Mid-Season Surprises/Predictions

Surprises:

The Heisman race is a joke:

Coming into the season several story lines remained constant regardless of what outlet you were getting your sports news from. An OU v Texas rematch, the return of dominant 2008 national contenders and a Heisman race that was to be one for the ages. 

Little did we know that eight weeks into the college football season two Hesiman finalists from last year would be struggling to get back to New York City and a third would be having season ending surgery and making plans to enter the NFL draft. Tim Tebow will likely make it back to the Heisman ceremony and take home the hardware, whether he deserves it or not. Get ready to hear about Jesus and circumsizing little Phillipino boys!

Iowa is legit:

This might not be much of a surprise, (it surely isn't to TBB, see Aug. 19) but the Iowa Hawkeyes are likely going to take the Big-10 in the next few weeks. The most amazing thing about the way Iowa is winning is how many times the Hawkeyes have narrowly avoided a loss. Every game Iowa has played against a team not called Iowa State has been a nail-biter. 

"The Boomer Blog" expects the Hawkeyes to scrape by a few more wins and lock up the Big-10. Iowa will finish this season (11-1), don't ask us who they're going to lose to.

No glitz, no glamour, just hard nose football. Wonder if they call it "Hawkeye Magic" up in Iowa City?

Big time pretenders were exposed:

Oklahoma and Ohio State have  once again found themselves in familiar company, but this time as two teams who were exposed early in the season. They join Ole Miss and California as teams who came into 2009 overrated.

Oklahoma has suffered injury after injury, but close games have shown that a little more elbow grease might have pushed the Sooners to change two, or even three of those losses. Ohio State and Ole Miss were both expected to be lead by stellar quarterback play but have had to find alternative means to win football games. And California is just not that good, putting up a combined six points against Oregon and USC... Ouch.

Get ready to throw Oklahoma State in this group after Thanksgiving. Cowboys Forever.

TCU is one of the best teams in the nation:

Before last weekend you could have argued that the Horned Frogs easy Mountain West schedule was the reason they remained undefeated. But on Saturday TCU absolutely took BYU to the woodshed, and in Provo no less!

TCU has had the defense for years but Saturday showed that the Frogs can really hang some points after defeating the Cougars (38-7). In a year of great parody where few teams have shown to be dominant this TCU team should have a major gripe. TCU could win the BCS National Championship.

Mid Season Bowl Preditions

It's about that time. The time of the year when college football looks far to into the future to predict who we'll be seeing in the BCS bowl games. Who will represent the SEC? Will Texas finish out their schedule unscathed? And, of course, what bowl will the USC Trojans be playing? All of your questions are answered with much speculation right here on "The Boomer Blog."

BCS National Championship

Alabama v. USC

- The prediction is bold. How could a team that left Seattle with a loss make it to the big show? Well, maybe they shouldn't. But TBB has a good feeling that a currently suspect Texas team won't make it through the rest of their schedule without a loss, and we're not even talking about the Big 12 Championship. The Longhorns have looked suspect against Texas Tech, Colorado and an Oklahoma squad who's only strength might be their defense. USC has had quality wins against Ohio State, California and Notre Dame. If you give the most talented team in the nation an entire season to impress they're going to do it.

- Alabama, on the other hand, looks to be the best team in college football, save a few struggles here and there by junior quarterback Greg McElroy. Mark Ingram has set a pace for the Heisman presentation in New York and the defense has remained one of the most dominant in the nation.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl

Texas v. TCU

- This match-up is tricky. Will it be TCU or Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl? Well we're going to make a stab in the dark here and say that Boise will be awarded the Sugar Bowl with previously strong showings in recent years. TCU will finish undefeated with a gripe for a playoff but should be happy with a chance to prove their legitimacy against a strong Texas squad.

Rose Bowl

Iowa v. Oregon?

- Iowa is looking like the class of the Big 10 (whatever that means). The Hawkeyes still have quality games left on the schedule with Michigan State and Ohio State. But losing only one of these games will all but lock Iowa for the Rose Bowl. 

- This is where a monkey wrench is going to get thrown into the system. The traditional match-up here would be between the best available Big 10 and Pac 10 schools. If that scenario holds expect Oregon to make a trip to Pasadena as they have some real opportunities to climb the rankings before December.

