilla Saturday: Trying to Run without a Playbook"

Brandon's comment is hereby adopted as the official stance of intelligent Sooner Fans everywhere: ISFE. I will have it laminated and will begin T-shirt production shortly. We are stuck in a hamster circle of sub-par coordinators. Won't change until Change happens.

Hmmmm, Heupel for HC in 2009?
THAT's interesting.....

Had a relative leave the team for the same reasons regarding coaching, Brandon.Said the hype wasn't worth the real experience once you got into the program, it's different when you experience it daily vs. a fan's prospective.Still wants to play on a team, not be a part of a "program"

OU SUX!! BRING BACK JOHNNY BLAKE! FIRE BOB, BRENT, KEVIN AND ANYONE ELSE! JOSH HEUPEL FOR HEAD COACH, 2009!!!

ditto Brandon.

The biggest problem that OU has are poor coordinators. I have friends that have played, and are playing currently, and every single one of them said that venebals is a terrible coach. In fact, they even went as far as saying that Stoops isn't a very good coach either, just a good recruiter and honestly the results prove this to be correct. He refuses to fire venebals even though every time we play a team with even a decent qb we get torched for 30. That is such poor defensive planning it is unbelieveable. Auburn fired their first year coordinator because he wasn't getting the job done, venebals has had years and still hasn't gotten the job done. Honestly that is just ridiculous, how many jobs are out there where a person can constantly underperform and not get fired? As for Wilson, a great point was made earlier about his abysmal play calling as well. Did anybody notice how we never once attempted a pass of over 20 yards the whole game? I mean for Bradford to throw that pass as well as he does and then never implement it is just crazy. It allowed the Texas corners to just tee up our receivers because they figured out that all we were going to do is throw the quick slant and curl the whole game. And what the hell was up with the supposed "no huddle" OU used saturday? The point of the no huddle is to get up and snap the ball before the defense has a chance to get set up, but over and over again bradford kept getting calls from the sideline to change the plays. We even got a delay of game penalty! How is that possible with the no huddle? Poor game planning and even poorer coaching is to blame for almost all of the sooners woes every single year. Becuase honestly, I was there saturday and OU was never given a chance because of ridiculous play calling on both sides of the ball. It is time for stoops to clean out his staff and inject some new blood into team, because it wont be long until recruits realize that OU never ever gets it done in the big games anymore.

So if Austin Box is the man for the job why wasn't he the one to replace Reynolds? The problem with our D is the inability to cover the pass against a solid team. Maybe I'm wrong but it just seems like when we have our guys 10-15 yards off the receiver that just allows them to nickle and dime us all the way down the field. USC in 2005, Boise State, Texas Tech last year, West Virginia are all examples. If we want to win we've got to be able to cover the pass and so far a Venables defense hasn't shown that they can except perhaps the Big XII title game last year.

Jeremy, in the past I would have mentioned to you that some of Mike Stoops' defenses got burned many times. One thing I will say is that nobody was ever able to consistently work the ball down the field on one of his defenses the way Texas did, and CU last year, and WVU, and Mizzou in Norman.... He got burned deep because he played aggressive, but with this offense you could afford a few of those. But with this offense you cant afford to give up long, time consuming drives.

Keith, it is a good possibility IF both teams win out and Bama, Florida, and PSU all lose. If USC wins out they still wont have good schedule strength and OU's strength of schedule would be good even without the title game. A lot would have to happen though. Bob, I will disagree with one thing. The offense is good, not perfect, but good, good enough to win the game if you can play the other two phases. Part of the problem is that the offense is TOO explosive. The defense was stuck on the field the whole game. I think Kevin Wilson is doing a great job. We just cant run block and Murray is obviously not what he was, cant scheme around that too much, but Brown needs to play more at this point. Defense was awful. I have defended Venables for the last time. I dont care about yards or stats. A good defense will get a stop when they need one and they didnt. One thing you can say is that Stoops teams play better after losses. They need to be challenged. They dont seem to play as well when they are favored in the big games.

