The state of Oklahoma football (post Texas Tech loss)
Certainly, Oklahoma’s football team has been riddled with injuries this year. The loss of Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham is the reason the Sooner are not repeating as Big 12 champions.
But the reason the Sooners are on the verge of a possible losing season (if they lose to OSU and in a bowl game) rests with the inability of the Oklahoma coaching staff, including head coach Bob Stoops, to prepare the surviving players to play competitively on the road. The Sooners have lost 17 of their last 33 games on the road.
Saturday’s offensive performance in Lubbock was abysmal. Never did it look like the Sooner offense had much chance of making first downs, much less touchdowns, against a Red Raider defense that gave up 52 points to lowly Texas A&M in the same stadium three weeks prior.
The huge difference between OU’s performances at home with their lack of performance on the road shows a lack of leadership, which we are sure Stoops has been concerned about ever since Labor Day weekend in Arlington when team leader Bradford went out. But, it also shows lack of leadership on the part of this coaching staff.
Next year’s success will be contingent upon these same coaches developing Landry Jones into an effective quarterback – not just an occasionally good passer. He has not been effective this season when faced with adversity. Part of that is the failure of seniors Chris Brown, Trent Williams, Adron Tennell and Matt Clapp to rally the troops and make big plays.
But the coaching staff’s job is to develop players from day one into leaders who have the mental toughness to play on the road.. This senior class is an example of their failure to do that.
The good news is this offense is a bunch of freshman and sophomores who will not forget the lay down which occurred against an inferior team in Lincoln and the butt-kicking they experienced by a seasoned and well-prepared team in Lubbock. But it won’t matter if they don’t step up.