Sugar Bowl

Florida v. Boise State

- TBB would bet the farm that Florida will be making a trip to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. This simply isn't the Florida team of last year, but there is no doubt that if the Gators do go down it will be to 'Bama and only 'Bama. The Gators will win out and take one on the chest in the SEC Championship game putting them on path for a match-up in the big easy.

- Boise State doesn't have an opportunity to lose, which is why they will be on the outside looking in on the BSC National Championship. A win over Oregon doesn't make you a national championship team, Sorry Boise. They will still be able to enjoy a quality bowl and maybe make for an interesting game if they provide the nation with more BCS trickeration. 

Orange Bowl

Miami v. Cincinnati

- Miami will represent a lowly ACC conference against another surprising Cincinnati squad. Out of a handful of probable bad match-ups this might prove to be the best game of the lot. Nobody can say that Miami isn't fun to watch and college football is about to realize that Cincinnati is the Cinderella of the 2009 season.

Texas losing a game this season might be the worst possible thing that could happen to the BCS this year. Iowa, Boise State and TCU have more than a good chance to finish their seasons without a loss. Thus, all three will have a serious problem with being passed up by a team that lost the Washington. Unfortunately none of these teams scheduled OOC and will have to fall on their own sword for that reason.

Hard Times Hit Norman

What happened last weekend in Miami has raised already lingering questions about the players, the coaching staff and the Sooners will to win a football game. Oklahoma has folded like a lawn chair in every big game they've played in the last three years. And in the minds of Sooner fans, games against BYU and Miami this season are a sign that Oklahoma's big game blunders are far from over.

As Brent Musburger said in the third quarter of the Miami game, "Things have gone awry for Oklahoma."And Although the quote did not apply to the last three years of Oklahoma football, it might as well have. Things with the Sooners have been "awry" for some time now. Nobody needs to be reminded of that.

"The Boomer Blog" is not normally one to call out coaches because in most cases said coach is the coach for a reason, because they know football better than anybody. But in this instance, as well as others over the past three years, better play calling by Kevin Wilson absolutely would have won the game. And although we know that Wilson was playing conservatively at Miami because he was nervous about an inexperienced Landry Jones being picked off, there comes a time in every game you're losing where you have to find your balls, cross your fingers and pray for the best.

The funny thing about the offense against Miami is that when Wilson trusted Jones to take care of the ball and make plays, Oklahoma drove the ball for its only two scores of the game. Once in the first quarter and then again in the third when the Sooners looked like they were ready to break out of an offensive slump. 

Landry Jones has proven time and again that he can get up to the line of scrimmage and create the tempo by simply running the offense set in place. But Wilson refuses to trust the young quarterback, like he really had a choice. Just like he did at Texas Tech in 2007 with Joey Halzle.

But how quickly do Sooner fans forget that Kevin Wilson was the recipient of the 2008 Frank Broyles award? Without Wilson last season this team wouldn't have even been in contention for a Big 12 championship. 

Venables is in the same boat. The Sooners defensive coordinator seemed to have all the answers in the first three games, but apparently a good offense was the remedy to set things back to normal for Oklahoma. One thing remains constant in Venables' defense; when it really matters they can't make a stop. That's the absolute bottom line. 

Miami was eight for thirteen on third down conversions and in a number of those conversions not only did they move the chains, but were able to move the chains a considerable distance further than they needed to to pick up a new set of downs.

In the humble opinion of "The Boomer Blog," playing the blame game doesn't stop with the coaches. This season Sooner fans have seen two lackluster efforts by players that more than likely put Stoops and Co. in a bad position to begin with. 

Dominique Franks' blown coverage against Miami is a perfect example of the mistakes that Oklahoma players have been making since kickoff in Dallas. If there was a highlight reel of the top ten worst coverage blunders of all time Franks' man coverage on Graig Cooper would likely take honors at the one spot. It cost Oklahoma the game, period.

Trent Williams' leg whip in the fourth quarter hurt the Sooners as well. Oklahoma was in four down territory, but after a costly personal foul Wilson was left with a fourth and long that was considerably less manageable than the fourth and five or less he was hoping to end up with.

