Sooners favored over Miss St, but turnover bug makes game risky
Oklahoma won the texas game largely because they did not commit any turnovers, while forcing two turnovers from the longhorns.
That has been the formula the Sooners have had to rely on to get wins this season. The offense does not have the fire power to overcome any turnovers of their own. And turnovers are exactly why they lost their SEC home opener last Saturday night against a pedestrian Kentucky squad.
A team with a decent offense probably doesn’t win with four turnovers, much less the Sooners this year.
Even with one of the worst Oklahoma offenses of recent memory, the defense is good enough to keep them in all games and possibly win them, as long as the offense holds on to the ball.
But they couldn’t keep from handing the Wildcats those turnovers and the win Saturday.
Although there is plenty of blame to go around, if I had to pick one main culprit, it would be the offensive line and the injuries they have sustained. You can talk all you want about play calling and quarterback play. But in the end, if Mateer is running for his life every time he drops back to pass, everything else really doesn’t matter.
The quarterback needs time to scan the field. Wide receiver routes need time to develop. Running backs need at least some creases to run through.
OU started its fourth different offensive line combination this year against Kentucky. And by the end Ryan Fodje was limping around trying to stop the Wildcat pass rush. Injuries didn’t use to be as big a problem for legacy programs like Oklahoma before NIL.
The bluebloods of college football could stockpile depth like doomsday preppers. But now the players need to be paid and there’s only so much money to go around. If a second stringer can get paid more money at a Kansas or an Iowa State, they are hitting the portal at the next opportunity.
That’s of course why you are seeing many more upsets in college football. The talent is being spread out giving smaller programs a bigger chance to compete. I mean, Indiana? National Champions?
But no one is going to feel sorry for the Sooners moving forward. Much less Mississippi State, who is dealing with their
own injury problems coming into the game this Saturday afternoon in Starkville. Their starting quarterback is listed as questionable.
And given the fact the line started with OU as a 1 ½ point favorite and now has gone up to OU as a 4 ½ point favorite shows to
me Vegas at least really doesn’t think he will play.
Their top running back is questionable as well. But that won’t really matter if Oklahoma continues to be careless with the ball. Any game on the road in the SEC is tough.
So, the Worry Meter is high again at 80%. The Sooners first half of the season has gone win-loss-win-loss-win-loss.
Let’s hope the pattern holds just one more week. With all that being said…BOOMER!!!
-Dave
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