The Sooners have the talent, and will most likely be in the final four discussions. However, we should not believe the media hype until they prove it on the field of play. As for the Tulane game, the defense seemed to over rotate leaving gaping holes and that can be fixed, and the offense needs more time to jell.
My argument is Tulane is better than people think (I have a suspicion this is true). OU Is supposed to be one of the elite teams at the very least a perennial top 5 (would you agree?). They are just middle of the road in recruiting, they have dominated the BIG 12 (arguably the weakest of the powerSo Tulane is terrible and if OU were any good, they would have won by more than 5 points? Or Tulane is actually pretty good, and OU didn't play that badly? If you'll settle on an argument, I can figure out if I agree or disagree with you.
If your point is just that Alabama is a great team and Saban has been a very successful coach, then point taken. I got no problem wit dat statement.
If you're talking specifically about the defense, they played well parts of the game and not so well other parts. I doubt Grinch is anywhere close to being fired, odds are way higher that he will be hired away as a head coach in the next year or two than that OU will ever fire him.
If your point is just to bash OU, then carry on. They didn't play as well Saturday as they probably should have. Doesn't mean they won't play well next week or any game the rest of the season. The OL in particular needs to be better... they did lose a center from last season that will start for the KC Chiefs Sunday, so there's that... they may need another week or two to gel as a unit.
5 though some would argue PAC-12) It would seem OU cant really develope players at the elite level unless you are a quarterback but even then a case could be made that the best recruits they routinely have are in fact already damn good quarterbacks just learning a new system. I personally think Bill Snyder was one of the coaching greats being able to turn nothing into at least something every year ….but I digress. We haven’t seen a dominate defense at OU in over 20 years which I find a little odd. In reality we haven’t had a dominate defense in the big 12 in the last 20 years that I can think of. I am not sold on Grinch like most people are, I have friends in Ohio that were happy to see him go and told me he sucked. I have a few buddies that are die hard Cougar fans and they have an even worse opinion of Grinch. I of course said it was not true but I will be damned if they aren't turning out to be correct. They will be in the SEC within a year or two and if they are to be successful in the SEC (this “ahh shucks we are just slow starters” or “it takes us a while to gel“ thing wont get it done in the Uber competitive NFL South. Things are different now these coaches are being paid very well Grinch is over a mil in salary ……..expectations are high and when you stop expecting an excellent return on a salary like that then you are doomed to fail. Lincoln Riley for instance is more or less Head Coach, OC, and QB Coach (a pretty fair value for his salary). I just don’t thank Grinch is the answer, I mean how many years does he get a pass ? At this level you either produce or get sent packing.
I completely agree that OU did not play like a top 5 team Saturday. They will fall in the polls, and should. They might very well climb back up that ladder, what I have been saying all along is that one game does not define you as a team. Whether you look really good or really bad, there are a lot of variables, and next week you may look opposite.
OU's defense was in the upper 120 range out of what, like 136 teams before Grinch got there? I think last season they finished in the mid-20's range in most categories (that's from memory, I could be a little off). That is remarkable progress in three years. Now, whether that makes him the greatest defensive genius in the universe, I don't know but he may have been the best available at the time, and I don't see how you can argue that he hasn't made OU's defense better. Good enough to win a NC? I don't know, we have to wait and see. You're absolutely right, you cannot win a championship with the caliber of defenses OU had pre-Grinch, or OU would have probably won a couple in the playoff era. I don't think OU necessarily needs an elite defense to win, but they do need a competent defense... they did not have that before Grinch.
As far as the SEC is concerned, I will concede that OU is not going to win 6-7 conference championships in a row, but I think they will be competitive. I think there's a good chance being in the SEC will make them better, some of these top recruits that pass over OU because they want to play in the SEC may end up there. And better competition will force them to get better, although it's possible they'll be a better team but have worse records from year to year. I agree that Big XII competition isn't as big of a challenge. Then again, they tend to lose their minds and drop 1-2 games a year that they shouldn't, so overall records may not get much worse.
I disagree that they are middle of the road in recruiting, they have been ranked in or near the top 5 in recruiting classes I think the last 2-3 years. They have done extremely well at QB, WR, and RB to a slightly lesser degree, but have struggled with DL. Defensive secondary is starting to turn around, they are looking for bigger DB's and just starting to get some. As I noted, there is great potential for improved recruiting in the SEC. In any case, I don't think Grinch needs to be worried about being fired, I think OU is more worried about him being hired away. A lot of OU fans were happy to see Venables go, sooooo.....
OU's defense was in the upper 120 range out of what, like 136 teams before Grinch got there? I think last season they finished in the mid-20's range in most categories (that's from memory, I could be a little off). That is remarkable progress in three years. Now, whether that makes him the greatest defensive genius in the universe, I don't know but he may have been the best available at the time, and I don't see how you can argue that he hasn't made OU's defense better. Good enough to win a NC? I don't know, we have to wait and see. You're absolutely right, you cannot win a championship with the caliber of defenses OU had pre-Grinch, or OU would have probably won a couple in the playoff era. I don't think OU necessarily needs an elite defense to win, but they do need a competent defense... they did not have that before Grinch.