What is going on with the Sooners is more complex than anything you can put on paper, more than just skin deep. It has nothing to do with the ability of the players or the game plan set out by the coaches. And that is exactly what's frustrating Sooner Nation. 

The problem is that you can't put your finger on the problem. The Sooners are a ship with too many holes. As soon as you patch one up another breaks way.

But if you want to keep it plain and simple Oklahoma is playing without passion. And lighting a fire under a player's asses that have had a poor precedent set before them is probably the most difficult problem coaches have to deal with in college football. Especially if said coaches might also require the services of said fire.

This is nothing more than an overly talented and completely uninspired football team that is doing nothing but going through the motions and expecting to win football games off skill alone.

Unfortunately, none of us "outsiders" know what's really going on here. We don't know what's going on in the locker room and can't see what goes on behind the scenes. That includes the media. Anybody you hear talking about the real problem with Oklahoma is surely just some "knowledgeable fan" with little more than his own speculation to back up his argument. 

So, in regards to this season for all you self-righteous Oklahoma fans out there "The Boomer Blog" has a little advice for you. Get the hell over it. 

Stop being that Oklahoma fan that says, "I can't watch college football when my team is losing." Quit being that guy complaining about how this team, "Should be undefeated." Because if there is one thing that could make this team and this season any worse it has to be the incessant bitching currently coming out of the city of Norman. 

We get it! Believe us when we say that we're just as frustrated as you. But whining and complaining and "what if" scenarios aren't going to undo what has already been done. Those games are over, baby.

Instead, as real college football fans, and more importantly a real fan of your University, we should simply be excited that it's still football season. Because let's be honest, basketball is second rate.

Only time will tell if this OU team will decide to pull their jocks up and play with a little pride. But we're not counting on it.

Here's to hoping for a little Sooner Magic to finish this season out.

Post Miami

Sooner Nation,

Over the next day or so "The Boomer Blog" will be collecting thoughts on a team that simply seems like it doesn't have the cojones to win a game late. We know it's nothing less than disheartening watching this team and these coaches let games get away from them, we know. In the next few days TBB will be putting a column together that encompasses all that is going wrong with this team... so it's probably going to be a damn long column.

Baylor is coming up and since Robert Griffin has gone down with an ACL it's looking like these lack-luster Sooners will be able to win one at home before going into what should be another Oklahoma loss in Dallas. 

In Sooner Magic,

The Boomer Blog

Gresham Done at Oklahoma

Bob Stoops finally let the cat out of the bag today at the weekly OU football luncheon when he stated that the Sooners star TE Jermaine Gresham will be entering the NFL draft.

"No, Jermaine will not be coming back next year," Stoops said.

Most Oklahoma fans have realized that Gresham's announcement of departure since his injury early this season has been inevitable. But, what probably shocked the media more than anything today was the direct nature that Stoops used when breaking news about Gresham's plans.

TBB believes that this is clearly the right decision for the young TE for multiple reasons. The injury that Jermaine suffered was simple and should have no future lingering effects on the knee. But, there could be lingering effects on Gresh's reputation as a durable player. At a position like TE this is even more of a factor than most. If Gresham were to come back another injury would easily damage his reputation and probably classify Jermaine as a guy who couldn't deal with the physical demands of the NFL. 

Also, Gresham has personal reasons to enter the NFL and make money for his family. For a player like Sam Bradford, a real money situation at home doesn't exist. If Bradford suffered a career ending injury tomorrow there would be no consequence other than the end of his football career. And as much as we at TBB hate to speculate it's already known that Jermaine's family is in some kind of need of the money that the talented TE will be receiving after completing his contract.

What is interesting about this particular situation is that Bob Stoops has told "The Boomer Blog" personally that the only player that he has ever advised to leave early was Sooner Alum Roy Williams. TBB believes that although outside factors are clearly at play here it's not to say that Bob Stoops didn't believe that Gresham might have been so talented that he was above the competition level of the NCAA.

We at "The Boomer Blog" wish Jermaine Gresham the best in the NFL draft, as well as with his career in the NFL.

