Game Thread: Oklahoma vs Houston Game Thread: Jalen QB watch

[Bazza]

I hope you're correct. "soonerforever" had been around since 2013. IDK what gets into people. If he'd paid any attention at all, he'd've realized he would get banned...

It's an "ego" thing.

Also (to a degree) how they were brought up to respect others.

Thanks for running a tight ship here - to you Earle and all our other wonderful moderators. I can't put into words how much it makes this forum so enjoyable to be a part of.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Tua lost the Heisman in the CCG. Kyler won the Heisman in the CCG. If Kyler gets Hurt and Tua has a really good game in the CCG, Tua wins. It's that simple.

This year Tua has a good chance because Clemson's two guys are going to cannibalize each other's votes. Ehlinger may steal some of Hurts thunder in the Big XII. The Wisky RB will have to top 2K in the regular season to win. Herbert hurt himself against Auburn in the Heisman.

Probably somebody else will emerge but I think Tua is in good position to win or be runner up this year.

I must have missed that part of the award that says, "This trophy is awarded on the basis of ONE game."

I realize that's not Kyler's fault, but it's still a sick joke.

 

[The Ols]

Why are you acting like that's a secret. He'd have been a fool NOT to do what you're suggesting...

Just a thought:

Is it possible that Jalen looked around the Portal and chose a school where he could thrive and POSSIBLY take a team to the playoffs and POSSIBLY meet Alabama?

Just a thought. TIFWIW

 

[selmaborntidefan]

That little QB with any D on our side at all might have saved you the embarrassment of Clemson....

well, if anyone would know about embarrassments to Clemson, wouldn't it be OU, who hasn't beaten Clemson since before Barry Switzer came to OU????

Ah, I see you're gone. I'll leave it at that since you're no doubt reading from behind the solitary confinement wall.

 

[The Ols]

There was even talk that he'd go to The Barn where there would be a guaranteed game...but shhhh...

Just a thought:

Is it possible that Jalen looked around the Portal and chose a school where he could thrive and POSSIBLY take a team to the playoffs and POSSIBLY meet Alabama?

Just a thought. TIFWIW

 

[BamaMoon]

Rational Sooner fans know that we wont change overnight to a top ten defense. I'm hoping for maybe a top 50 unit, with improvement in places like four or 5 guys being out of position every play. The stories are coming out about the chaos in the locker room with Mike Stoops losing control and players basically ignoring him. I have no inside connections, so I don't know if that's true or not. I did see some things I liked, also some things I didn't. I've said many times on this board, I'm a fan, I couldn't coach. I rea;;y like Jalen, although in the first half I thought he was too quick to pull the ball down and take off running.

He still has the tendency and it'll get worse against a better defense. He will never be as accurate as you'll want him to be, especially on longer throws.

But Hurts pulling it down to run in the Big 12 will not hurt OU as much as it hurt UA. He'll have lots more green grass to run on.

I'll give two areas I believe Hurts has actually improved (and much of this happened last year as a back up at Bama).

1. His short/intermediate passing accuracy has improved greatly...especially the short throws to RBs in the flats and slants to the wide receivers. He was hitting most of those on target and in stride....a huge improvement from two years ago at Bama when he's throw it behind our guys and at their feet.

2. The throw he made to the wide-open receiver when Hurts started to run was something he could never do at Bama. He would have under/over thrown that ball by 10 yards 2 years ago. This may be the area Riley has helped him most...that and maybe giving him permission to run at will, which he never got from CNS.

 

[Evil Crimson Dragon]

Just a thought:

Is it possible that Jalen looked around the Portal and chose a school where he could thrive and POSSIBLY take a team to the playoffs and POSSIBLY meet Alabama?

Just a thought. TIFWIW

I'm sure he probably did...………...and I am sure his former teammates would be eager to meet him on the field. They still love the guy, and he is fond of them

 

[opksooner]

Why are you acting like that's a secret. He'd have been a fool NOT to do what you're suggesting...

OK, no prob. It's just that I hadn't seen that proposed anywhere.

 

[BamaMoon]

Just a thought:

Is it possible that Jalen looked around the Portal and chose a school where he could thrive and POSSIBLY take a team to the playoffs and POSSIBLY meet Alabama?

