SB Nation User Blog: ccmachine

Well We Know Who Won’t Be The Big 12 Offensive Player Of The Week This Week

ccmachine — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:01:35 -0000

Remember that post I put up a few days ago about Landry Jones possibly being the best quarterback in the Big 12? I’d like to take it back now!(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

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26/58 (44.8%), 245 Yards, 0 TDs, 5 INTs

We also know who won't be ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first times since 2005 come tomorrow!

Big Red Rivalry Football Game Thread: #20 Sooners At Huskers

ccmachine — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:47:43 -0000

by ALONZO ADAMS - AP

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Kickoff: 7:00 PM Central

Location: Lincoln, Neb. | Weather | Live Radar

TV: ABC Regional Coverage

Radio: Sooner Sports Radio Network

Satellite: Sirius 127 | XM 102

I need some help here fellas. I'm stuck in Central America until Monday which means little or no college football at all for me today. I'm hoping to be able to follow the game on the internet but down here there are no guarantees. Keep the game thread cranking so I can know what's going on!

Big Red Rivalry Advantages Favor OU

ccmachine — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:32:11 -0000

by ALONZO ADAMS - AP

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Oklahoma should be able to come away with a win in Lincoln but I don't expect it to be easy. Nebraska's defense is too nasty for the Sooners to come by a lot of points but the Husker offense may be at even a larger disadvantage than OU's. Looking at the unit breakdowns I'm gaining more confidence in Oklahoma's ability to score their 6^th win of the season.

Quarterbacks

I'll take Landry Jones over either one of Nebraska's signal callers. Zac Lee was benched after the Huskers went 1-2 to start conference play and Cody Green would only be making his second ever career start Saturday night. Either way it goes Jones is the better quarterback.

Advantage: OU

Running Backs

DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown are averaging 4.7 and 4.2 yards per carry with each back scoring 5 rushing touchdowns. Nebraska's Roy Helu is averaging 5.6 yards per carry and has scored 6 rushing touchdowns.

Advantage: Huskers

Receivers/Tight Ends

Just about anyone is going to have an advantage over Oklahoma's tight ends at this point but the Sooners have one of the most explosive receivers in the country in Ryan Broyles with Dejuan Miller and Adron Tennell starting to become actual playmakers in the offense as well. After Niles Paul the Huskers don't have a receiver with more that 16 receptions.

Advantage: OU

Offensive Line

Despite all the early struggles and even with the continuation of dumb penalties Oklahoma's offensive line has shown improvement. The Sooners have given up a total of 7 sacks this season. Nebraska has seen their quarterbacks get put down 10 times this season. While neither unit is eye popping good Oklahoma's has faced stronger defenses and knows what pressure is.

Advantage: OU

Defensive Line

Two of the best defensive tackles in the nation will be on the field today but regardless of how much publicity they get they won't be going head-to-head. This game will be won or lost by the other guys that stack up the line and not just the two superstars. Fortunately for both sides they've got guys like Jeremy Beal and Jared Crick that prevents them from being one man shows.

Advantage: Even

Linebackers

The Sooners are giving up 2.6 yards per carry and Nebraska 2.7 to their opponents. Both teams are stellar against the run but Oklahoma's experience has to account for something.

Advantage: OU

Secondary

Brian Jackson and Dominique Franks may not be Thorpe finalists but they are one of the best cornerback duos in the country. However, Nebraska leads the conference in pass defense and their secondary is a big reason for that.

Advantage: Nebraska

Kicking Game

Tress Way is now performing both punting and kicking duties and doing a solid job at it. However, Alex Henery is one of the best place kickers in the country.

Advantage: Nebraska

Bottom Line

I think that Nebraska's offense will struggle considerably more that Oklahoma's. Not because one defense is better than the other but because the Huskers don't have as many playmakers on offense as OU.