Ou moved the ball well, until the no huddle slowed to a crawl! What was the deal? Oh, we still can not cover Kickoffs. That changed the whole game.

The only thing I can say is, "OU has not had a truly dominating defense since Mike left for Arizona."

Good point Carson about Venebles moving to the booth. He made some good adjustments in the Cincy game this year. Some coaches, like to be on thte field where they can better gauge the mood of the teama and see things at field level. Mucshamp (sp?) Texas's D-coordinator started off int he booth but has since stayed on the sidelines. Box should move to the middle, Crow seems lost and not a big hitter.

There is absolutely no excuse for not making in game adjustments. Especially when you get burned by the same play over and over.

As for the O-line they need to Loadholt inside where speed isn't quite the factor.

Matt, as much as I hate anything orange, I was pulling for the pokes against booger. You could tell they had been reading their newspapers and watching TV about how their offense was the best ever. How funny. Regards OU, since last year I've been prophesying about the O-line and their inabilily to run block, about Wilson and his inability to come up with any answers DURING a game and his incompetence of using the talent he has to create mismatches on defenders. We can't run block so he runs stretch plays, off tackle into the line and wastes downs. He did the same thing last year against Texas and we were LUCKY to win. Our offensive line is the same line that couldn't run block last year so how was it they were touted at the best offensive line pre-season? Through Baylor, they still could not open a hole or control the line of scrimmage, so, does Wilson change anything? Course not. Does he try mis-direction, sweeps, counters...two backs in the backfield, bigger splits? Course not. We have the greatest Quarterback in the history of the school...wish we had the coordinator to go with him. And regards our defense, it's time to change the whole lot. We've played one game in the last 3 years I can remember that we didn't just play not to lose. And that game was the Big 12 Championship against booger. We have the talent.

It doesn't matter who is a middle linebacker. If your defensive coordinator cannot make in-game adjustments, that's ballgame. Texas won with one route: slot receiver 10 yard stop route. Hardly any linebacker is going to cover a receiver, especially in our keep-an-eye-out-for-receivers lax zone. Maybe if Venebles moved to the booth, like many coordinators, he wouldn't be so immersed in reading his forearm and getting plays called and would be able to diagnose the game better.

Did anybody else get the feeling that had OU just scored another touchdown in the first half to extend it to 2+ touchdowns, the game would have been over? The TD run on the kickoff really changed the momentum. Kudos to Texas for hanging in there when it counted. Maybe this year the OU-OSU game will actually MEAN something?!? How about an OU-Texas rematch in the BCS Title Game - is that a possibility?

Adam, no excuses, OU got beat. People on here are just discussing the reasons why and how they could be fixed. No, I dont agree with a lot of their opinions, but then I can politely disagree and we can discuss it like men. Flaming and trolling is just weak, like you are weak. To all the OSU fans with some class, congrats on taking down Mizzou. Cant stand Chase Daniel. If OU can clean up a few of their issues and OSU can keep playing well, it will shape up to be a classic Bedlam matchup.

Gee Adam, I guess we could use a tried and true OSU saying "Just wait 'til basketball/wrestling/roping/artificial insemination season!" but then again, I'm sure the Cowgirls will figure out a way this year to blow a big lead against Texas and lose by a few TDs like they've proven to be so adept at. Enjoy your very short stay in the top 10.

What is the excuse this year, gooners?

It's sad that they didn't mention anything about how there (coaches) play calling was bad. The hurry up and wait offense took too long to develop. They stayed in the same defensive scheme too long.

With all the talent on the field, they could have found better ways to use it.

the OU coaches might want to loo for new running backs as well. It was not only the defense that had problems. The 'special teams' look like they need edumacated in football so they can get on the big bus as well.

Man. All two of them? Nice Jonathon.

Is that why all of the holding penalties on OU this past Saturday? Geezsh I wish all of the 14 year-olds wouldn't be allowed to post comments here...

While you're at it, fix the o-line. The uo coaches shouldn't be teaching holding as a proper blocking technique. But, at uo, they have been teaching this since Stoops got there.