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The Power Five => Big XII => Topic started by: Thumper on October 11, 2021, 02:06:25 PM

Title: Week 7
Post by: Thumper on October 11, 2021, 02:06:25 PM
#25 Texas  -5.5 v #12 OSU.  OSU doesn't have their usual firepower this year but a pretty good D.  I like UT in this one.
Baylor -4.5 v #19 BYU.  Don't have a clue about this one.  
Texas Tech -16.5 v Kansas.  TT is 4-2 and looking improved this year.  Kansas will stay in the cellar.
ISU -6.5 v KSU.  Farmageddon.  Neither team looking especially good.  I think the line looks about right.
#4 OU -11.5 v TCU.  Frogs are always tough.  Picking the Sooners.

Race for the Big 12 could go a lot of different ways this weekend.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 11, 2021, 02:35:23 PM
Are you predicting SU or ATS?

I think that Texas-FoSu depends on how the Horns respond to adversity.  They've got to be careful not to let Saturday's loss turn into two losses.

TCU is tough.  The Frogs don't own us, but they usually play us tough.  11.5 is a lot for the Sooners to give up when they have only covered the spread once this season.

Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Thumper on October 11, 2021, 03:15:17 PM
SU.  I am not a gambler and don't really care about the points.  BTW, the Sooners have covered twice this season against WCU and UT.  Maybe you weren't counting the FCS team.  
UT has a good history in games after the RRS and I just don't think OSU can hang with them offensively.  I am not good at predictions, though.
Who are you picking as a starter this week, Rattler or Williams?
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 11, 2021, 05:01:50 PM
SU.  I am not a gambler and don't really care about the points.  BTW, the Sooners have covered twice this season against WCU and UT.  Maybe you weren't counting the FCS team. 
UT has a good history in games after the RRS and I just don't think OSU can hang with them offensively.  I am not good at predictions, though.
Who are you picking as a starter this week, Rattler or Williams?
Probably Rattler but I hope for Williams.  I think Riley is in a bit of a pickle, as I believe that the players' choice is Williams.
I think that the upside is greater with Williams.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Thumper on October 12, 2021, 12:40:05 PM
I also think he goes with Williams.  I think Rattler's skill set would do well against TCU but I think the crowd reaction would be really negative if he showed up on the first series.  
I see Patterson said they are preparing for Williams.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 12, 2021, 02:03:51 PM
A story out of Norman today--by John Hoover, I think--says that Williams is practicing with the 1s, Rattler with the 2s.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Mr Tulip on October 13, 2021, 10:51:14 AM
This is definitely a developing story of interest. No question Rattler has struggled. I'm just wondering how much Williams' success was due to (a) Texas not preparing for him and primarily (b) Texas having a terrible run defense.

My concern is that when there's a game tape on him, the true freshman will suddenly have to diagnose collegiate defenses of greater complexity (like Texas should have switched on). What happens if this was one game Sooner magic?
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 13, 2021, 01:32:34 PM
This is definitely a developing story of interest. No question Rattler has struggled. I'm just wondering how much Williams' success was due to (a) Texas not preparing for him and primarily (b) Texas having a terrible run defense.

My concern is that when there's a game tape on him, the true freshman will suddenly have to diagnose collegiate defenses of greater complexity (like Texas should have switched on). What happens if this was one game Sooner magic?
All good points, Mr. T.
Fortunately, for the next few games, we are not going up against any Doomsday Defenses.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Thumper on October 13, 2021, 01:51:24 PM
Both QB's are available and Riley has said both will play "a bunch".  He mentioned the snaps may be 50-50.  
More important than the QB play was OU playing better on the OL and DL in the second half.  This has been a pattern on the OL for the past few years, they don't really gel until the Texas game, then play well the rest of the season.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Thumper on October 13, 2021, 03:02:50 PM
Mr. T (or any Horn), how do you see the OSU/UT game playing out?
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: longhorn320 on October 13, 2021, 03:23:41 PM
Horns win

hopefully without the 2nd half nap
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Mr Tulip on October 13, 2021, 03:41:39 PM
Mr. T (or any Horn), how do you see the OSU/UT game playing out?
Right now, I think the Texas offense is legit. They can pour points on. Their trajectory is limitless right now, but the younger players will have to get more comfortable. They're beginning to understand why the offense works the way it does.

The defense is critically flawed. The run stop, which should have been an overall team strength, just has to improve. Runner aren't out-foxing the defense. The players just can't get them on the ground. Tackling is borne from fundamentals, which is borne from being sure of your job. Too many players are hesitating before doing leading to weak tackling. Some senior players are going to have to give way to younger talent.

