Guys, Kevin Sumlin was on the OU staff before he went to UH. He was our O-coordinator. The O he is using is a classic Big 12 scheme. No doubt Manziel adds a little dash to the hash but so did RG111 to the Baylor O. Recruiting to defend these O's requires an inordinate emphasis on the back 7 in attracting players at the expense of putting a team on the field that is geared to stop a more traditional O.
Folks, I am not commenting herein to defend the Big 12. I am under no illusions as to which is the best conference in college football right now. In fact, I think the Big 12 today is a clone of the Mtn. West at best and I am sick about the direction the conference has taken over the years.
Certainly, a Big 12 style O can be defended. My point is, we see this type of scheme every week. It's a pinball wizard diet of 7/7 drills run amok. OU has now gone to a 3-3-5 as our base D to counter these spread the field O's. Another problem the spread O's has caused in our recruiting area is the dirth of quality DL recruits in Texas. The state used to be a RB/LB producing machine. Now it's all about QB's, WR's, & DB's. When you continually practice against a passing attack it will weaken your D. Defending a strong running attack daily in practice strengthens your D.
I would not call the Florida wth Tebow remotely similar to the schemes we see in the Big 12. Tebow was more of a single-wing tailback. He was no passer in comparison to the QB's we have traditionally seen over the past few years in the Big 12. Anyway, it was an entertaining game and the Tide is to be congratulated on the win. As I said, Kyle Field is a tough place to play under any circumstances. You all should be on your way now.