Heartland college sports - Big 12 Football’s Week 1: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

[Eight]

So why did we not struggle against the likes of UC Davis, Stephen F Austin, Tennessee Tech, Portland State, Grambling, Samford, Stephen F Austin, Jackson State, Southern....

There are 3 years where we did not play well against our FCS opponent.

2009 vs Texas State - Didnt have a bad year

2013 vs SE Louisiana - Sign of things to come

2016 vs South Dakota State - Sign of things to come

2 of the 3 poor performances vs. FCS led to bad years.

texas state in 2009? you mean the game after the decisive win at uva and a week before the frogs were going on the road to clemson.

2013 when the starter broke his arm?

i understand a big part of gambling is following patterns, but from what i can tell each of those 3 games had different factors and i am not sure in which one did tcu have a quarterback situation similar to 2019

 

[Froggish]

i agree that riley did a great job recasting the ou offense to fit jalen's specific strengths and not try to make him kyler just as he did with not trying to make kyler play like baker.

ou still had some specific identities that riley has built his offense and we got to see how the tweaks he made to maximize jalen's strengths.

my single biggest disappointment about the tcu offense from saturday night was i saw a series of random plays basically from the same formation without any real identity.

i really wanted to see an emphasis on a more physical run game and instead we get inside and outside zone. screw the paranoia about showing future opponents.

everyone facing ou knows they are going to have to work to stop the counter trey and the cross buck action which means if you can't they are going to run those plays until the world is flat and if you can riley has counter moves built to attack the defense.

i actually didn't hate some of the things i saw in the tcu pass game and for those who don't want to see the wide screen game you really haven't been watching college football the past 5-10 years because that is in everyone's offense.

It was pretty clear that we made changes in the passing game. I think they were all for the better..I don’t know if we can hit them consistently but they were there on SAT. We had a few drops and a few misses.

Our run game is a zone finesse scheme. I hate it. SC is obsessed with the old Leach/Briles show pass pro and run pop. I don’t know why we can’t put are hand in the dirt and fire off the ball. It didn’t help that Cordell had a terrible game. He didn’t look ready to play at all. Even still the RBs avg over 5yrds a pop the other night.

On a side note, Had we have hit that early Duggan to Barber deep ball and Delton would have gotten some help from Heights (fumble) and DDavis (easy TD drop), I think we’d be looking at this game completely differently.

 

[Eight]

It was pretty clear that we made changes in the passing game. I think they were all for the better..I don’t know if we can hit them consistently but they were there on SAT. We had a few drops and a few misses.

Our run game is a zone finesse scheme. I hate it. SC is obsessed with the old Leach/Briles show pass pro and run pop. I don’t know why we can’t put are hand in the dirt and fire off the ball. It didn’t help that Cordell had a terrible game. He didn’t look ready to play at all. Even still the RBs avg over 5yrds a pop the other night.

On a side note, Had we have hit that early Duggan to Barber deep ball and Delton would have gotten some help from Heights (fumble) and DDavis (easy TD drop), I think we’d be looking at this game completely differently.

i really wish we would go to a power oriented run game and if gary likes to incorporate offensive features he struggles to stop it should be a no brainier

 

[CountryFrog]

#1 - Obviously Saturday night was a bad performance by the offense. We can come up with various reasons that may have been contributing factors, and some of those are totally legitimate, but there are plenty of things from that game that are simply a result of bad offensive execution.

#2 - None of what happened Saturday ultimately means much of anything moving forward. We could've scored 139 points and it wouldn't have meant anything going forward. I know many fans want to take the most recent game every week and extrapolate that performance over the course of the rest of the year as if that is what will happen every week, and after week 1 it's even moreso, but that's not how football works.

#3 - It's totally understandable for some fans to be frustrated given the way last year went and what happened Saturday.

#4 - Why the hell is anyone even mentioning the OU offense in comparison to the TCU offense? It's ludicrous. If that's going to be your standard then just give up on this season now. As Moose said, that's like a Tech fan expecting their defense to suddenly play like TCU this year. We don't need to be OU level in offense. We just need to be better than last year.

 

[Mean Purple]

Never mind play calling for a moment, but comparing how OU executed their offense overall to the frogs in Week 1 is startling. Especially given the competition level difference. Yes it’s only one game, blah blah. But it was also only one game for OU too. Are they going to get worse in executing their offense as the season progresses?

The replaced 4 starters on the o line this year. Next sooner up was pretty dang good. They looked in mid season form on Sunday.

 

[Wexahu]

i really wish we would go to a power oriented run game and if gary likes to incorporate offensive features he struggles to stop it should be a no brainier

Maybe he doesn't want his defense to have to face it every day in practice and get his unit worked over. I kid, I kid......kind of.

 

[Wexahu]

Our run game is a zone finesse scheme. I hate it. SC is obsessed with the old Leach/Briles show pass pro and run pop. I don’t know why we can’t put are hand in the dirt and fire off the ball.

