CMan's OU vs WVU - Pregame

Sooners

Mountaineers

Very few Sooner and Mountaineer fans will forget the "defense optional" football game played in West Virginia in 2012. Most would like to forget the game. The Sooners needed a late touchdown drive by Landry Jones to escape Morgantown with a 50-49 win. Jones threw for 554 yards that game but was overshadowed by WVU's Tavon Austin and his Big 12 record 572 all purpose yards. In all, the Sooners gave up 778 yards. No OU team had ever surrendered more.

 

Sooner defensive coordinator Mike Stoops would love to get the taste of that game out of his mouth today. OU brings a new defensive scheme to the match up today and based on the performance last week, Stoops might just have found the right mouthwash.

 

The good news? Tavon Austin and wide out Stedman Bailey, who caught 13 passes for 205 yards and 4 touchdowns in the game, are playing for the St. Louis Rams now. WVU quarterback Geno Smith will start for the New York Jets on Sunday.

 

The Mountaineer offense looked awful weak against William and Mary last week needing a score with 3 minutes left to defeat the Tribe 24-17 in Morgantown. West Virginia appears to be a shell of last years offensive powerhouse. However, its only one game and WVU Head Coach Dana Holgerson has a history of getting the most out of his offensive players. His offensive system will always provide multiple scoring opportunities.

 

Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight will start his second game as a Sooner. After a slow start last week Knight played well in last weeks opener. The Sooner offense should be sharper and more fluid this week. With the first start under the belt Knight should be far more comfortable today as he leads the Sooner offense. If the coaching staff corrected the passing miscues and the missed screen assignments from last week, the Sooners should have multiple scoring opportunities today. The Mountaineers defense gave up an average of 38.1 points per game in 2012, the Sooners should have no trouble reaching that total today.

 

On the defensive side of the ball OU should continue what it started last week. The key to the game today is pressure. If the Sooner line and linebackers can get consistent defensive pressure on the quarterback it should disrupt the Mountaineers passing attack. Our linebackers spent a great deal of time in the offensive backfield last week against ULM and should be able to do the same today. The defensive speed the Sooners displayed last week will serve them well in stopping any sideline options the Mountaineers attempt. I don't expect another shutout but I don't expect a repeat of last years game either. After all, this game is at Owen Field where the Sooners are 81-5 under Bob Stoops.

 

Predictions this early in the season are never easy. This game is particularly hard because it is a conference game. Having said that, the Sooners should win this game by a comfortable margin. I'm going with OU to win 38-17.

 

On a side note, Buster's DCS Wildcats improved to 2-0 with a 46-28 win on the road over Southwest Covenant last night. Buster threw 3 touchdown passes including a long of 42 yards. For his career, Buster has surpassed the 3000 yard mark and has 41 touchdowns. Not bad for a guy with less than two years under center.