have a clue what they're talking about when it comes to football and match-ups. And I want to be clear and say I'm not referring to the posters on this site. It's more about elsewhere.
Let's be honest about this 4 game stretch we're facing and take a common sense approach.
The ONLY thing that worries me about this game Saturday with Oklahoma is that they do have good coaches and easily the best personnel and skill level in the entire Big 12. And by skill level I mean they have so much talent they're capable of doing a lot of things other teams cannot do...but this has nothing to do w/ their scheme, both offensively and defensively, and how that presents a challenge to KSU.
If I had to rank these 4 games in difficulty of how we match up...and I'm talking more schematically it would go like this...
1) Oklahoma State
2) Texas A&M
3) Oklahoma
4) Texas
Yes, I just said that Oklahoma State and aTm are the two most difficult games remaining. I'll get into why that is the case. But I'll reiterate the ONLY thing (and it's still a VERY BIG thing) that scares me about OU is their talent level. They are absurdly talented.
1) OSU - first, we have them on the road. Second, they have a QB who doesn't get rattled (extremely poised). This is our most difficult match-up defensively. There is NO QUESTION whatsoever they have the best OL in the Big 12 and it isn't even close. Their OL is physical and it can pass protect. If you limit their passing game they can still run all over you. We caught a glimpse of this last year in our best defensive performance of the year and they didn't even have Blackmon. Defensively they can be had by the running game but why they haven't is that they have OUTSTANDING players at LB and safety. That allows them to cover some of their weaknesses and their corners are far and away better than given credit for...they usually get leads and part of what they give up on the ground is a concession made by their defense. This is the one game left on our schedule where I simply can't see a win. I think we've got a really fine football team but if we win this one in Stillwater that will surprise the hell out of me.
2) aTm - Fantastic balance. Very good OL with a terrific power running game. They have two horses at RB and they're physical up front. They have the wide receivers and skill in the passing game to punish you if you focus on the run and to make matters worse Tannehill has terrific mobility. They're a handful to stop. Defensively they have a great deal of vulerability to the pass but they can take away your running game. They blitz a ton and have a lot of veteran players up front. They are physical on defense. I don't know if many have noticed but they lead, by far and away, the Big 12 in rushing defense. Part of that is who they've played to this point but they also lead the Big 12 in sacks. We're not good at protecting the passer and we rely on our rushing offense for everything we do offensively...uh oh!
3) OU - soft running game offensively. Tech didn't respect their running game and dropped plenty into coverage and Tech's run defense is highly suspect. KU didn't respect their running game. Sure, the Sooners eventually wore down KU's run defense but with how KU kept defenders back on their heels OU should've been able to run for 400 yards. We have the capability of stuffing OU's run game w/ 5 up front (front 4 and Brown) and then drop our safety like LBs (Lamur and Walker) into the flats and intermediate routes (see Mizzou game and 2nd half of Tech). Plus, Landry doesn't have the mobility and he's a timing QB who isn't an ultra-confident QB. He can get rattled. Defensively OU wants to create havoc by shooting gaps with their front 4 knowing full well that they have the talent to recover if somebody breaks a play either scrambling or running the ball. They are very susceptible to getting gashed by a two prong rushing attack (QB and RB)...in games where we had threats at both RB and QB we ran the ball very effectively vs. Stoops defensive schemes.
4) Texas - they have a LOT of issues. Their young secondary has no chemistry with their front 7 and they're vulnerable to big plays all over the place. OU hit them by air and OSU pounded them by land. Offensively they're a chinese fire drill that gets by on terrific talent and playmaking ability thrown in with some gadget plays. They're very erratic in the passing game so if they can't run the ball their offense will get dominated (see OU game). This team simply isn't that tough...they will get there in a year or two but they aren't close to being in the same ballpark as OSU, aTm, and OU.