I have a hard time, though, seeing how oSu will score enough points to keep up. Their offense isn't particularly good at any one thing. Pressure (and it doesn't have to be extravagant pressure) on Sanders makes him inexplicably just throw the ball to the defense. His tendency to do this will be the difference between Texas winning by a good bit or by a lot.

Of course, they could always replace their starting QB mid-game. That seems to be the recipe for scoring points on Texas.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: longhorn320 on October 13, 2021, 04:06:47 PM
Ive got a slightly different take on our defense

Our defense played very well in the first half but by late in the third qtr the run defense failed on a large scale

My feeling is that this was the result our offense having too many 3 and outs in a short period of time

this resulted in overtaxing our defense

in short they were gassed

and it wasnt only our tackling that fell off

our def backs just werent quick enough 

anyway not taking anything away from OUs effort which was top notch
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 13, 2021, 06:44:16 PM
Both QB's are available and Riley has said both will play "a bunch".  He mentioned the snaps may be 50-50. 
More important than the QB play was OU playing better on the OL and DL in the second half.  This has been a pattern on the OL for the past few years, they don't really gel until the Texas game, then play well the rest of the season.
Yep.  Improvement on the OL accounts for much of the improvement in the rushing game too.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Mr Tulip on October 14, 2021, 10:35:43 AM
The coaches can change mechanics pretty quickly. I think the Texas coaches have done a fantastic job of that. For all the whining and kvetching in previous season, Texas players are well conditioned and athletic. Obvious.

What they can't do is make the team mentally tough in one offseason. Right now, they're fighting at least 4 seasons of fighting to hang on. If Texas had entered the 4th quarter down 5, we'd have won the game. However, the crazy large lead so early in the game put the team in rare air. OU knew they had to pick up the pace and bear down. They were expecting to win, and worked to see how it would happen.

Texas didn't know what to do with their good fortune. They'd staggered the champ with an early round head shot, but didn't know how to see to the rest of the game. When things changed and momentum flipped (it's going to happen almost every game), Texas lost their cool and couldn't get it back.

The only way to become mentally strong (no one really wants to believe this is a thing in sports, but it may be the most important thing) is to be there, do that, and know you can handle it. Texas is going through that process.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Gigem on October 15, 2021, 05:51:35 AM
When Jimbo got to A&M you could see the same thing the first two years. We lost games to Miss St and Auburn late in the 4th after leading almost the whole game, sometimes a two TD lead. It’s like the team didn’t know how to handle it. There were some more losses like that but those stick out. 

It took him awhile to change the culture/mental toughness but we’ve come light years since the Sumlin days. Recall that we were leading UCLA by like 32 points almost into the 4th quarter and lost. That stung badly. 

Still got a long way to go.  It still puzzles me how poorly we played vs Ark and MSU. 
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Gigem on October 15, 2021, 03:59:16 PM
#25 Texas  -5.5 v #12 OSU.  OSU doesn't have their usual firepower this year but a pretty good D.  I like UT in this one.
Baylor -4.5 v #19 BYU.  Don't have a clue about this one. 
Texas Tech -16.5 v Kansas.  TT is 4-2 and looking improved this year.  Kansas will stay in the cellar.
ISU -6.5 v KSU.  Farmageddon.  Neither team looking especially good.  I think the line looks about right.
#4 OU -11.5 v TCU.  Frogs are always tough.  Picking the Sooners.

Race for the Big 12 could go a lot of different ways this weekend.
Tex over oSu
BYU over Baylor
Tx Tech over KU
ISU over KSU
TCU over OU (OU been playing lots of games close this year.  QB Controvery doesn't help them).  
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 15, 2021, 07:11:33 PM
Sorry, Thumper and Gigem, OU beats TCU handily.

TCU is not always tough against OU.  That's TCU vs. Texas you're thinking about.

OU has won the last 7 vs. TCU, and the average margin of victory has been 14 points.

And TCU's perennial great strength under Gary Patterson--it's defense--is ranked #99 this year.

And the QB controversy is not one.  Caleb Williams is going to start.  Spencer Rattler is going to bow his neck, take his demotion as motivation to do better, and be a good team player.  The team will be behind which ever guy gets the start, but especially if that guy is Caleb Williams, which he will be.

What's my source?  Me.  :)
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: FearlessF on October 15, 2021, 08:40:31 PM
agreed, Huskers have a better defense than TCU

Sooners prevailed
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Gigem on October 15, 2021, 11:15:57 PM
Sorry, Thumper and Gigem, OU beats TCU handily.

