A Sooners fan’s take…

As mentioned last night, I wanted to bring the Oklahoma perspective to the blog this week and tapped into an old, reliable resource – Tru2OU – a diehard Sooner I used to work with back in the day in the sports internet world.

Below are Tru’s thoughts on this weekend’s match up and his prediction. Take it easy on him with your responses. He’s a good dude and our ‘debates’ are always logical and never mean-spirited.

Coming later today, the “highly anticipated” Canes305 perspective. For now, some Sooner ‘nonsense’ from Tru2OU:

Being a season ticket holder for 22 years of Oklahoma Football, I’ve seen some ups and downs. I was there in 1985 when Troy Aikman broke his leg and a freshman named Jamelle Holieway took the reigns and led OU to a title. I was there in 1986 when a man with helmet hair took a good OU team apart in the Orange Bowl. I was there in the 90’s when OU football had its darkest years and I was there in 2000 for 11 of the 13 games (while living in SoCal) and when the Sooners shocked the world and shut out and began the downfall of the Seminoles.

I think Bobby still has nightmares about that game.

Well now it’s 2007 and the Sooners have played in three National Title games this decade. Bob Stoops has turned around the program and is producing more head coaches for other teams than anyone I can think of over the past 5 years (Arizona, Kansas, Texas Tech, San Diego State).

The Sooners have won four Big 12 titles with four different quarterbacks and last year’s senior class played in all four of the BCS Bowls. It’s been an amazing turn around. So, I’m sure Miami fans are asking, “What the hell does this have to do with the OU – Miami game?” Well, I just wanted to show Cane fans that a turnaround can happen just buy hiring the right guy. Is Shannon the right guy? Who knows…I sure as hell know Coker wasn’t. I told Canes305 the day he was hired that he would be your downfall.

He fought me at first, but conceded somewhere around 2003.

So, now that we have all of that out of the way, I’m going to give you a Sooner fans perspective on the game. I know this will create a few chuckles for you and might even piss a few of you off but, it’s the way I see things happening. First, I’m going to compare a few things head to head:

The quarterbacks are a pretty equal in my mind. Yes, Bradford was amazing in his first start but that proved nothing to me. I watched him all spring and never saw him do the things he did against North Texas. Maybe it was because of the OU defense, but I’m going to attribute it to a badly prepared UNT team.

Freeman didn’t show me a lot against Marshall but I’m not sure he was going to get the chance. The run game was working and I’m sure they just wanted to limit his opportunity to make a mistake. Edge – PUSH

I give the edge at running back to Oklahoma for one reason…depth. OU has at least 3 and possibly 4 backs that could start for just about anyone in America.

I’m sure Cane fans know the name Tashard Choice. He left OU two years ago because of the depth chart. The guy hardly saw the field at OU and he is as solid as they come in the ACC. With Graig Cooper and Javarris James, Miami has a great tandem of backs and I’m sure they will get their yards. Keep in mind that OU doesn’t allow a lot of 100 rushers so this is going to force Miami to show they can throw it.

Also, while watching the Marshall game, it looked like the backs were having trouble with pass protection. This is a skill they better learn quickly. EDGE – OU

OU O-Line vs. Miami D-Line – Offensive line is the strength of OU right now. Everyone returns from last year and the left side of the offensive line is mammoth with junior Phil Loadholt (6-8, 352) and junior Duke Robinson (6-5, 352) leading the way. The line is an experienced group that will only get better. Everyone across the front is a junior so look for this group to be the best in the nation next year.

Right now I think most people rank them the best in the Big 12 and top 10 in the nation. The Miami defensive front is very good with Calais Campbell leading the charge. It will be interesting to see if Miami tries to move him to the left side to take advantage of OU’s perceived weakness. The interior line needs to control the middle in order to stop the power running game and allow the Miami linebackers to make plays. Trust me; OU will try the middle early and often. EDGE – OU (slightly)

OU Receivers vs. Miami DB’s – Many consider the OU receiving corps the best in the country. Malcolm Kelly will be a top 10 pick in next years draft if he comes out and Juaquin Iglesias is a Mark Clayton clone. TE’s Joe Jon Finley and Germaine Gresham will both play on Sundays as well.

The biggest problem form Miami will come when OU goes with a one back set, two tight ends and two wideouts. They have the ability to run the ball in the middle or OU split out a TE to create match-up problems for the LB’s.

If the Miami linebackers are having trouble covering the TE, OU will throw the ball every down. If they bring in an extra DB to cover, they will pound the ball up the middle. It’s a tough match-up for any team.