I think Briles' scheme was exactly the opposite of that, wasn't it? Run blocking on every play, and then the QB pulls it back occasionally and throws a bomb, while half the O-line is illegally downfield because they were always run-blocking.

I didn't see their running game as finesse at all. The opposite in fact. A bunch of straight ahead runs with guards and tackles pulling on most downs.

 

[BigPurple87]

I’m not justifying what we did on Sat as good but I think people are really misreading the context of the week 1 games. OU and others had games against opponents that were going to beat them if they didn’t come out of the gate firing on all cylinders. Lincoln couldn’t afford to hold anything back in the playbook because he would lose. TCU on the other hand scheduled an opponent that was beaten before the teams came out of the locker room.It was literally a scrimmage. GP and SC only wanted to lineup in their base sets and over power APB. The goal wasnt points, it was lining up properly and understanding the assignment. If we as a fan base should be upset or worried about anything, it’s that we couldn’t really over power a school like APB at the line of scrimmage. Not that we weren’t dazzling fans with all our creativity. We haven’t even seen any of the wrinkles in the offense yet. The context of the games were completely different and that’s why what OU did look miles more impressive then what we did.

The overreaction I’m reading on this forum are way out of line because people can’t see the forest for the trees. It appears we aren’t going to run the ball real well but there isn’t anything to take away from Sat..We’ll know where we stand against Purdue on the road in a context that more in line with our peers.

If that's the case why did gp seem so angry at cumbie

 

[4th. down]

Never mind play calling for a moment, but comparing how OU executed their offense overall to the frogs in Week 1 is startling. Especially given the competition level difference. Yes it’s only one game, blah blah. But it was also only one game for OU too. Are they going to get worse in executing their offense as the season progresses?

Portland, it's a reality check for us. As long as Riley is in the conference, I don't see us winning the Big 12. He is always going to have a QB and talent all around him on the offensive side. Look at Rattler, the no. 1 dual threat QB recruit in the '18 class sitting on the bench and Mordecai a RSF 4* backing up Rattler.

The gap between Riley and Sonny is huge. What would we have done in Norman better than U of H? Maybe not as good, but at least that TE 15 yd. slant works against most everyone, not only us, so there's that.

 

[4th. down]

I've noticed a lot of people basically arguing, "TCU wasn't going to show anything in this game, it was a vanilla game-plan." I think those people are in denial. I also think people overrate play calling a bit. In a good offense with well-coached players who know what they're doing, most of the plays are going to work against a team like APB. Oklahoma State, which has probably recruited at a bit lower level than TCU the last few years, probably couldn't score fewer than 50 against APB with the most vanilla game plan Gundy could imagine. I'm not saying that the season is lost or the offense can't get turned around, just that it was a bad performance by the offense and there isn't really an optimistic spin you can put on it.

Turning our season around? Hell, we are just starting. When you take into account the off season, spring, summer 7 on 7 and the fall camp, and this is our offense? Wow.

We can pass block, yes, but we don't have a clue on our offensive line firing off the ball for the running game. If this offensive trend continues, we are a 50/50 ball club in conference games, if that.

I feel bad for GP as he wants to win so bad and his dreams of a NC before he retires is a dream unto itself.

 

[Froggish]

If that's the case why did gp seem so angry at cumbie

I think GP was frustrated with SCs play calling..Not the dumb down playbook but how he was stringing plays together..

 

[OmniscienceFrog]

I am convinced that Lincoln Riley is the offensive equivalent to GP on defense. Since Riley’s arrival in Norman, they have been unstoppable on offense.

Well, I'm afraid that answers the lifelong question of what is stronger, the irresistable force or the immoveable object. :-/

 

[RoyaltyWorePurple]

Came here for the continued beating....was not disappointed.

 

[Froggish]

Seems like for 3 years now or since the keys were turned over to SC, we've continually been in the process of revamping our offense from the Tech spread to a Vertical RPO. A few things I’ve noticed with SC is that in the heat of the battle he turns right back to the stables of the Tech system hot throws. An example is that 3 yard Pick play he runs 4-5 times a game that continually gets blown up. A lot of us mistake it for a screen because it’s a quick sideline throw but it actually a Pick-Out where the inside WR in a 3 side set runs a quick out rubbing off the outside guy next to him. It never works for more than 2 yards because the catching WR has to make 2 cuts before getting up field all the while praying that other Wr gets the pick..Its silly and we’ve been running it since the Meach days..


As for screens, I don’t actually hate screens, I just hate the way we run them. If while catching the screen, we moved the receiver toward the QB we would have a guy catching the ball quicker and with momentum. Again we are running it currently the same way it was run in the Tech system and now that our sets have changed the old way doesn't work. The reason the jail break screen has been successful is because the WR is coming back to meet the ball rather than standing stationary and waiting for the ball to get to him. We turn our WRs into statues and seem to still call them when the DB is in damn near press coverage..