Rearrange 'Em

A bye week is hard for any college football fan, and "The Boomer Blog" has not been immune to the boredom bug that plagues fans when their respective teams take a week off. So, due to a lack of actual football stories we're giving you our solution to the conferencing problems in college football.

Each conference consists of 12 teams and two divisions. Previously Pac-10 and Big Ten teams either had an advantage over other conferences or suffered for never being able to play for a conference championship game. 

Pacific Coastal Conference

Northern

Washington

Oregon

Utah

Stanford

Oregon State

Boise State

Southern

Arizona

Arizona State

UCLA

USC

California

Colorado

Dropped from the Pac 10

Washington State

Added to the Pac 10

Boise State

Utah

Colorado

* Rivalries are kept with Arizona, California and Oregon schools.

The Big South

Original Conference: Big 12

Southwest Divivion

Oklahoma

Texas

Texas Christian

Texas A&M

Texas Tech

Oklahoma State

Deep South Division

Houston

Louisiana State

Mississippi

Arkansas

Mississippi State

Louisville

Dropped:

Iowa

Iowa State

Nebraska

Kansas State

Kansas

Added:

The entire Deep South devision and Texas Christian.

*Oklahoma will be able to renew a Nebraska rivalry by scheduling OOC.

South East Conference

West

Alabama

Auburn

Tennessee

Kentucky

Memphis

Florida State

East

South Florida

Florida

South Carolina

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Clemson

The Big Atlantic

A conference dominated by private basketball schools. The academics of this conference are unparalleled by any other Big Six conference. 

Coastal

Miami

North Carolina

N.C. State

Virginia

Wake Forest

East Carolina

Atlantic Division

Boston College

Duke

Vanderbuilt

Maryland

West Virginia

Virginia Tech

*West Virginia loses almost all rivalry games but were previously misrepresented geographically. Less traveling and similar weather conditions for football games.

The Midwest Conference

South

Nebraska

Kansas

Missouri

Kansas State

Iowa State

Iowa

*Iowa and Iowa state can now schedule other OOC games without worrying about scheduling each other.

*This division should exist.

North

Notre Dame

Illinoise

Indiana

Wisconsin

Purdue

Northwestern

*Notre Dame actually joins a conference and keeps almost all rivalries intact, save USC whom they would have to schedule OOC anyway.

Big East

Eastern

Penn State

Michigan

Ohio State

Michigan State

Minnesota

Marquette

Western

Syracuse

Pittsburgh

Rutgers

Conneticut

Cincinnati

Georgetown

Off Week

The Sooners have the weekend off to regroup before traveling to South Florida to take on an old rival, Miami. Because of a lack of new news coming out to Norman, "The Boomer Blog" will be sizing up the Miami Hurricanes to give Oklahoma fans a preview of what they're coming up against.

The Breakdown

Oklahoma Offensive Line V. Miami Defensive Line.

Edge: Miami

Although Oklahoma's front five have been looking progressively better in the weeks since the BYU game, this line is still the achilles heel of this offense.

"The Boomer Blog" is still sure that you'll be seeing a much improved offensive line later in the season, and a bye week might be exactly what James Patton needs to figure out who his two best guards are.

Oklahoma Defensive Line V. Miami Offensive Line.

Edge: Oklahoma

This one isn't even close. Oklahoma's front four are absolutely as good as it gets and next weekend they're going to face a Miami offensive line that was the question mark for the Hurricanes coming into the season. 

Miami faced good linebackers this season when they played Florida State and they faced a great DE in Derrick Morgan of Georgia Tech but really haven't faced a complete defensive line like they're going to see next Saturday. You can quote us on this one when we tell you, "The match up between the Oklahoma D-Line and Miami O-Line will win Oklahoma this game."

Oklahoma Receivers V. Miami Defensive Backs

Edge: Miami

The majority of the OU receiving corps have looked lack-luster the past few weeks. Ryan Broyles might but up Heisman contender numbers this year, but other than Brandon Caleb the Sooners really don't have anybody out there to catch the ball. This is evident by a few missed TD passes from a few players last week who will remain unnamed (mostly because everyone already knows who they are).