Just a thought. TIFWIW

I don't really think Jalen "wants Bama" like you are suggesting. We are the most likely team to know how to play him and most capable (other than Clemson) in the whole country.

Now, the media will love it if it happens, but Jalen knows better, even though he might even say he'd like a matchup with Bama. Does Superman seek out Kryptonite???

 

[GrayTide]

Just a thought:

Is it possible that Jalen looked around the Portal and chose a school where he could thrive and POSSIBLY take a team to the playoffs and POSSIBLY meet Alabama?

Just a thought. TIFWIW

Yes, that is a possibility, but how many potential playoff programs were not returning their starting QB. If he had just wanted to go somewhere and start without competition there were a lot of schools that fit that criteria. I have no doubt playoff potential was a key factor, but if Murray had decided to return for his final year would Hurts be in Norman? I think not.

 

[uafan4life]

Just off the top of my head...

LOL!

You using that phrase reminds me of a Greek professor I once had who, when discussing an elementary subject, would use the phrase "That's Greek to me!" to indicate its simplicity.

:biggrin2:

 

[TideEngineer08]

Yes, that is a possibility, but how many potential playoff programs were not returning their starting QB. If he had just wanted to go somewhere and start without competition there were a lot of schools that fit that criteria. I have no doubt playoff potential was a key factor, but if Murray had decided to return for his final year would Hurts be in Norman? I think not.

Correct. He chose the best landing spot. Almost zero competition for the starting job. QB friendly offense tailor made for his talents. The best team in its conference. Correct uniform colors.

 

[NationalTitles18]

He still has the tendency and it'll get worse against a better defense. He will never be as accurate as you'll want him to be, especially on longer throws.

But Hurts pulling it down to run in the Big 12 will not hurt OU as much as it hurt UA. He'll have lots more green grass to run on.

I'll give two areas I believe Hurts has actually improved (and much of this happened last year as a back up at Bama).

1. His short/intermediate passing accuracy has improved greatly...especially the short throws to RBs in the flats and slants to the wide receivers. He was hitting most of those on target and in stride....a huge improvement from two years ago at Bama when he's throw it behind our guys and at their feet.

2. The throw he made to the wide-open receiver when Hurts started to run was something he could never do at Bama. He would have under/over thrown that ball by 10 yards 2 years ago. This may be the area Riley has helped him most...that and maybe giving him permission to run at will, which he never got from CNS.

Hurts hit a similar play against UGa for the TD (not the exact same, just a play he would have run up the field or out of bounds prior to last year. Riley had diddly squat to do with that.

I will also argue that his short/intermediate passing had improved significantly by the UGa game last year or Alabama would not have won that game.

Hurts improved at Alabama. He was a much better QB when he left than when he got there. Let's see if Oklahoma fans will be able to say the same after one year with Coach Riley. No offense to Hurts or Riley or sooner fans but let's be honest about the obvious progress Hurts made at Alabama.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

Just a thought:

Is it possible that Jalen looked around the Portal and chose a school where he could thrive and POSSIBLY take a team to the playoffs and POSSIBLY meet Alabama?

Just a thought. TIFWIW

Of the the three reasons, the first two are no-brainers. I could see those developing long before they happened. However, the third shows you don't really know/understand Jalen yet...

 

[TIDE-HSV]

I don't really think Jalen "wants Bama" like you are suggesting. We are the most likely team to know how to play him and most capable (other than Clemson) in the whole country.

Now, the media will love it if it happens, but Jalen knows better, even though he might even say he'd like a matchup with Bama. Does Superman seek out Kryptonite???

You are right, of course. He was thoroughly steeped in and indoctrinated in the "Process." Last night, in his interview, he could have been Coach Saban himself in talking about playing to your internal standard. You do your job, every day in every detail and let the future take care of itself. The fans may be already looking forward to the post season but not Jalen...

 

[Con]

Hurts hit a similar play against UGa for the TD (not the exact same, just a play he would have run up the field or out of bounds prior to last year. Riley had diddly squat to do with that.

I will also argue that his short/intermediate passing had improved significantly by the UGa game last year or Alabama would not have won that game.