I would guess that Carlos Armour will get the task of covering 6-4, 219 lb Malcolm Kelly. I’m not sure the other DB’s have the size to match up. Iglesias will be in the slot and runs a lot of short routes designed for him to break tackles. The DB’s need to be able to tackle one on one or he will be running wild. EDGE – OU

Miami O-Line vs. OU D-Line – I watched most of the Marshall game and I thought the Miami line did an adequate job with run blocking. The pass blocking will need to improve this week. As I stated before, the RB’s have a tough time picking up blitzes and OU will stack the line.

Miami needs to be able to control the rush and give Freeman time to throw. The OU defensive line is very inexperienced with two sophomores and a freshman starting. They are a little undersized and this might lead to Miami being able to run the ball successfully. If you remember Dan Cody, #33 Austin English plays a lot like him.

However, Cody had a bad habit of just trying to rush the passer all the time and forgot about the run. English can’t afford to do that in this game. EDGE – The “U” (slightly)

Miami Receivers vs. OU DB’s – I’ve mentioned a few times before that this unit or that unit are considered the best in the Big 12 or top 10 in the country but…the OU secondary IS considered the best in the country by many prognosticators.

Senior CB’s Marcus Walker and D.J. Wolfe (another converted RB) are not tall but they know how to lock down small WR’s. They can have a little trouble with tall wideouts so Lance Leggett and Sam Shields should have an advantage. The safeties are both big time players with junior Reggie Smith being the star.

I look for OU to play a lot of zone behind the blitzing LB’s but to press the receivers at the line of scrimmage since they think they’ll get to Freeman and force him to throw quickly. If they don’t get pressure, look for Miami to hit a few deep balls to the wideouts. EDGE – OU (slightly)

Linebackers – I’m not going to go into great detail about either unit because I think the success of either of them depends on the front four. Both units have the same experience levels and both units can run to the ball. EDGE – Even

Kickers – Garrett Hartley, a Lou Groza finalist in 2006 is back for his senior season. Hartley missed one FG last year on the final play vs. Oregon (don’t get me started). He is as solid as they come with a huge leg and the ability to make kicks in pressure situations. Miami is breaking in a new kicker and this is a huge unknown. I have to favor OU in this match-up. EDGE – OU

Punters – who cares, kick the damn ball as far as you can. EDGE – Even

Return Game – I was blown away when I saw this huge guy running back kicks for Miami. I thought it was a joke at first but Canes305 said we might see more of it this week.

Miami has always been known for great returners and I have to believe nothing is different this year. OU has Reggie Smith who has the ability to break one off but seems to just be satisfied catching the ball and going ten yards. EDGE – Push

Coaching – In Bob Stoops rookie year I would have never made him the favorite over any coach with experience. Ok, I would against Mack Brown but that’s a story for October.

That being said, I think Shannon is a huge unknown right now. If he can get the Canes to believe they can win and avoid any early mistakes, they have a shot. I think Shannon will have to make some adjustments at halftime in order to kick the offense in gear. Can he do this? Who knows.

Stoops is a proven commodity and I know he’s hated in South Florida because of the Gator ties. However, he is a Sooner now. Edge – OU

Intangibles – Here is where it gets interesting in my mind. Miami needs to keep it close early. If anything goes wrong, how will this team react? Will they go into their shells like last year and play scared or will they be the Miami of old and fight for every yard.

This won’t be the 40,000 fans they played in front of last weekend. They’ll be “80,000 f’n hillbillies” (Bill Callahan’s words, not mine) who have waited 20 years to get revenge on Miami and the time is now.

The 11:00 am kickoff will mean the moonshine won’t have taken effect unless the party lasted from the night before. All kidding aside, this will probably be the loudest and rowdiest crowd at Owen Field since the 2000 Nebraska game. Miami will not be able to audible and this could pose a problem for the offense.

So, what’s going to happen? I expect both offenses to be very conservative early in the game. The last thing either of them want to do is turn the ball over. A field position battle develops in the first half and Freeman is the first to crack with a fumble in the second quarter.

OU takes a 14 – 6 halftime lead.

The second half OU turns to the run game to control the clock and shorten the game. Miami is forced to play catch up in the 4^th quarter and Freeman turns it over 2 more times.

Final Score – OU 27, Miami 13.

If this score is true, I will be ordering my Joe’s Stone Crabs courtesy of Canes305 on Sunday morning. We haven’t had them since our trip to Miami in 2000 and I’m really looking forward to a feast from my friend’s wallet.

I do hope everyone coming to Norman for the game has a great trip. I’ll be in my seats in Section 2, Row 5 one hour before kickoff and I hope I can finally witness the Sooners beating the Hurricanes.

By the way, I still hate Jimmy J and Michael.

– Tru2OU

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