This is what I wrote last week:
First game is a loss to Houston. Houston is good. When did you ever see Oklahoma play well in the first game of the season? And this one is on the road.
And you thought I didn’t know what I was talking about?
Final score Houston 33 Oklahoma 23.
Everything about the OU-Houston game smelled of a sucky Sooner game. New people in the secondary. Cougars upsetting Florida State last bowl season. Houston wanting to get into the Big 12. On the road and lots of attention.
And Oklahoma had to play Dakota Austin at cornerback. He’s too small. He’s too slow. And he’s too out of position. There I said it.
But let’s not put all the blame on Austin. He’s 5-10 on his tippy toes. Coach Mike Stoops had him covering Houston’s stellar receiver Steven Dunbar, who stands at 6-3. What a great matchup (for Houston). Dunbar finished the day with 7 catches for 125 yards.
We’ve seen this before. Oklahoma rated in the top 5 in pre-season. Then lays an egg.
We’ve seen this before. Oklahoma rated in the top 5 in pre-season. Then lays an egg.
Then there is new outside linebacker Will Johnson. We can’t compare him to his receiver, because he was never close enough to let us know who he was supposed to be covering. Never knew where his man was in pass defense.
Houston’s third down conversion percentage was phenomenal. But it’s easier when you are playing against air. And that’s who the Sooners secondary put on the field: air.
(Sadly, the Sooners defensive line played well).
And let’s not even talk about a field goal team giving up a touchdown. Or that Offensive Coordinator Lincoln Riley gave up on the run game — despite the fact Oklahoma’s Perine-Mixon combo is the best in the country.
The O-line didn’t give Baker Mayfield any breathing room for most of the game. (There are problems in pass protection that will result in a Mayfield injury this year if not corrected.) Oklahoma receivers dropped passes and did not get separation.
You add some bad officiating and some fumbles and you have the recipe for a bad loss for Oklahoma.
Oklahoma can come back next week and whip up on Louisiana-Monroe. But after that, Ohio State comes in and will likely pummel the Sooners. Oklahoma will be 1-2 going into conference play and spend the rest of the season out of the national championship race and no chance of being in any playoff.
We’ve seen this before. Oklahoma rated in the top 5 in pre-season. Then lays an egg.
Sorry, Soonerguys. Oklahoma might become a two or three loss top 20 team by year’s end. But it’s going to be ugly before that happens.
— Charles
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