Is Landry Jones The Best Quarterback In The Big 12?

ccmachine — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:47:08 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

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I hope that I didn't lose you at the headline but this is a legitimate question. When the post season awards are released next month you won't see Landry Jones as the Big 12's First Team All-Conference quarterback but the reality is that as of right now there may not be a more deserving signal caller in the conference. Jones has more passing yards and touchdowns than Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson and more touchdowns than Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Todd Reesing of Kansas and when you consider the fact that he's started two less games than those guys have then the numbers become even more impressive.

Then you throw into the mix that Zac Robinson, Colt McCoy and Todd Reesing are all seniors and they are being outperformed and matched stride for stride by a freshman, who is working with a new offensive line and receivers with occasional hands of stone, then we discover that the Sooners really do have quite the ball player in Landry Jones. The problem is going to be the whole freshman thing. It will be that and not performance that keeps him from being tabbed as the First Team All-Conference quarterback. It isn't like the conference isn't noticing him though. In five starts he's been named the offensive player of the week twice which is twice more than Robinson and Reesing and once more than McCoy. Still at the end of the day the conference will reward a senior quarterback who has had his day in the sun and not the guy who came from the bench to throw 17 touchdown passes in his first five starts while playing the Big 12's most difficult schedule.

Who is the best quarterback in the Big 12? Well, that is certainly up to debate but I can tell you three other schools that have senior guys as signal callers who are being shown up by a freshman. Landry Jones is playing like the 2007 version of Sam Bradford and we all know what that turned into in 2008. While Landry Jones has not quite yet reached Sam Bradford status he just may be the best quarterback in the Big 12 anyway. Consider this, with five games remaining Landry Jones is already halfway to Sam Bradford's 3,121 passing yards and 19 touchdowns away from Bradford's 36 touchdowns in 2007. Bradford did that while starting 14 games. If Jones gets close to those numbers then he would have done it while starting 10 games.

Big Red Rivalry: Quarterbacks, Defenses And Game Changers

ccmachine — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:46:51 -0000

More photos » by ALONZO ADAMS - AP

Landry Jones has been the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week following two of hid five starts. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

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OU and Nebraska will hook it up Saturday night on the gridiron for the last time in the regular season until 2012. Unfortunately neither team is what we thought they'd be this season in the way of Big 12 division contenders. Oklahoma currently sits a game behind Texas in the South while the Huskers are behind Kansas State in the North. The way Texas is playing its most likely a cased closed scenario for the Sooners while Nebraska still has some options in the North seeing as how that division only has one team with a winning record in conference.

For both teams the problems deal directly with the offensive units. Oklahoma lost a Heisman quarterback and the best tight end in the country, not to mention the deficiencies along the offensive line, while Nebraska just failed to reload properly. The two teams are #6 and #7 in the conference in scoring but even with stout defenses that hasn't been enough to meet fans expectations.

Quarterback Woes

Both teams are on their second quarterbacks of the season but for different reasons. Landry Jones was thrown into the fire in game one for an injured Sam Bradford and became the permanent starter when Bradford went down again against the Longhorns. He's handled the ascension to the next Sooner big man on campus with relative success in throwing for 1657 yards and 17 touchdowns to just 6 picks. He's been named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week twice in five starts.

Meanwhile Cody Green has snatched the reigns to the Nebraska's offense away from Zac Lee who was benched after seven games for being ineffective. Green was 12-21 for 128 yards, an interception and 1 pick in his debut which was a 20-10 win over the Baylor Bears. You have to think that Brent Venables and Jeremy Beal are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to welcome Nebraska's signal caller to this rivalry in just the second start of the season. Even though OU's quarterback situation isn't ideal at least they are the ones with the freshman quarterback making his 6^th career start instead of the 2^nd.

Dominant Defenses

The offenses this year may not be anything like the ground and pound/flash and dash offenses that made this one of the most storied rivalries in the nation but the defenses sure are. Both are difficult to score on and both like punishing quarterbacks while stuffing the run. Nebraska leads the conference in scoring defense with 11.3 points allowed per game and the Sooner defense is just behind them at 12.6.