As far as the SEC is concerned, I will concede that OU is not going to win 6-7 conference championships in a row, but I think they will be competitive. I think there's a good chance being in the SEC will make them better, some of these top recruits that pass over OU because they want to play in the SEC may end up there. And better competition will force them to get better, although it's possible they'll be a better team but have worse records from year to year. I agree that Big XII competition isn't as big of a challenge. Then again, they tend to lose their minds and drop 1-2 games a year that they shouldn't, so overall records may not get much worse.
I disagree that they are middle of the road in recruiting, they have been ranked in or near the top 5 in recruiting classes I think the last 2-3 years. They have done extremely well at QB, WR, and RB to a slightly lesser degree, but have struggled with DL. Defensive secondary is starting to turn around, they are looking for bigger DB's and just starting to get some. As I noted, there is great potential for improved recruiting in the SEC. In any case, I don't think Grinch needs to be worried about being fired, I think OU is more worried about him being hired away. A lot of OU fans were happy to see Venables go, sooooo.....
I earned both of my degrees from OSU,,,
Then I worked for the university for 16.5 years,,,
For a few seasons I even made the gun belt/holsters for the Pistol Pete(s).
In short from the Fall of 1998 until January of 2021,,,
That's when I retired from the university,,,
Before that time I "Bled Orange"!
But now that I have retired and am happily drawing my pension,,,
I don't think it would be possible for me to care less about OSU football.
It was great fun when I was a viable and active part of the University,,,
Now it just seems to be too much effort to get excited about a football game.
I have become a happy curmudgeon.
Aarond
.
Then I worked for the university for 16.5 years,,,
For a few seasons I even made the gun belt/holsters for the Pistol Pete(s).
In short from the Fall of 1998 until January of 2021,,,
That's when I retired from the university,,,
Before that time I "Bled Orange"!
But now that I have retired and am happily drawing my pension,,,
I don't think it would be possible for me to care less about OSU football.
It was great fun when I was a viable and active part of the University,,,
Now it just seems to be too much effort to get excited about a football game.
I have become a happy curmudgeon.
Aarond
.
I'm just about convinced that something is in the water down there. At OU defense is akin to taking your ugly cousin to the prom so she won't feel left out or something, but their heart isn't really in it, it's ALL about offense. This all started when Mike Stoops left for AZ and it's been that way ever since which is kind of hard to wrap your head around, since Bob Stoops played defense when he played.
Yep, OU as per usual was overrated and Tulane had the Rodney Dangerfield thing going on.
He has some magic dust, holy water, or some dang thing. Clearly the best coach by far in college FB. I hate to say that as I can't stand the guy, but he just is.
Definitely agree but it's still fun to watch. And there ain't enough hockey coverage any way. If all those hockey players would off all those soccer players maybe we could get somewhere.
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In the game I watched... OU got smacked in the mouth in the first quarter - by a team with a good recent history and a very talented/motivated QB. OU woke up and played one hell of a GOOD 2nd quarter, scoring 23 unanswered points - which proves that OU does indeed have the (offensive and defensive) talent and the coaching to play high-level football. But THERE - at halftime - is the point where the "problem" started.
The 2nd half devolved into a clusterphuque. Which, Lincoln Riley publicly admitted, occurred because his players became complacent... a coaching failure, by the way, not a lack of raw talent. (After a disappointing start to last year's season, the coaches proved that they are a phenomenally-talented collective group. In the off-season, they did not unanimously reach up and turn their brains to the "off" position. So...) The coaches can "re-calibrate" their players' attitudes. I'll place a significant bet - at "inordinate" odds - that they do so, this week.
[Anyone remember what Jeff Hostettler/West Virginia did to a highly-ranked OU team in the mid 1980s?? That instance cost Bobby Proctor his job, because he actually did do a piss-poor job of schematic coaching. None of our present coaches are performing poorly overall... so if they are capable of proper player-motivation, they will escape Proctor's fate.]
The 2nd half devolved into a clusterphuque. Which, Lincoln Riley publicly admitted, occurred because his players became complacent... a coaching failure, by the way, not a lack of raw talent. (After a disappointing start to last year's season, the coaches proved that they are a phenomenally-talented collective group. In the off-season, they did not unanimously reach up and turn their brains to the "off" position. So...) The coaches can "re-calibrate" their players' attitudes. I'll place a significant bet - at "inordinate" odds - that they do so, this week.
[Anyone remember what Jeff Hostettler/West Virginia did to a highly-ranked OU team in the mid 1980s?? That instance cost Bobby Proctor his job, because he actually did do a piss-poor job of schematic coaching. None of our present coaches are performing poorly overall... so if they are capable of proper player-motivation, they will escape Proctor's fate.]
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We really should fire Grinch, he's just now getting one of the best defensive recruiting classes together we've had in a while.
He's shown little to no improvement as seen here in this article's charts..
https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/20...-defense-espn-top-25-defenses-power-rankings/
I mean, you can tell so much as to how good a team is in the first game. This defense is obviously garbage.
He's shown little to no improvement as seen here in this article's charts..
https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/20...-defense-espn-top-25-defenses-power-rankings/
I mean, you can tell so much as to how good a team is in the first game. This defense is obviously garbage.
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