Motivation
- Thread starter atxhornfan
- Start date
Oregon had a shorthanded team with numerous injuries and opt-outs prior to the OU game much like Florida the year before.
After beating Ohio State on the road in early September, Oregon then was upset by Stanford and mauled twice by Utah by almost the same score, 38-7, 38-10.
Oregon is also in a state of transition like OU, but I assume new coach Dan Lanning and his Auburn transfer, Bo Nix will restore the Oregon program.
I am not concerned about April preseason polls, but I will be in next January's postseason polls.
After beating Ohio State on the road in early September, Oregon then was upset by Stanford and mauled twice by Utah by almost the same score, 38-7, 38-10.
Oregon is also in a state of transition like OU, but I assume new coach Dan Lanning and his Auburn transfer, Bo Nix will restore the Oregon program.
I am not concerned about April preseason polls, but I will be in next January's postseason polls.
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The times Iowa have been ranked ahead of OU before or after a season can probably be counted on a pair of hands. Any time that happens my blood pressure rises and I need no reason for more medication in my life
I enjoy sipping good tequila once or twice per year. I used to know how to make a lot of cocktails in my younger days but have never been much of a drinker since I married 41 years ago.
My wife suffered an alcoholic Father who never molested his kids but was not a faithful husband. I behave accordingly.
Apologies for swerving Looper’s topic off topic !
My wife suffered an alcoholic Father who never molested his kids but was not a faithful husband. I behave accordingly.
Apologies for swerving Looper’s topic off topic !
The Sooners preseason rankings are going to be all over the place. I think we have a coach that can find motivation without media snubs. I think Brent will have these guys looking for blood regardless.
Vodka, Lime Juice and Ginger Beer. I've never been much of a spirits drinker but I'm told it's pretty good cocktail.
I'm definitely going to try. Just have to look around for the Ginger beer.
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newnasty
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I tend to agree w/ you regarding Brent. He'll have them motivated. My only concern is the installation of a new 'offense' and a new 'defense'. These are going to take time to learn. We lost a lot of players. And we gained a lot of new players. This turnover will be good & bad IMO. Good in the respects that BV & Co has players that want to be in Norman, loyal, and will be motivated to improve. Bad in the respects that with this much change comes growing pains. I expect that we will see a team that struggles early on execution but through the course of the season continues to improve each week ending on a very positive note. That's my take anyway.
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LVPack
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Preseason polls have always been meaningless, and for that matter so are the regular season polls now. The only rankings that matter anymore are the ones released by the CFP Selection Committee. They determine the playoff and bowl pecking order.
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Oklahoma |
| It's hard to pick the Sooners to win the Big 12 when they didn't in Lincoln Riley's last season and now have Brent Venables as a rookie head coach. That's not to disparage what was just about a perfect hire by athletic director Joe Castiglione. The OU defense will be better because it can't help but be under Venables. But these are transition years with one foot in the SEC and another trying to kick Big 12 butts. UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel gives Venables a plug-and-play quarterback. The running back position is deep. Way-too-early ranking: 4 |
Hard for me to give credibility to preseason polls anymore. And 2022 is a season for OU that I can't speculate on right now other than that there will be a bowl invitation at the end of the season.
I'll stake my claim that the members of this board have at least the same feel and knowledge as to who's going to be highly ranked each year that the "experts" do.
Some of the so-called "experts" are the same guys who regarded Boise State's win over OU 16 years ago as "the greatest bowl game upset in history"..... really ?
I'll stake my claim that the members of this board have at least the same feel and knowledge as to who's going to be highly ranked each year that the "experts" do.
Some of the so-called "experts" are the same guys who regarded Boise State's win over OU 16 years ago as "the greatest bowl game upset in history"..... really ?
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Crimson_Warrior
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OUSOONER67
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Give me some improvement over that "Speed D" Grinch used. Some punch em in the Mouth Hard hitting D that can wrap up and tackle and some good O and improvement seen week to week from both and I will be happy even if its a somewhat down year like last Season in which we still saw a terrible D and a Staff and Players that just seemed to be going through the motions every week.
Just having TBOW and Grinch gone is a major plus in fixing a lot that was wrong.
Just having TBOW and Grinch gone is a major plus in fixing a lot that was wrong.
For me, it seems like Riley ultimately became one of OU's worst hires despite a 55-10 record.