TCU is not always tough against OU.  That's TCU vs. Texas you're thinking about.

OU has won the last 7 vs. TCU, and the average margin of victory has been 14 points.

And TCU's perennial great strength under Gary Patterson--it's defense--is ranked #99 this year.

And the QB controversy is not one.  Caleb Williams is going to start.  Spencer Rattler is going to bow his neck, take his demotion as motivation to do better, and be a good team player.  The team will be behind which ever guy gets the start, but especially if that guy is Caleb Williams, which he will be.

What's my source?  Me.  :)
Sound logic. 
TCU has not lived up to the hype that preceded it joining the Big 12. 
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 16, 2021, 11:36:20 PM
#25 Texas  -5.5 v #12 OSU.  OSU doesn't have their usual firepower this year but a pretty good D.  I like UT in this one.
Baylor -4.5 v #19 BYU.  Don't have a clue about this one. 
Texas Tech -16.5 v Kansas.  TT is 4-2 and looking improved this year.  Kansas will stay in the cellar.
ISU -6.5 v KSU.  Farmageddon.  Neither team looking especially good.  I think the line looks about right.
#4 OU -11.5 v TCU.  Frogs are always tough.  Picking the Sooners.

Race for the Big 12 could go a lot of different ways this weekend.
Results
OSU d. Texas       
Baylor d. BYU
Texas Tech d. Kansas
ISU d. KSU
OU d. TCU
Favorites won all except OSU v. Texas.
Conference records:
Baylor                    3-1
Iowa State              2-1
Kansas                   0-3
Kansas State          0-3
Oklahoma               4-0
Oklahoma State      3-0
TCU                       1-2
Texas                     2-2
Texas Tech             2-2
West Virginia          0-3
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Gigem on October 17, 2021, 09:47:27 AM
Texas won’t let Sark have a pass for all these losses even if it’s his first season. 

So is oSu really good to be 6-0?  Or is it a schedule quirk. 
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: utee94 on October 17, 2021, 09:52:20 AM
Sark will coach at Texas for at least 4 years regardless of his record.  The Athletic Director has effectively bet his job on this hire.  He can't afford for it to fail, so he'll keep the experiment alive as long as he can.  
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 17, 2021, 10:33:05 AM
Texas won’t let Sark have a pass for all these losses even if it’s his first season.

So is oSu really good to be 6-0?  Or is it a schedule quirk.
The oSu defense is legit, but they are lucky to be undefeated.  Had Tulsa not self-destructed, that game would have been a loss for the them.  They won a very strange game against Boise State that easily could have gone the other way.
I just read some comments that they are the worst undefeated team in the country.
But one could make some of the same comments about OU.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 17, 2021, 10:34:25 AM
Sark will coach at Texas for at least 4 years regardless of his record.  The Athletic Director has effectively bet his job on this hire.  He can't afford for it to fail, so he'll keep the experiment alive as long as he can.
Is the S&C coach possibly an issue?  That's always a question to be considered when a team loses leads and ultimately games in the 4th quarter.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Gigem on October 17, 2021, 11:10:18 AM
Sark will coach at Texas for at least 4 years regardless of his record.  The Athletic Director has effectively bet his job on this hire.  He can't afford for it to fail, so he'll keep the experiment alive as long as he can. 
Not saying he’s going to be fired after the season. Just that he’s not going to get a pass either. 

it never ceases to surprise me how the AD can come up with the money to fire coaches that were supposed to be here for 3-4 years. 

we should have fired Fran in 2003 after 77-0. 
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 17, 2021, 11:15:04 AM
I wonder how warm Neal Brown's seat is at WVU.  The 'Eers have definitely failed to meet expectations.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Gigem on October 17, 2021, 01:28:35 PM
I haven’t followed them closely but I don’t think either WVU or TCU has fared very well in the B12. 
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: utee94 on October 17, 2021, 02:07:39 PM
Is the S&C coach possibly an issue?  That's always a question to be considered when a team loses leads and ultimately games in the 4th quarter.
Sure.  Probably.  Everything's an issue. The team has no fight, no heart, not guts, no killer instinct.  Some of that comes from the mental toughness that proper S&C should be bolstering.

The o=line was always going to be a mess, And it is.  Otherworldly talent like Bijan Robinsons can only overcome so much.  Like all the rest of the talent that Texas has wasted over the past decade+, I feel bad for him.  I can only imagine how well he could be doing at a place with even an average o-line.