Finally, our run blockling principals are all the same..Zone everything and show pass almost all the time. The run blocking scheme has to be addressed. If your going to change the offense then change it, don't ride the fence

SC is a smart guy but his brain seems to go foggy in the heat of the battle. I have admiration for him for what he's been asked to do. It's sort of a no win. Imagine your whole life/schooling being centered around 1 system and then being told by your boss to blow it up and reinvent it. On top of never being a play caller, GP has asked him to completely reinvent himself and his approach to the only offense he's really ever known. That can't be easy and it hasn't...Its been bard to watch..

 

[Limp Lizard]

Never mind play calling for a moment, but comparing how OU executed their offense overall to the frogs in Week 1 is startling. Especially given the competition level difference. Yes it’s only one game, blah blah. But it was also only one game for OU too. Are they going to get worse in executing their offense as the season progresses?

The main difference I saw between OU and TCU's offense (outside of QB play) was the crispness of execution by OU vs the sometimes clueless play by TCU...and OU had 4 new starters on their OL! It was not play calling. Execution, execution, execution. On pass plays the ball was getting out much, much quicker than on the Frog's offense. On running plays the OL looked like they knew who to block and did not just stand around and wave at the DL.
Let's start with execution first, then we can worry about play calling.

 

[Zubaz]

2013 when the starter broke his arm?

Just to clarify, in 2013 the starter broke his arm with 2 minutes left in the first half, and the game was tied at 14. It's not like we were cruising and that killed our momentum. Boykin came in on the drive, we kicked a FG before the end of the half, scored a TD on 3 of the next 4 drives, then rushed the ball the next two to end the game. Boykin was the reason the score looked as good as it ended up.

 

[Eight]

Just to clarify, in 2013 the starter broke his arm with 2 minutes left in the first half, and the game was tied at 14. It's not like we were cruising and that killed our momentum. Boykin came in on the drive, we kicked a FG before the end of the half, scored a TD on 3 of the next 4 drives, then rushed the ball the next two to end the game. Boykin was the reason the score looked as good as it ended up.

agree that specifically for that game boykin did a good job for the second half.

that year there were issues with the two quarterbacks and i think the team was split a bit and casey was never the same quarterback after he returned from rehab. he just didn't seem to have that same level of confidence.

 

[Froggish]

The main difference I saw between OU and TCU's offense (outside of QB play) was the crispness of execution by OU vs the sometimes clueless play by TCU...and OU had 4 new starters on their OL! It was not play calling. Execution, execution, execution. On pass plays the ball was getting out much, much quicker than on the Frog's offense. On running plays the OL looked like they knew who to block and did not just stand around and wave at the DL.
Let's start with execution first, then we can worry about play calling.

So Sonny is bad at teaching and stringing plays together......Not ideal for a program with championship aspirations in a conference full of offensive minds.

 

[BrewingFrog]

So Sonny is bad at teaching and stringing plays together......Not ideal for a program with championship aspirations in a conference full of offensive minds.

In watching both teams performances, the differences alluded to earlier in terms of speed and level of execution were stark. We are not anything like that. At all.

Riley has shown, time and again, that he has a sufficient elasticity of mind to tailor his offense to cater to the strengths of his players. He is making the hole round so the round peg easily fits in, as opposed to taking a square peg and hammering at it until both the board and peg are ruined. Having an experienced QB in the system, who has obviously done a lot of work on his poise and mechanics as well as studying Riley's system and philosophy, opens up all sorts of possibilities for mischief. It also helps that Riley suddenly has a defense...

Will Sonny rise to the occasion? Will he pull a Harvey-sized rabbit from his hat? If past experience is to be our guide, no. Of the two QB candidates, Duggan showed superb speed and decision-making skills, in addition to a rocket arm. Delton not so much. Delton seems to need to see his receivers break before making the throw, and this extra beat in the rhythm allows the defense time to react. His feet, though, are excellent. I honestly have no idea what will develop from the Week 1 game film study, or what changes will be made to suit the perceived strengths of our offense. On the one hand, we have no idea what Sonny will do. I suppose the only silver lining is that our opponents won't, either.

Sun Tzu says: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” Lincoln Riley knows his team, and knows his opponents. He is going to have a very, very good year. I don't believe we have a clue on offense, and that is in issue...

 

[Uncle_Frog]

We beat Samford by only 2 points more than we beat UTBP by. How’d that season turn out?

Samford didn't lose to South Dakota State the previous year 90-6 or go 2-9 in FCS with multiple 50+ point beatings. They gave up over 550 yards on defense against FCS teams last year and were the worst defense in a lower tier division. UAPB is truly horrendous and yet they were within 2 scores late in the 3rd quarter and able to force stops on our offense. Woof.

Now things can absolutely turn around and the season is not "lost" as some have said. GP is going to get more involved on offense and maybe that has a positive effect (or maybe not haha). But I do think it's fair to reset your expectations a bit after Saturday.