Tag: college football week 4

Threat Assessment: A deep dive into the Mountaineers before week 4

Get to know the strength, weakness, and threat level of West Virginia before they roll into town to play the Sooners in week 4

Opponent: West Virginia

Record: 2-1

Threat level (1-10): 7

Rundown:  

If the Mountaineers can find a way to hold onto the football, they could be a pretty good team this year. Through just three games, they have coughed up four fumbles and three interceptions and rank 124th in the FBS in turnovers lost.

Takeaways proved to be the difference-maker in week one. West Virginia was perfectly capable of knocking off Maryland, going 4-5 in the red zone and starting with terrific field position after 217 return yards. But a muffed kickoff return and a pair of Jarret Doege interceptions spotted the Terrapins an extra three possessions and the 30-24 win.

Much like Oklahoma against Tulane and Nebraska, West Virginia grabbed a big lead against Virginia Tech before the Hokies clawed their way back into it. The passing game dried up in the second half, and the Mountaineers survived by bludgeoning VT quarterback Braxton Burmeister with six sacks.

Strength: Rush defense

WVU allows a meager 2.6 yards per rushing attempt.

Weakness: Ball security

At -6, the Mountaineers hold the second-worst turnover margin in the FBS.

Monitor:

Redshirt freshman quarterback Garrett Green. Head coach Neal Brown likes to incorporate him in running situations.

Up Next: Leddie Brown

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Big 12 announces kickoff time for the title game. Will Oklahoma be there?

The Big 12 has announced the kickoff time for the title game on Saturday, December 4th. Will Oklahoma be there?

The Big 12 has announced the kickoff time for its championship game on Saturday, December 4th.

If Oklahoma does reach its fifth consecutive Big 12 title game, Sooners fans must once again roll out of bed and grab the tv remote before the 11:00 a.m. Central Time kickoff. 

But will Oklahoma be there? 

It feels ridiculous to raise the question before conference play has even started. Virtually every media outlet tabbed the Sooners Big 12 champions during the preseason and those that didn’t at least project them to make the title game. 

But Oklahoma possesses zero “quality” wins after completing its nonconference schedule. Meanwhile, West Virginia – Oklahoma’s opponent on Saturday – just knocked off Virginia Tech 27-21. And Kansas State joins the Sooners and the Cyclones in the AP Top 25 after winning two of its first three games by three possessions. 

The point I’m trying to make is that Oklahoma remains the consensus favorite to win the championship because of what they accomplished in 2020. Not for what they’ve accomplished in 2021.

If the Sooners don’t start pulling away in Big 12 play, analysts will be forced to throw their roses elsewhere.

I’ve got to be honest, I thought Oklahoma would take Nebraska to the woodshed. They struggled to move the ball with efficiency all day long, allowing Nebraska to stay in the game. They were No. 1 last week, so they’ll stay at the top here but their stock is dropping.  –Schuyler Callihan, si.com

As 2020 showed, however, it isn’t always how you start but how you finish. The Oklahoma Sooners looked dead in the water after starting Big 12 play with two losses to Kansas State and Iowa State. The Sooners handled the rest of the schedule and got help along the way from the rest of the conference,  finding themselves in the title game, and winning their sixth straight conference championship.

Have the Sooners already gotten their lackluster start out of the way for 2021? Are they now ready to roll with a couple of sluggish games out of the way? Only time will tell. Despite the close wins where they didn’t look as good as they could, the Sooners are still the favorite in a conference that looks pretty deep aside from Kansas.

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Spencer Rattler slides to 6th in BR’s Heisman Power Ranking

Sooners’ quarterback Spencer Rattler has fallen to sixth in Bleacher Report’s Heisman power rankings.

Sooners’ quarterback Spencer Rattler has fallen to sixth in Bleacher Report’s Heisman power rankings. While the Sooners are a perfect 3-0 on the young season, they have stumbled into those wins behind uncharacteristically shaky quarterback play. BR’s David Kenyon does not view Rattler’s Heisman candidacy as dead in the water; however, he makes it clear that the young quarterback is trending down in September.

In two games against FBS competition, Oklahoma has clipped Tulane 40-35 and held off Nebraska 23-16. Rattler managed a combined 7.1 yards per pass attempt in those matchups, totaling 560 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions.

Without a doubt, he’s trending down.

As we introduce changes to the group of favorites, though, Rattler shouldn’t be eliminated. Oklahoma is 3-0, and a massive performance against West Virginia or Kansas State would begin to erase his underwhelming start to 2021. Whether you expect that to happen is where opinions may diverge.

Kenyon is correct that Rattler is capable of turning things around. Yes, he’s been shaky in the pocket. And yes, he’s missing receivers. But on arm talent alone, Rattler deserves the benefit of the doubt until either Oklahoma loses a game or he completely bottoms out.

Nebraska’s “2 high” safety set is nothing new. Lincoln Riley is too good of a coach to let deep coverage become Rattler’s undoing. This week’s game vs. West Virginia provides Rattler and the offense a tremendous opportunity against a quality secondary. Pro Football Focus ranks the Mountaineers defensive back groups as the fifth best secondary in the country.

If Rattler can jumpstart the vertical passing game against a formidable WVU defense, they can get right back on track.