Some late ruminations on Oklahoma's loss to Iowa State
A busy weekend prevented me from doing much in the way of recapping Oklahoma's ugly loss to Iowa State, which might have been for the best. With a few days of distance... well, it's not much better.
I guess I do have a few general thoughts.
*A question I've heard a lot in the last couple days: How could Oklahoma look so good a month ago against one of the best teams in the country and so bad last weekend?
Soft factors like focus might explain it, but I'll go with an easier one: Ohio State can't throw. If your offense can't find ways to keep defenses honest, you're awfully easy to stop.
Frankly, I think the stat about OU's streak of losing as a double-digit favorite probably has something to do with the prevalence of spread offenses on the Sooners' schedule every year. They breed high-volatility games.
Obviously, I didn't think the Cyclones had enough firepower to challenge OU, spread or not, but here we are.
*If Mike Stoops does believe his defensive scheme is the best way to stop the spread, what's wrong with the execution? And if execution is the problem, why are guys who aren't performing still playing?
Regardless of the scheme, OU's defense played what would be charitably described as "uninspired" football against ISU. That's a problem in and of itself.
It reminded me of some of the half-assing on display a couple years ago in OU's Red River Shootout loss to Texas. The coaching staff remedied that on the fly with a personnel adjustment or two. Maybe we'll see the same this season, although injury issues are already forcing their hand.
*Even with Abdul Adams likely to miss some time, the OU offense could still stand to lean a little more on its ground game. Why not get Dmitri Flowers more carries in situations outside of short yardage?
Maybe some heavier personnel sets – given the inconsistency of most of the receiving corps so far, it would make sense.
*Whatever his faults, you could always count on Bob Stoops to get his teams off the mat. In 18 years, the Sooners never lost back-to-back regular season games on his watch. That is staggering.
Now we'll find out if Stoops imparted any of those lessons to Lincoln Riley. The Sooners still have plenty to play for.