The two best defensive tackles in the conference will be wreaking havoc in this game. Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh has 49 total tackles and 5 sacks while OU's Gerald McCoy ranks 4^th in the conference in tackles for loss with 12.

Game Changers

Neither team gives up much in the way of points or yardage. Both OU and Texas are in the top three of the Big 12 in scoring, rush and pass defenses. That means that things like turnovers, kick/punt returns (field position) and field goals will play a huge role in deciding who wins this game. OU just made a switch at place kicker two games ago and so far it has worked to everyone's liking. However Nebraska's Alex Henery has the exact same field goal percentage (11/13) that got OU's Jimmy Stevens benched. Oklahoma's Tress Way (new place kicker) is also second in the conference in punting average (43.1). All of this very well could equate to a close game that will be decided by a single "game changing moment" that will most likely come from a turnover of the special teams units.

New Stars Shine Bright In OU’s First Basketball Exhibition

ccmachine — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:47:13 -0000

More photos » by Bill Waugh - AP

Oklahoma forward Tiny Gallon, was a rebound shy of a double-double in his exhibition debut. (AP Photo/Bill Waugh)

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Much was expected and much was given by Oklahoma's new young guns Tuesday night in the team's first basketball exhibition game of the season. The Sooners had six players score 10 points or more in their 93-53 win over British Columbia and four of those were new players. Tiny Gallon was a rebound away from posting a double-double. He had 10 points and 9 boards but possibly his best stat was that he shot 5-6 from the floor. While that one rebounded eluded him his nine did lead the team.

Gallon's fellow McDonald's All-American, Tommie Mason-Griffin, went an impressive 4-6 from beyond the arch to score 12 points in his debut as a Sooner. However, the most impressive performance by one of the new guards was put on by Steven Pledger who also wen 4-6 from beyond the arch and added an old-fashioned two point basket as well for a total of 14 points in 18 minutes of playing time. Both Gallon and Mason-Griffin played 23 minutes each.

Not to be outdone by the other freshmen Andrew Fitzgerald put in a performance to be proud of as well. OU's freshman forward muscled his way to the free-throw line, converting 4-6, and dropped off a 3-5 shooting performance to finish with 10 points as well.

Oklahoma was strong in the paint (34 points) which is something that they'll need to continue to develop. As long as they are shooting three's the way they did (Cade Davis was also 2-2) it will make points in the paint a lot easier to come by. The Sooners must prove that they still have an inside/outside game without Blake Griffin on the floor and at least for their first performance we saw them do that.

By the way, Chilly Willie Warren had a quiet 23 points on a night where much of the spotlight was on the newcomers.

Remember When This Guy Called OU Football Players Dirty?

ccmachine — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:09:54 -0000

If Brandon Spikes is the epitome of what classy football players are then I'll pass on class every time and stay with Oklahoma's brand of ball. Speaking of passing, I guess Spikes needs some tutoring as well. If he's not smart enough to figure out that a camera is going to catch him in the act then I doubt he's handling a three hour calculus class all by himself. No worries though. With the love fest that's going on in the SEC over Florida right now, I wouldn't expect anything in the way of suspensions or really punishment in general.

OU 42/Kansas State 30 – The Return Of Ugly Football

ccmachine — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:50:52 -0000

More photos » by ALONZO ADAMS - AP

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Oklahoma had some remarkable stat lines on Saturday night against the Kansas State Wildcats. Ryan Broyles caught 8 passes for 92 yards and 2 scores. He also carried the ball twice for 23 yards. Landry Jones completed 70% of his passes for 296 yards and 4 touchdowns. DeMarco Murray averaged 4.1 yards per carry and Chris Brown was even better at 5.5. In all, Oklahoma's offense produced 458 total yards.

