OU/Tenn overview

russ1945 · Sep 6, 2015

I guess I will follow up my preseason thread on the Oklahoma Sooners with an overview of the upcoming matchup at Tennessee.
Knowing full well that OU has as good RB’s as anyone it may come as a surprise that the Sooners only rushed for 100 yds against Akron. Many thought that the passing game would benefit from their new OC Riley and that the rushing game might not play as big a part of their new attack as it had in the past. Saturday the Sooner’s rushed the ball 33 times for 100 yds and passed the ball 42 times for 439 yds. They did all that despite a slow start and ended up throwing an int in the end zone late in the 4[SUP]th[/SUP] Qtr and that was thrown by ex-starter Trevor Knight. Starter Baker Mayfield went 21/33 for 388 yds, 3 TD’s, and no int’s. OU’s leading receiver was RB Joe Mixon (sat out 2014) who caught 3 passes for 115 yds including one for a 76 yd TD. New PK Seibert was 2/2 on field goal attempts.
The defense held Akron to 226 yards and it appears that their pass rush has improved.
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Tennessee outgained B Green 604 yds to 557 yds and wound up winning 59-30. BG passed for 433 yds and Tenn rushed for 399 yds. Tenn QB Dobbs rushed for 89 yds and passed for 205 yds. RB Karmara rushed for 144 yds and Hurd for 123 yds. The Volunteers controlled the game but they gave up a lot of yards.
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The line on this game has dropped down to Tenn by 1. The defenses may make the difference in this matchup. Last year’s game was hosted by OU with OU winning 34-10. Trevor Knight (now the backup) passed for 308 yds in last year’s game. Tenn’s Justin Worley (now graduated) passed for 201 although he made 44 attempts. He also was sacked 5 times, threw 2 int’s and lost a fumble. New starting QB Dobbs will do much better I am sure.
When these 2 teams met last year OU was ranked #4 and would up 8-5. OU made 4 asst coaching changes this season including new OC Riley. Tenn also has a new OC in Mike Debord and has 10 returning starters to work with. OU’s OL is their only question mark offensively. This year both teams are ranked in the Top 25 so there is much more riding on this year’s game.
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More to come BOL

ChrisParadise · Sep 7, 2015

Tennesse's secondary sucks. 3 injuries to key guys in fall camp hurt more than I expected. Butch needs to run clock with his superior run game and and special teams and pray for a 21-20 type game

russ1945 · Sep 7, 2015

Chris Paradise said:
Tennesse's secondary sucks. 3 injuries to key guys in fall camp hurt more than I expected. Butch needs to run clock with his superior run game and and special teams and pray for a 21-20 type game

Could be a close game and who knows TO's could play a part. I think the team that is more successful passing and in the red zone will win the game. OU's secondary has still not proved much but if Tenn throws for more against OU than they did against B Green that will tell the tale. I think the OU offense has now officially bought into QB Mayfield and I do think they were plain vanilla with their running game against Akron.

What do you think about your new OC.

BigdaddyQH · Sep 7, 2015

First, the line opened at Oklahoma -3. The game is now a pk in Vegas. Tennessee has a very poor defense, as shown in the game against Bowling Green. Giving up well over 500 yards to a MAC team speaks volumes about your defense, or lack of it. Oklahoma simply used their walk-over to prepare for the Tennessee game. Tennessee's major weakness on defense is their secondary. OU should be able to use their strong ground attack to open the air game for them. If this game were being played in Norman, OU would be a 7 point favorite. The winner can look forward to bigger and better things. The loser slips back into oblivion. OU at a pick may be a gift here. They have the better players. The question is will OU find a way to lose this game, as they did so often last season.

ChrisParadise · Sep 7, 2015

russ1945 said:
Could be a close game and who knows TO's could play a part. I think the team that is more successful passing and in the red zone will win the game. OU's secondary has still not proved much but if Tenn throws for more against OU than they did against B Green that will tell the tale. I think the OU offense has now officially bought into QB Mayfield and I do think they were plain vanilla with their running game against Akron.

What do you think about your new OC.

Like him a lot. Not worried about the offense at all. So many weapons Derek Dooley couldnt even fuck it up. Will see how good he has done with the oline this weekend.

russ1945 · Sep 8, 2015

BigdaddyQH said:
First, the line opened at Oklahoma -3. The game is now a pk in Vegas. Tennessee has a very poor defense, as shown in the game against Bowling Green. Giving up well over 500 yards to a MAC team speaks volumes about your defense, or lack of it. Oklahoma simply used their walk-over to prepare for the Tennessee game. Tennessee's major weakness on defense is their secondary. OU should be able to use their strong ground attack to open the air game for them. If this game were being played in Norman, OU would be a 7 point favorite. The winner can look forward to bigger and better things. The loser slips back into oblivion. OU at a pick may be a gift here. They have the better players. The question is will OU find a way to lose this game, as they did so often last season.

I thought it first came out at Tenn -3