A benefit of working for the US government is that you get a lot of holidays. Like today, for example; I had never had Columbus Day off in my entire life, but I had it off today. So I slept in, took the boys to school, read some articles from this weekend's great OU victory over Texas (more on that in a moment), had lunch with Connor and Donovan at school, went to Owen's 6-month checkup, picked up Donovan from school, and generally took it easy for what was my first REAL day off in quite some time. Heidi had to work today, so she and Owen were out all morning, and of course, the boys were in school (and this isn't my week with Connor, anyway). So I had the place to myself for a good part of the day. That was very nice. I won't say the week started well, since there are a few continuing issues from the last few weeks. And I still had to go to class tonight. But today was a pretty good day, and it came at a good time.
(STANDARD FOOTBALL DISCLAIMER: the next section of the post is all about football, so just move down if you're not interested.)
OU's victory was a great thing for the team, as they really needed it. It could be argued that Texas needed it more. Let's face reality, folks: Texas just isn't that great this year. They finally showed some heart and some grit this weekend against OU, but where was that against K-State? Where was it against Central Florida or Arkansas State? They just haven't had it at all this year. While a large part of me is happy about that, another part of me wishes that this weekend's game were worth more, that Texas had shown better. But they hadn't, and so while this game was important for them, it meant much more to OU.
This game provided the way for OU to show it is still relevant to the National Title picture. There are quite a few unbeaten teams out there, but my prediction is that when all is said and done, there might, MIGHT be one unbeaten team. The only team that I feel could remain unbeaten is LSU, and that's no guarantee since they play in the SEC (and still have to play at Kentucky, at Alabama, and at home against Auburn and Arkansas). Cal has had an impressive run and might still make it through unbeaten, but I actually will have to cheer for USC when they play in Berkeley on November 10th. Cal's record is by no means assured, even if they beat USC; they have to play at Arizona State, at Washington, and at Stanford. (I know, you laugh about that last one, but did you think Jim Harbaugh's team would beat USC AT USC??? I mean, that deserves a "WTF?!?!?!" if anything does.) Ohio State could make a run, and even more because the Big Ten is WAY down this year. But the Big Ten also has a terrible history of cannibalizing its own, and Ohio State isn't the juggernaut it's been in recent years. The Buckeyes play a rising Michigan State, a you-never-know Penn State, a pissed off Wisconsin, total shocker Illinois, and Michigan at the Big House (NEVER count out Michigan at home, Appalachian State aside). Boston College and South Florida are feel-good stories, but don't expect them to keep up under the new (to them) pressure of the national spotlight. So OU really needed this game, to keep alive its dream of an 8th national championship. And the way this season is going, you never, ever know.
So that being said, OU has to continue taking care of business, starting this weekend against a surprising Missouri team. As one of the two totally-undefeated teams in the Big 12 (the other being...gasp!...Kansas), Missouri has high hopes and could really make a huge statement with this game. Missouri has received absolutely no mention to this point, primarily because they hadn't played much of a schedule, beating an overrated Nebraska team badly this past weekend. However, with the continued rise of Illinois, who Mizzou beat in Champaign to start the season, that talk has begun to be whispered about. If the Tigers pull out the shocker this weekend in Norman, they're at 6-0 and they suddenly become the dark horse in the national title chase. The lone downside for Missouri is that they've started strong many times in recent seasons, only to fizzle and fade down the stretch; Missouri has never won the North and played in the Big 12 Championship game. If they're not careful, that could begin here.
For OU, they have to stay strong and stay smart. Some disturbing weaknesses have emerged over the past few games. First, OU seems to be very weak in coverage in the short- and medium-yardage passes over the middle. Texas exploited this weakness to great effect Saturday, using tight end Jermichael Finley to rip off several big plays with short passes over the middle. Colorado and Tulsa did the same, with lesser degrees of success than Texas. This is an area that needs to be addressed and wrapped up quickly, because the dynamic duo of Missouri tight ends, Martin Rucker and Chase Coffman, won't make it any easier for the Sooners. The linebackers have to be more effective. The D-line has to keep getting good pressure on the passer; Chase Daniel can be contained if OU's front four can keep him harried. Second, the special teams MUST improve. There have been far too many issues, with kickoff coverage being the lone bright spot. Last year's Groza finalist Garrett Hartley has been strangely inconsistent, missing two extra points and two field goals. Kickoff and punt returns haven't been very good, with only one touchdown on either (provided by the indomitable DeMarco Murray). In fact, OU's opponents are averaging better on punt returns than OU is. If OU can't shore up its special teams a little better, it might just cost them a game this season.
I'm looking forward to this weekend's game, though, as is most of the country; ESPN has decided to send their GameDay crew to Norman for the game. That's always good, even if Corso is a curse on the Sooners. BOOMER SOONER!!
Thanks for reading along.
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