Tag: Brennan Presley

Report Card: Offense’s dysfunction dooms Sooners chance to end Bedlam on top

Grading the Oklahoma Sooners by position group in their loss to Oklahoma State.

If Saturday was the last time Bedlam is played, the Oklahoma Sooners will always regret how things went in their final game against their in-state rivals. The Sooners will walk away from this game knowing they have dominated this series. There’s no debating that the Sooners have owned the Cowboys. But on Saturday, Oklahoma had the chance to put one final bow on this lopsided series, and they didn’t get it done.

Oklahoma State came out swinging, and the Sooners responded. But the most common theme was Oklahoma’s offense stalling on four different possessions once they got to the Oklahoma State side of the field. Most notably on the Sooners’ final drive of the game.

Defensively, Oklahoma played well enough to win. After getting bullied early, the defense found its footing and locked in the remainder of the contest.

In the end, the dysfunction and mistakes on offense put Oklahoma in a near-impossible spot. When it mattered most, they couldn’t rectify their own mistakes.

Oklahoma will move on and turn their attention to West Virginia. Before that, it’s time to pass out grades for Oklahoma’s performance against Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State Cowboys.

No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners vs Oklahoma State Cowboys: How to Watch, key players, weather forecast for gameday

Here is how to watch the final regular season Bedlam game as conference foes.

The Oklahoma Sooners head north to Stillwater to take on the [autotag]Oklahoma State Cowboys[/autotag] in the final Big 12 Bedlam battle.

The Sooners have a record of 91-19-7 in the series. The Cowboys are looking to end the series by winning two of the last three games. They come in red hot winning four straight and by an average margin of victory of 15.25 points per game.

Ollie Gordon has burst onto the scene, rushing for more than 900 yards in his last five games. He currently leads the nation with 1,087 yards rushing. The Sooners come into the game off their first defeat of the season and two weeks removed from a nailbiter against UCF.

They haven’t played well the last two weeks and are dealing with injuries to key players.

But let’s dive into how you can watch the game, some key players, what the weather will look like, and the injury report for both schools.

2023 Season Preview: Could 2023 be the last Bedlam matchup?

What is Oklahoma State bringing back for what could be the last Bedlam matchup for the foreseeable future?

In our next opponent preview, we take a look at the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The Cowboys are coming off a 7-6 season and are replacing a ton of talent, especially defensively.

The Cowboys have 57% of their production returning from a year ago, which ranks 89th per ESPN’ returning production metric (ESPN+).

They return 65% of their offense which ranks 66th in the nation, and 50% of their defense, which ranks 101st.

The big loss offensively is quarterback [autotag]Spencer Sanders[/autotag]. When healthy, he was their offense last year. He threw for 2,642 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also ran for 391 yards and eight touchdowns.

It’s no secret that when he wasn’t 100%, the offense struggled mightily and ultimately, the team suffered. They will look to replace him with transfer and former Texas Tech quarterback Alan Bowman or with Garret Rangel. Rangle saw some action last year in place of Sanders.

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The offensive line has been a major issue for several years. They finished 97th in the nation in rushing last year and, averaged just 3.43 yards per carry.

The offense finished 52nd in total offense and is expected to change up its philosophy by operating from under the center more.

This points to Alan Bowman getting the nod with his experience in an offense that goes under center a lot of the time in the Michigan Wolverines. But he hasn’t played in two years after he was a backup for the Wolverines.

Their top two rushers in, Dominic Richardson and Sanders, both transferred out, so they’ll have to replace that production. Cowboys fans have high hopes for Ollie Gordon.

Gordon showed flashes last year but only ran for 308 yards and two touchdowns.

They do return their top wide receiver Brennan Presley, who had 813 yards but only two touchdowns. However, they lose their next five leading receivers from a year ago.

Defensively they finished 115th in the nation in total defense a year ago. The Cowboys have to replace seven starters, including their top two tacklers Jason Taylor II and Mason Cobb.

They lost eight of their top 10 players in tackles and five of their top seven in sacks.

They are moving to a new defensive scheme under new defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo. Unlike Derek Mason and Jim Knowles before him, who ran mostly a 4-2-5 defense, Nardo runs a 3-3-5 defense.