His apparent disregard for defensive football and his season-long betrayal, then poaching OU's roster and harming OU's recruiting for 2022....as he snuck out the back door....puts him at the top of the list as far as I'm concerned.
So far, Venables and OU have avenged Riley's greedy and cowardly action by doing well, coming together and opening the door to a better future than Riley could have achieved.
Schnellenberger and Blake, as bad as they were, are no longer at the top of my sh*tlist. (I give Gibbs a pass as he inherited a very bad situation in the wake of Switzer's forced resignation and the NCAA probation.)
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Imo, Riley is the king of turds and he's set the example for the many who will follow in his wake. NIL will prove to the detriment of the NCAA turd coaches will abound and thrive.
For the entire time Riley was our head coach, my wife would occasionally say things to the effect of "there's something about him that's just not 'right.'" I asked her what she based that on, and she said she couldn't justify/quantify it but, to her, he just wasn't the guy I was so high on and believed in. I had my opinion and she had hers. In time, Riley's true character became obvious. She was right; I was wrong--end of story.
Exactly! It is a God-given ability that women possess. That and the ability to multi-taskIntuition. Wished I had it.
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OUnabomber
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I think people are getting a little carried away with our prospects for a great season this year. I'll be happy if they just play hard and be competitive
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NCTIME
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Two of my best friends have never been a Riley fan. Everyone agreed he has a brilliant offensive mind but he's not an elite head coach. He may be one day but at Oklahoma he was not elite.
I changed my tune after watching our team flounder last season. Our talent was a lot better than our play was last year. This year I will need to bring my friends back to reality since they are way high on Brent.
I am optimistic as hell about Brent but I believe it will take a year or two to return to elite status (Maybe three years if we join the SEC next year).
Agree, but I believe what really has us excited is what OU football will be beyond the next two seasons.
Everyone seems to feel that 2022 (and perhaps 2023) is a transition year until Venables can recruit his kind of players.... but maybe he can turn the current talent into his kind of players.
That said, it would be huge if Gabriel stays through the 2023 season, but that may not be realistic. That would allow Austin Jackson to develop and allow Nick Evers to do the same. Evers is the offensive player I will watch closely to see if he can become a vintage OU quarterback.
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newnasty
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What I want more than anything else is an emphasis on the defensive side of the ball. Last I saw of this presence was when Brent was with us. His run at Clemson was most impressive. NIL might dictate things though. Aggy cleaned up on the defensive side especially on the dline.
And that's fine and dandy brother. Player's working hard mentality and reasonable defensive schemes will stoke me more than anything else. We ain't fielded a decent defense since Brent left. A change was definitely needed. I don't expect immediate results but a change in the culture of OUr program. Heck, it's started already!
It wasn't all LR. It WAS his choice for DC. I guess anybody would have been an improvement on Mike, but there is a difference between making a school like Washington State a good defensive team, with mirrors and stunts and lots of movement, and making a blue blood program like OU an elite defense. All great defense starts with the ability to control the defensive LOS. And you can't consistently do that by trying to trick anybody. Expecting your big guys to chase the ball every play like linebackers may sound good in theory, but you really have a hard time recruiting truly great DL's by requiring them to emphasize their chase willingness, over being what big guys want to be. I.E. great big men.
Great big guys are greater when they have great quickness. They are better big guys. But they want to spend time being stronger. And our big guys were spending half of the energy in every game, running off the field every three or four plays. To stay "fresh." And you really can't recruit many quality big men by telling them were gonna make you run. We want you to lose weight.
The Fridge couldn't play for Alex Grinch. Neither could a whole lot of difference maker defensive linemen, especially the big, immoveable guys. I complained about this when Grinch came in, and announced his intentions. Everybody talked about how much better Wassou on defense. But they also gave up 30 something to lousy teams with ordinary offenses in upset losses. When you rely on stunts and lineup trickery, that's part of the deal. When you look back over OUr 2021 defensive season, pretty mediocre offenses controlled the ball a lot against us. Even KANSAS. And they sucked against everybody else. Well, except Texas.
I don't know how long it will take, and this whole new NIL stuff is going to make getting truly elite defensive big guy a harder accomplishment. But BV's defensive credentials are as good as there is in college football. And his whole defensive staff has the potential of being truly elite. We'll just have to see. Recruit perception can really screw it up, if we don't have a ten win or better season this year. But I think we'll see greatness in two or three years. Maybe, we'll surprise even some optimistic Sooner fans in 2022.
BEAT TEXAS.
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