Statement made…Or was it?
It’s entirely possible that I and a few national pundits fell into the narrative of FAU being something that it clearly wasn’t.
They won 11 games last year, including their bowl game. Lane Kiffin was an offensive guru who was gathering Power 5 talent transfers that had gotten in trouble at their original schools. They were a team on the rise that was going to start being a player on the national stage.
But had we looked closer, we would have probably seen this was fool’s gold.
Yes, they did win 11 games, but they lost to the only Power 5 School they played. Navy and Buffalo also beat them. And that bowl game win came against Akron on FAU’s home field.
To be sure, Oklahoma looked good. Kyler Murray made all the throws and moved the team up and down the field. And his speed and scrambling ability was more than apparent.
Mr. Murray was so effective he didn’t even play a full half. With OU up by 42 points late in the second quarter, his day was done. The defense looked fast and aggressive, shutting out FAU for almost three quarters and only yielding points when the backups took over.
So in the end I really don’t think we have a clear picture as to how good the Sooners are. Yes FAU had some athletes, but no where near the overall talent and depth OU displayed last Saturday morning.
The Worry Meter is only at 40% this week. But, UCLA will be a tougher test than FAU.
The Worry Meter is only at 40% this week. But, UCLA will be a tougher test than FAU.
The competition will be upgraded for game two of the season when Chip Kelly and UCLA come calling for another early kickoff at Owen Field.
However, it might not be that much more of a challenge for the Sooners. The Bruins began the Kelly era with a bad loss to Cincinnati at the Rose Bowl in week one of the season. Due to multiple player suspensions, the Bruins started several freshmen against the Bearcats. They also started Michigan transfer Wilton Speight who is nowhere near a fit for Kelly’s offense.
Speight was pulled and/or injured and they went to freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson who, while showing that he will eventually be a much better fit for the offense Kelly wants to run, did not fare much better.
The Bruins get back three defensive linemen from suspension for the Sooner game, but Kelly’s rebuilding process will take a while before they are ready to compete with the big boys.
As such the Worry Meter is only at 40% this week. UCLA will be a tougher test than FAU, but not by much. With all that being said….BOOMER!!!
-Dave
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