This means Collin Oliver will be moving to linebacker for the Pokes. Head Coach Mike Gundy did mention at Big 12 Media Days he wants the defense to be multiple and run some four-man fronts as well. I’d expect that means Oliver will still line up on the edge plenty.

Oklahoma State is such a hard team to try to predict. If you look at everything they lost and the state of the program, this looks like an average football team, at best

But Gundy usually does his best when there aren’t a ton of expectations. See 2021, where a lot of people picked the Cowboys to finish in the bottom half of the conference standings.

As we sit here today, this is a game Oklahoma should win. However, with it being the last Bedlam for the foreseeable future, and in Stillwater, there would be nothing sweeter for the Cowboys to play spoiler.

Score Prediction: 41-13 Oklahoma

Predicted Record: 8-1

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Ranking the best Big 12 wide receivers ahead of the 2023 season

Texas and Texas Tech lead the way in our Big 12 WR rankings with seven players between the two schools.

Since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996, this conference has been known for its passing offense. More importantly, we have seen monster years from the wide receivers.

Players such as Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma), James Washington (Oklahoma State), Kendall Wright (Baylor), Roy Williams (Texas), and Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech) are among those conference legends at receiver.

This year’s group will include players from Brigham Young, Central Florida, Cincinnati, and Houston joining the 10 existing members from 2022. But which of these teams has the best receivers in our preliminary rankings ahead of the 2023 season?

Among our list, the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders have the most players ranked. But perhaps one of the newcomers could snag the top spot by season’s end.

Check out our top receivers as we inch closer to the start of the 2023 season in the new-look Big 12.

Oklahoma Sooners earn bowl eligibility with 28-13 win over Oklahoma State

The offense erupted early, and the defense closed out a big win over Oklahoma State 28-13 in Norman. From @john9williams

The Oklahoma Sooners came out on fire in the first quarter, putting up a record-setting 28 points on the Oklahoma State defense. After the first 15 minutes of play, it looked like a Bedlam blowout was on the way, but from the second quarter on, the Sooners struggled to get anything going on offense and the defense made the plays necessary to pick up a win over the Cowboys to move to 6-5 on the season and gain bowl eligibility.

[autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] was hot in the first quarter, going 14 of 18 for 224 yards and two touchdowns, hitting [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] and [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] on beautiful deep balls down the right sideline. Gabriel added a touchdown on the ground

But after the first quarter, the offense struggled to find any footing. Two turnovers in the second quarter took points off the board, and Oklahoma’s struggles on third down continued. After converting just one third down a week ago against West Virginia, the Sooners struggled again on third down against Oklahoma State, going 1 for 14.

While the offense struggled, the Sooners’ defense played one of their best games of the season. It wasn’t perfect, but they came up with big plays in big situations to limit Oklahoma State to 13 points despite [autotag]Spencer Sanders[/autotag] throwing for 381 yards.

Oklahoma collected four Spencer Sanders interceptions and, with how they were flying around the ball, had several more opportunities to take the ball away from Sanders and the Cowboys. The Sooners’ defense also collected six sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

The Sooners’ defense bailed out an offense that produced just 135 yards of total offense over the final three quarters and no points. Dillon Gabriel was 6 for 22 after his efficient first quarter, for 35 yards and one interception. Though the finish wasn’t great for the Sooners’ offense, that first quarter would be all they needed on the night.

Drake Stoops had an incredible game in what could be his final home game as a Sooner. He led the Sooners with six receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown and made two incredible catches. One put the Sooners inside the five-yard line before their first score of the game, and the second closed Oklahoma’s scoring outburst in the first half.

After his 211-yard performance in last week’s loss to West Virginia, [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag] ran for 90 yards on 20 carries and picked up 30 yards on three receptions. Jovantae Barnes had a good game as well, carrying the ball six times for 59 yards.

Defensively, [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag] led the team with 10 tackles, but [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] (9), [autotag]DaShaun White[/autotag] (8), and [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] (8) were right behind him. Washington made a couple of touchdown-saving tackles in the game. One on defense after [autotag]Braydon Johnson[/autotag] broke away from [autotag]C.J. Coldon[/autotag] for a big catch and run. The other came on special teams when [autotag]Brennan Presley[/autotag] was attempting a return. While blocked, Washington stuck his arm out to bring down the shifty playmaker to prevent him from getting into the open field.