Suspect play-calling is also an issue.  And a crappy d-line.  And crappy DBs that can't win a single jump ball.  And unfocused WRs that drop even the easiest of balls.

I mean, you saw all of this exact same crap in the 2nd half of the Texas game against OU.  This is no surprise.  We saw it in the second half against TCU and almost lost that game.  We saw it in the second half against Tech but had already built up enough of a lead that it didn't end up mattering.

This is a lost year.  I'm not seeing any reasonable path to anything better than 6-6.  I'd say that I hope recruits can look past it, but I don't see any reason to think things will get better.  It's in their best interest to go someplace that doesn't waste their talent.  Since 2010, that's basically any place but Texas.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Thumper on October 17, 2021, 02:31:53 PM
Hopefully, the Sooners can get through Kansas, TT & the bye week and get some of the secondary guys healed up.  Some of the freshman that played are going to be studs but they aren't ready yet.  
One thing is sure, the game is not too big for Caleb Williams.  He does not look at all like a true freshman.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 17, 2021, 04:26:26 PM
Sure.  Probably.  Everything's an issue. The team has no fight, no heart, not guts, no killer instinct.  Some of that comes from the mental toughness that proper S&C should be bolstering.

The o=line was always going to be a mess, And it is.  Otherworldly talent like Bijan Robinsons can only overcome so much.  Like all the rest of the talent that Texas has wasted over the past decade+, I feel bad for him.  I can only imagine how well he could be doing at a place with even an average o-line.

Suspect play-calling is also an issue.  And a crappy d-line.  And crappy DBs that can't win a single jump ball.  And unfocused WRs that drop even the easiest of balls.

I mean, you saw all of this exact same crap in the 2nd half of the Texas game against OU.  This is no surprise.  We saw it in the second half against TCU and almost lost that game.  We saw it in the second half against Tech but had already built up enough of a lead that it didn't end up mattering.

This is a lost year.  I'm not seeing any reasonable path to anything better than 6-6.  I'd say that I hope recruits can look past it, but I don't see any reason to think things will get better.  It's in their best interest to go someplace that doesn't waste their talent.  Since 2010, that's basically any place but Texas.
I've seen some analysis in Texas papers (the Fort Worth Star-Telegram seems particularly critical) asserting that Sarkesian's play-calling changes in the 2nd half.
We've dealt with some of that of questioning in the past few years--and earlier this year--about Lincoln Riley's play-calling.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Thumper on October 17, 2021, 07:27:27 PM
I've seen some analysis in Texas papers (the Fort Worth Star-Telegram seems particularly critical) asserting that Sarkesian's play-calling changes in the 2nd half.
We've dealt with some of that of questioning in the past few years--and earlier this year--about Lincoln Riley's play-calling.

Have not seen anyone questioning Riley's play calling against TCU.  Maybe some grumbling about not running the ball enough.  It is obvious he needs a QB that is a threat to run to make his system go.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: utee94 on October 17, 2021, 10:27:56 PM
OU's set to win their eleventy billionth B12 title in a row and punch yet another ticket to the CFP.

Sooner fans questioning Lincoln Riley are complete morons.  And absurdly privileged.  What a bunch of arrogant asses.  Seriously.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: CWSooner on October 18, 2021, 12:16:10 AM
Losing to Iowa State 2 out of 4 years, and to K-State 2 years in a row, will bring out the second-guessers.
It happens everywhere a program has sustained success and loses to less-talented teams.

But, hey, they ARE OU fans, so they must be arrogant-ass morons.  ;)
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: utee94 on October 18, 2021, 10:07:49 PM
...you said it... :)
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: Mr Tulip on October 19, 2021, 09:11:33 AM
The Texas team is also used to "protecting a lead". In the past, that lead might be 5 points. Now, the lead is at least 2 scores, usually more than 2 touchdowns.
What they need to learn is that, in that instance, the other side is going to come at you with everything they have! They're going to dig deep and bring maximum effort. Even with your big lead, that's a critical point. If you can withstand that "best effort" and keep their lead, then you've buried that team.
If that effort yields fruit, though, then the other side will go great blazes for the rest of the contest. Humans are funny that way.
In short, learn to close.
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: longhorn320 on October 19, 2021, 09:27:00 AM
the coaches also need to learn how to close

conservative play calling might not be the answer
Title: Re: Week 7
Post by: FearlessF on October 19, 2021, 11:24:50 AM
I'd say it's more on the coaches than the players

we all know the Horns get everyone's dander up and therefore always play at a very high effort