Per USA Today …OU has played the third toughest schedule in FBS this season. Coming into yesterday…seven of OU’s foes were ranked in the Top 25 with unranked LSU waiting in Baton Rouge next week-end.
I’ve been watching OU football since the last days of Gomer Jones. By far, this is the most challenging football schedule in OU history. Not even close.
Coach Venables has never made nor offered any excuses for some of the team’s self destructive offensive issues this season with turnovers. If you know football at all, you know any time you commit three turnovers in a game against a quality foe it’s tough to win.
As OU fans we all knew this was going to be tough in the SEC…very tough in fact. But here’s the thing…in life if you want to get better—you put yourselves up against the best and see how you can become better.
OU led at haltime on the road against Ole Miss, but just wasn’t good enough in the second half. OU should have won the game at Missouri, but self-destructed in the final two minutes.
For this group to pull themselves off the mat and beat Alabama as they did last night is a memory which will be etched in all ‘real’ OU football fans forever.
So…next week–if OU wants to win the game they need to win the turnover battle and put the heat on the LSU quarterback who has himself struggled at times with his own turnover problems. Jackson, Xavier Robinson, and maybe Devontae Barnes if healthy… will again need to rush for over 200-225 yards. And if anyone is still standing in the wide receiver’s room by game time…they’ll need to catch some passes and give the Sooners some semblance of an air game.
Taylor Tatum…I love your big play potential, but this is a level of ball where fumbles are lethal. Hold on to the damn football.
I love Coach Venables’ story. If I had a son playing college football, I’d be proud to have him playing for Brent Venables.
Mike J