If the Canes have anything, it's athletes. And having great athletes almost always means you have great defensive backs. These guys are young but TBB has faith that our receivers are definitely outmatched here.

Oklahoma Defensive Backs V. Miami Receivers

Edge: Oklahoma

Miami's receivers are almost all unproven underclassmen. In the same breath, they're still receivers recruited by Miami from the South Florida area which means they're big and fast.

Brian Jackson and Dominique Franks have been good this season and Quinton Carter has proved in every game why he's the man at free-safety (and probably should have been last year).

Oklahoma Run Game V. Miami Run Defense.

Edge: Oklahoma

It has to be the Sooners here. DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown are the best running tandem in all of college football. Add in the fact that Oklahoma has been getting some surprise production from Jonathan Miller and Jermie Calhoun, and you're talking about a running back stable that would probably only be matched by Georgia Tech and USC. 

The O-line might slow the Sooners down here against a pretty good Miami front seven. But the fast pace of the offense should compensate for the problems up front.

Oklahoma Run Defense V. Miami Run Game.

Edge: Oklahoma

Take the front four we've been talking about and add run-stuffer Ryan Reynolds, Keenan Clayton and Sophomore sensation Travis Lewis and you have one hellova run defense. The Sooners have given up 41.7 YPG on the ground so far this season and although it's unlikely numbers will be that low against Miami, it's also unlikely they're going to be all that much higher. This means the success of the offense will be resting squarely on the shoulders of Jacory Harris...

On the other side of the ball, Junior RB Greg Cooper is the man that can do it all. Oklahoma is going to have to scheme to keep him contained in the run game, as well as in pass coverage. Remember who caught the game winning touchdown in Tallahassee? That's right, it was Cooper.

Landry "Stache" Jones V. Jacory Harris

Edge: Jacory Harris

"The Boomer Blog" is now hearing that Sam Bradford has a strong chance to play next Saturday with news coming in from a broadcast station in Mississippi that Bradford will be traveling to Alabama to visit with an Orthopedic Surgeon James Andrews this weekend to be cleared. At the same time it would be foolish to count our chickens before they hatch so we're going with Jones to start. Both freshman quarterbacks have been impressive for their respective squads so far this season. But, Harris has faced better competition and by his efforts has managed to put himself in the Heisman race. 

With that being said, Jacory Harris has never faced an opponent that is going to put more pressure on him than Oklahoma. These boys aren't weak up front like Georgia Tech and they won't be missing tackles in the backfield like Florida State did a few weeks back. If Harris isn't ready for the pressure this game goes to Oklahoma and Landry Jones.

Head Coaching Matchup

Edge: Too close to call.

Additional Advantages

Oklahoma's inability to play on the road...

The Sooners have, quite honestly, played piss poor ball on the road in the past few years. Throw all the BCS games in with the losses to Texas, as well as losses at Texas Tech and Colorado and you have what would have to be considered one of the most bipolar football teams in the NCAA.

In Oklahoma's defense, this game coming against Miami seems to be a little different than other regular season road losses. Most importantly, this IS NOT a trap game; Oklahoma circled this game on their schedule before the season started. Also, Sooner coaches have made it abundantly clear to the players that one more loss will mean the end of the road.

Miami's rough four game stretch...

By the time these two teams meet in Miami, the Hurricanes will have already faced Florida State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech in consecutive weeks. The likelihood of a team making out of a schedule like that completely unscathed is pretty slim. Miami will only have seven days to get ready for Oklahoma. The Sooners will have been preparing for the Hurricanes for two weeks by that point. 

Extras:

As stated above Sam Bradford is on his way to Alabama as we speak to meet with Orthopedic Surgeon James Andrews. Now most Oklahoma fans will immediately assume that Bradfords trip to see Andrews will be to do some sort of season ending surgery to prepare for the combine, but that thinking is false. Sam is making a trip south to see if the talented surgeon will clear him to play in time for the Miami game. TBB is hearing sources say this is probably due more to Bradford's insurance policy than anything else. Surely there are stipulations in a multi-million dollar policy that state that Sam must be cleared to play after suffering an injury such as this, and who better than Andrews to clear him?