However, some of the stats that are going to stand out more to Sooner fans are 8 penalties for 85 yards, 156 receiving yards and 195 kick return yards by Brandon Banks, being outscored 30-21 after the first quarter and a shameful 1^st and 45 that OU was very fortunate to convert and keep a touchdown drive alive.

Ultimately the stat that carries the most weight were the 42 points that Oklahoma put on the board compared to K-State's 30. It's just that beating K-State by 12 at home after leading 21-0 in the first quarter is a bit unsettling. OU saw that lead cut to within 5 points twice and despite the fact that Landry Jones orchestrated two crucial scoring drives in the 4^th quarter, to push the lead back to 12 on both occasions, everyone in crimson and cream knew that our Sooners had just dodged a bullet.

We should give the Wildcats all the credit that they deserve for not quitting when down on the road by 21 points early. How about giving Bill Snyder some credit for coming up yet another game plan to make a good OU defense just look silly? Kansas State came to play and that's exactly what they did and they did it without hesitation. For whatever reason, be it caused by Kansas State or by coaching, Oklahoma's offensive machine was put in neutral after the first quarter and didn't return to gear until the fourth when Jones went 10-for-10 passing and DeMarco Murray scored both by receiving and running. It was just the second time this season OU has won back-to-back games and the first time they were able to match their opponents point for point in order to preserve a win.

It was ugly at best Saturday night for Oklahoma. We saw things from this team that we had hoped were buried for the season. Instead there were false starts, holding penalties and the resurrection of the, "and 45 yards to go" phrase. However, can we all just agree than an ugly win is better than a pretty loss?

Quotables

"Defensively there in the fourth quarter they came up with a few stops when we had to have them. It was a positive game that way. No turnovers for us was really great. I thought we ran the ball and that was really positive."

"I thought the line held up and protected. Landry threw good balls. Those guys came up in open spaces and caught the ball better, and we made more competitive plays that way. It was good to see our running game be productive. I thought Chris (Brown) and DeMarco (Murray) really ran physical."

"Dejuan (Miller) made some really good plays and competitive plays. It appears to me that a lot of those guys are just settling in and getting more comfortable competing in those moments and making those plays they are capable of making." - Bob Stoops

"I thought that we gave up some third downs and they did a good job of converting. In spurts, I don't think that we tackled the way we are capable of tackling and we didn't contain the quarterback at times on some pressure. I think that they did a good job and they never gave you a steady dose of one thing." - Brent Venables

"It's good when guys step up, it's definitely a good thing. We just have to keep moving up from here. We have a lot of talent and a lot of guys have the chance to play, we just have to make the best of it." - Ryan Broyles

"We stepped up, and in the second half, we just got things rolling again like we did at Kansas. We just have to keep it going and get better every week."

"Every game you just have to keep getting better. And I'm getting better. I'm seeing the stuff easier out on the field and seeing the coverages more."

"I don't know if it's knowing which guys are standing out and making plays. I have confidence in all my receivers. It's just getting the ball to them and putting it on target and they're going to make plays for me." - Landry Jones

"I felt like I was getting my chance to show what I can do. I'm more talented. I don't want to sound too cocky, but that's just the inner confidence that I have in myself that I know I can play at a high level. When my number is called on third down, those catches are the biggest catches for me and to keep the drive alive and to keep it going. I felt real good today. I felt in a rhythm, and we really came out with a good victory today." - Dejuan Miller

"Landry is growing each week. He's a great player and a great competitor. He knows the job is his now, and he's a great guy." - DeMarco Murray

"A loss is a loss. I think the fact that the youngsters did come back and made the effort and got back in the ball game, I think that's a positive. I don't know though, this is the first time I have been around them and I still don't know how they respond. I mean the Texas Tech loss you go down and get beat 1,000 to nothing and then you turn around the next week and beat a Texas A&M team pretty good and everything goes right for a couple quarters and a few minutes. So I don't know in all honesty. They ought to be upset and disappointed that they lost a ball game against no matter who it is.

