Here are three things to think about as we think about Oklahoma and Texas.
One, after falling behind Georgia 14-0, the Sooners put together a fantastic drive, bound to halve the deficit, only for quarterback John Mateer to commit his worst turnover of the season and two more after that and OU was out of the game and that was that.
Two, though OU’s offense has gone nowhere this season, Texas’ hasn’t done much either but for 21 out-of-character and unanswered second-half points against then-No. 1 Ohio State. Still, Texas will enter the Cotton Bowl averaging just 3.6 yards per carry and just 378.5 yards of total offense, ranking 85th in the nation.
Three, in their last half of football, the Sooners tied Georgia 13-13, Mateer completed 10 of 15 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. And for the full 60 minutes against the Bulldogs, he completed 25 of 34 for 231 yards and two touchdowns against a single pick. In fact, if you can believe it, Mateer’s pass efficiency rating this season is 151.0 to Manning’s 141.3.
Got all that?
Some of it may be hard to believe, but it’s all true, and which of those paragraphs you believe reveals the deepest truth about OU (and maybe Texas, too) may well influence which of the following three scenarios you find most likely to play out, or that you hope or wish to play out, Saturday afternoon.
Here they are.
Stick a fork in them right now
Yeah, just stick a fork in them because if the Sooners were a Cars song, they’d be “All Mixed Up,” and if they were a Dio song, they’d be “The Last in Line,” because whatever they do, they’re bound to screw it up.
The offensive line can’t block and they’re not going to start doing it on Saturday against the No. 1 ranked Longhorns defensive front. If the game’s put on Mateer’s shoulders as it was against Georgia, it will only lead to more turnovers.
Clearly something’s been lost in translation between the coaching staff and the players because OU could never be this bad if it weren’t the case and it’s folly to believe they can put it all back together in the space of an extra week between games.
Sorry.
Maybe we’d like to believe in this team but forget about it, it’s going to be ugly.
Let the reckoning begin.
Just hang close, baby
True, the Sooners have no running game, but maybe things will be different after the bye week, maybe they’ve settled on Jonathan Hatton to finally get most of the carries and even if that doesn’t come to pass, you don’t them to become too aggressive trying too hard because they have what it takes to stay close anyway.
Remember, Texas can’t run the ball either and Manning is no great college quarterback and arguably a weaker passer than Mateer.
So, as long as the Longhorns aren’t getting away, don’t risk turnovers on anything fancy, don’t rock the boat. OU’s defense has what it takes to keep the Texas offense at bay and maybe turn it over, too. And if it can do that, it can win the game.
It’s not easy winning 10-7 or 17-14, while rolling up less than 300 or even 200 yards of total offense, but it’s that kind of game that gives the Sooners their best chance so they should go that direction.
Hang around to the end, build the pressure, maybe something falls OU’s way.
Die trying
Are you kidding?
Don’t take the game to your archrival?
Don’t come with the kitchen sink?
Don’t try to go up and down the field?
Look, Mateer can’t turn the ball over forever and he really did have success against Georgia when he wasn’t turning the ball over.
All that stuff about the team that runs the ball best wins this game every year? Well, that may be true, but that doesn’t mean the Sooners have to run first and it doesn’t mean they have to do it out of “12” and “13” personnel, which occurs when two or three tight ends line up alongside the five-man offensive line, only creating more opponent bodies to block.
So spread it out, make Texas defend in space, which ought to open up the running game if Mateer has any success to speak of through the air and the offensive line has made any use at all of the bye week.
Because the Sooners have a great defense, ranking second in the nation in first downs allowed (12 per game), third in third-down defensive efficiency (23.1 percent), fifth in total defense (238 yards per game) and 16th in scoring defense (16 points per game, a figure that would be far less but for turnovers), it’s an opportunity to attack the game by attacking the game.
Just so you know, I understand the first sentiment and may agree with it. But if it’s a matter of strategy, give me door No. 3.
The kid in me who watched the wishbone in the ’70s and ’80s and the columnist in me who’s watched so many great quarterbacks light it up from Sam Bradford forward, what I can’t abide is a team trying to keep it close by trying not to turn the ball over more than it tries to pick up yards and score points.
And if a reckoning must begin, I’ll be just fine with that, too.