In addition to his eight tackles, White added a sack and an interception to continue his strong play of late from the Cheetah position. [autotag]Jordan Kelley[/autotag], [autotag]Isaiah Coe[/autotag], and [autotag]Jalen Redmond[/autotag] each had great games from their interior defensive line positions. Kelley had two sacks and six total tackles. Coe had five total tackles, 0.5 sacks, and two tackles for loss. [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag] had a sack, while [autotag]Jonah Lau’lu[/autotag] had five total tackles, 0.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, and an interception.

The Sooners picked up a win over an in-state rival, and while it wasn’t pretty on offense for much of the game, the defense made plays in key moments to pick up a win and provide a glimpse of what a [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] defense could look like in Norman.

With some uncertainty about how many Bedlam games there are before Oklahoma moves to the SEC, picking up this win in Brent Venables’ first Bedlam matchup while keeping Mike Gundy from winning two in a row against the Sooners was a great way to finish off the home schedule for 2022.

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5 Sooners to watch Saturday night vs. Oklahoma State

Oklahoma takes on Oklahoma State in Bedlam this week. We are taking at look at five defensive players to watch. From @thatmanbryant

Oklahoma’s season comes down to just two games in an attempt to become bowl eligible. The first of those two games occurs on Saturday when in-state rival Oklahoma State comes to town.

In the wake of the Sooners loss to Oklahoma State a year ago, the program went through a shocking 24 hours. Lincoln Riley left for USC, the 2022 class began to fall apart, and several Sooners entered the transfer portal. It was a shocking series of events, but all of it paved the way for Oklahoma to bring in Brent Venables.

At 5-5 in his first season at the helm, Oklahoma must win this game, and the Venables’ defense will have its hands full.

Oklahoma will be lining up across from one of the Big 12’s better quarterbacks, Spencer Sanders. Even while competing through injuries this season, Sanders has thrown for 2,261 yards, 16 touchdowns, and only five interceptions while completing 58.5 percent of his passes. He’s also run for  628 yards and two scores, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. He’s the engine for this Oklahoma State offense, and without him, the Cowboys aren’t nearly as productive.

His weapons will also test Oklahoma as well, which brings us to this question: How will the Sooners’ defense perform? We’ll find out Saturday evening, but here are five guys that could be instrumental in helping the Sooners’ defense slow down the Cowboys.

Top 21 dark horse all-conference candidates for the Big 12 this season

These players will need to be head-and-shoulders above their competition.

The media’s first team all-conference selection is usually predictable. Continue reading “Top 21 dark horse all-conference candidates for the Big 12 this season”

Top-five returning Big 12 wide receivers in 2022

Oklahoma wide receiver Marvin Mims will be one of the top returning Big 12 wide receivers. Who joins Mims in the league’s top five?

The Big 12 sees the departure of the conference’s leading wide receiver during the 2021 season in Oklahoma State’s Tay Martin. Gone are Martin’s 80 receptions, 1,046 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns for the Cowboys.

Baylor’s Tyquan Thornton was the Big 12’s No. 4 receiving yardage leader. Thornton is off to the 2022 NFL Draft as well, taking his 62 receptions, 948 receiving yards and 10 touchdown grabs with him. Iowa State’s Charlie Kolar ranked No. 5 among Big 12 pass-catchers with 62 receptions, 756 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. He’ll be in the 2022 NFL Draft, too.

Texas Tech’s Erik Ezukanma is another 2022 NFL Draft defection. He had 48 receptions and 705 receiving yards to rank tied sixth in that category. West Virginia’s Winston Wright Jr. transferred to Florida State after recording 63 grabs for 688 receiving yards. Lastly, the Big 12’s ninth-leading receiver in Kansas’ Kwamie Lassiter II is finished with the Jayhawks.

So, where does that leave the Big 12 conference? Who are the top-five pass-catchers returning for 2022?

Fiesta Bowl: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

That’s all, folks.

It’s natural that there will be some growing pains as Marcus Freeman settles into his new role as Notre Dame head coach. Some of them will happen on the field, and some will happen off of it. The Fiesta Bowl was one of those on-field occurrences as the Irish gave up 30 unanswered points while falling, 37-35, to Oklahoma State. The Irish’s major bowl drought will live for another year after they blew the biggest lead in program history.