"That was a great football team down here at Oklahoma but you ought to be disappointed you lost because that is what the competitive nature is all about. We will find out over the weekend and on Monday. If indeed that is the case then I think they will recommit themselves and try to continue to get better. And in some form or fashion, we did get a little bit better today in some areas, but not collectively. But Oklahoma had a lot to do with that."

"You have got to be proud of the fact that they didn't give up, which I am. On certain areas that we have played better and not giving up and playing better was the most important thing to us and I think we did that. You know when you do those things and take it a step at a time, a play at a time, then all of a sudden you have got a chance and you are back in the ball game. But when they have got the ball and its first and 100 and then they end up getting a first down you have got some real problems."

"That we had a chance to do something that really would have been something special in their lives and we failed to do it. We didn't coach them well enough to get what we needed accomplished. " - Bill Snyder

Kansas State At Oklahoma Football Game Thread

ccmachine — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:22:29 -0000

by Orlin Wagner - AP

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Kickoff: 6:00 pm (Central) | Live Radar

TV: FSN

Radio: Sooner Sports Radio Network

Satellite: Sirius 122 | XM 102

Offensive Players To Watch

Kansas State

Daniel Thomas - 165 carries, 814 yards, 9 TDs

Grant Gregory - 42 of 68, 491 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT

Brandon Banks - 33 receptions, 368 yards, 1 TD

Oklahoma

Chris Brown - 105 carries, 427 yards, 5 TDs

Landry Jones - 117 of 192, 1,363 yards, 13 TDs, 6 INTs

Ryan Broyles - 36 receptions, 500 yards, 8 TDs

Defensive Players To Watch

Kansas State

Emmanuel Lamur - 41 total tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INTs

Jeff Fitzgerald - 24 total tackles, 6 sacks, 1 INT

Tysyn Hartman - 37 total tackles, 4 INTs

Oklahoma

Travis Lewis - 63 total tackles, 5.5 TFL, 1 sack

Jeremy Beal - 34 total tackles, 7 sacks, 1 INT

Brian Jackson - 31 total tackles, 4 INTs

10-31-09 Non-OU Football Game Thread

ccmachine — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:46:05 -0000

Another night game has us waiting all day to see the Sooners in action. That means college football all day for us though with a couple of interesting games before Oklahoma's nightcap. Unfortunately for Sooner fans the two best games this weekend, big picture wise, are night games as well. Looks like there'll be a lot of scoreboard watching and split-screen viewing going on tonight. Is it wrong to only answer the door for trick-or-treaters on commercials? I don't think so!

Big 12 Slate

11:30 – Nebraska at Baylor: This game is huge for both schools! If Nebraska wants to resurrect any hope of winning the Big 12 North then they can’t afford to drop this one. If Baylor wants to resurrect any hope of…well anything then they have to take advantage of this opportunity.

12:30 – Missouri at Colorado: This is Missouri’s best chance to get a W in conference play to date. That is unless the Buffaloes use the same game plan that they did against Kansas.

2:30 – Kansas at Texas Tech: Before anyone writes off the Jayhawks because of their current two game losing streak they should remember what Texas A&M did to the Red Raiders last week.

2:30 – Iowa State at Texas A&M: This game suddenly has a lot more merit than anybody thought that it would have.

6:00 – Kansas State at OU: Do I really have to tell you why I’m interested in this game?

7:00 – Texas at OSU: OSU was dealt a tough blow this week with the news that Dez Bryant would be in uniform again this season. I don’t see O-State beating the Longhorns without him.

National Games Of Interest

2:30 – Florida/Georgia: I’ve got to be honest. I’m only interested in this game to see how the SEC officials bail out Florida this week.

7:00 – USC at Oregon: The Oregon team that played against Boise State to start the season stands no chance in this game. However, fortunately for all the Trojan haters out there that Oregon team disappeared after the debacle on the smurf turf and has been replaced by a team that’s winning by an average of 22 points per game since.

OU/Kansas State game thread will be up an hour before kickoff.