The fourth quarter began with one of the craziest sequences you’ll see in football. With the Irish (11-2) driving, Logan Diggs literally had the ball ripped from him by Kolby Harvell-Peel, giving the Cowboys (12-2) good field position. The ensuing drive went well for the Pokes until the last possible moment. Brennan Presley was about to score a touchdown on a run when Drew White forced a fumble, which was recovered by Ramon Henderson in the end zone for a touchback.

Jack Coan, who set a Fiesta Bowl record with 509 passing yards, nearly gave the Irish lead back on a long throw to Lorenzo Styles, but Styles couldn’t complete the catch. That was as good as it got for the offense on that drive, and Jay Bramblett had to come out for another punt. The Cowboys reached the red zone on the drive that followed, but a face-mask penalty knocked them out of there. The Irish were able to prevent the Pokes from getting back there, but Tanner Brown kicked a 41-yard field goal to get something out of the trip downfield.

The Irish’s offense went with an all-pass attack on the next drive, and that worked for a while as it got the ball to the Cowboys’ 24-yard line. However, the next two plays were disastrous for Coan. First, he was sacked by Brock Martin for the second time in the game. Then, he threw an interception to Malcolm Rodriguez, snuffing out the Irish’s best chance to score the entire second half.

The drive that followed was all about eating the clock and getting any number of points to erase any doubt about the game’s outcome. As he had since late in the first half, Spencer Sanders did a fantastic job managing his offense, completing long passes and even calling his own number when needed to. It was that last item that erased all of that progress because he fumbled the ball at the Irish’s 11, and White recovered it.

Blessed with a break, it was up to the Irish to make something happen. What happened was nothing because after a 4-yard completion to Chris Tyree to advance the ball to the 15, Coan threw three straight incomplete passes. The Cowboys took over in the red zone but didn’t do anything fancy. They just ran the ball and forced the Irish to use all of their timeouts, paving the way for a 25-yard field goal from Brown.

With 2:16 left, the Irish absolutely needed a score to still have a chance at the win. Coan completed a couple of first-down passes, and Diggs even gave the pass-heavy offense a bonus with a 14-yard run. The Irish got further help from a defensive holding call, and Coan capped the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Austin. Only 71 seconds had gone off the clock, so this game hadn’t quite been decided yet.

The Irish needed to recover an onside kick, but Jason Taylor got his hands on it before the ball even traveled the necessary 10 yards. All the Cowboys had to do was kneel a couple of times, and they did just that before celebrating the biggest comeback in program history. That definitely is not something the Irish wanted to be on the receiving end of, but that’s how it goes in football. Onto 2022.

Fiesta Bowl: Second-Quarter Analysis

We’re one half away from the major bowl skid ending.

Notre Dame might not have dominated the second quarter like it did the majority of the first, but it’s still playing very well. While this is true for practically every football game, this year’s Fiesta Bowl really will come down to who successfully executes more plays. Right now, that’s the Irish as they lead Oklahoma State, 28-14, at halftime.

After forcing the Cowboys to punt in the early moments of the quarter, the Irish went back to work on offense. At that point, they erased any doubt that this virtually would be an all-passing attack from them. Braden Lenzy had most receptions from Jack Coan, but the touchdown would go to Michael Mayer from 16 yards out.

Frustration then took over the game as both teams took turns getting into field-goal range only to have their kickers miss wide right. The Cowboys had some chances for big gains, but passes from Spencer Sanders were either dropped or broken up. No doubt the scoreboard operator at State Farm Stadium was getting a little antsy from not being able to add to the scores.

The Irish had one more chance to get something before halftime. The drive started well enough with a couple of first downs before they were aided by a questionable roughing-the-passer call. A few plays later, a 20-yard completion to Kevin Austin set up first-and-goal. It then took only two plays for Coan to hit Mayer in the end zone from 7 yards out for his second touchdown of the quarter.

The Cowboys also had an opportunity to get points on the board before heading into the locker room. Sanders found Brennan Presley on back-to-back plays for a combined 54 yards before running 12 yards himself to make it first-and-goal. He then hit top receiver Tay Martin for a 9-yard touchdown. The drive had lasted all of 39 seconds.

Every time it seems like the Irish are leaving the Cowboys dead in the water, the Cowboys receive new life. The question now is whether the Irish successfully can go for the kill. Tune into the second half to find out.