Hurts improved at Alabama. He was a much better QB when he left than when he got there. Let's see if Oklahoma fans will be able to say the same after one year with Coach Riley. No offense to Hurts or Riley or sooner fans but let's be honest about the obvious progress Hurts made at Alabama.

This is what will make me mad. He did improve at Alabama, but the media will make it look like Riley is the best QB coach in the world by turning Hurts into a heisman contender and/or winner. I like Hurts, but after reading through this thread, listening to their radio guys while we were traveling and watching it on tv, I may just hope OU loses about 3 or 4 games. He was beaten out by a better QB while here and our coach knows football.

 

[BamaMoon]

Hurts hit a similar play against UGa for the TD (not the exact same, just a play he would have run up the field or out of bounds prior to last year. Riley had diddly squat to do with that.

I will also argue that his short/intermediate passing had improved significantly by the UGa game last year or Alabama would not have won that game.

Hurts improved at Alabama. He was a much better QB when he left than when he got there. Let's see if Oklahoma fans will be able to say the same after one year with Coach Riley. No offense to Hurts or Riley or sooner fans but let's be honest about the obvious progress Hurts made at Alabama.

This is what will make me mad. He did improve at Alabama, but the media will make it look like Riley is the best QB coach in the world by turning Hurts into a heisman contender and/or winner. I like Hurts, but after reading through this thread, listening to their radio guys while we were traveling and watching it on tv, I may just hope OU loses about 3 or 4 games. He was beaten out by a better QB while here and our coach knows football.

I noted he improved last year at Bama and to Blackledge's credit he noted that too.

But I also believe Riley will help him too. If nothing else, I think he'll play freer at OU because his style just fits better with what OU does and what defenses he'll face.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I watched the game and OU's offense looked EXACTLY how I figured it would look with Jalen at QB. Here are my thoughts on ONE GAME's observation so take that in consideration:

-OU's offense will be a lot less vertical than it was with Mayfield. Though Jalen's improved at throwing the ball vertically and going to his secondary reads. I could tell it's still not something he's completely comfortable with. He did enough of it to get some praises from the announcers. But again, I wonder if the QB runs and horizontal "stuff" are taken away and he's forced to throw vertical out of necessity rather than by choice. How well will he do?

-If Houston would have had a quarterback that could hit water if he fell out of a boat that game would have actually been competitive. I know Blackledge kept praising the improvement of the defense but I still saw a defense that can be susceptible to a lot of yards and points put on them. Houston's offense just looked completely out of sync most of the night that had nothing to do with what OU was doing.

-Jalen sounded a lot like Coach Saban in his post game interview. I could see in his eyes that he realizes that though the team put up a lot of yards and points. There were just as many "issues" that need to be fixed. You could just see "Coach Saban" in his eyes and his responses. He maybe at OU but no doubt he's brought Coach Saban and Alabama's critical eye with him. Which is a good thing for the OU team.

They should cruise through the Big 12. Texas appears to be their only competition. But overall, I didn't see anything from any of the other Big 12 teams to make me think OU will have any problems in the conference.

 

[TideEngineer08]

I'll be watching the LSU/Texas game this weekend with great interest. It will tell us a lot about whether or not OU will have any competition in that conference. Of course, the Texas game is always a tricky one for them. Last year being a prime example.

But yeah, who else can compete with them? I just don't see anything out there. I heard some chatter about Iowa State in the off season, but then they go out and struggle to beat an FCS team this weekend.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

LOL!

You using that phrase reminds me of a Greek professor I once had who, when discussing an elementary subject, would use the phrase "That's Greek to me!" to indicate its simplicity.

:biggrin2:

Well that was to distinguish between mind-boggling insanity like Paul Hornung winning it while playing for a 2-8 team.

If the argument is, "Well, which player contributed more to this team's success" (aka the RG3 over Trent argument), then it doesn't matter that Hornung scored all those points because he played for a 2-8 mediocrity.

Proving my point again since he played for Notre Darn.


I didn't live through that because I wasn't born yet. The most egregious one I ever saw firsthand, though, was Herschel Walker getting snubbed in 1980 because "well, he's only a freshman." My point was that I'm sure there were insane Heisman selections prior to 1980, I just recall those quite vividly.

Neither Ingram nor Henry was a BAD choice, but I'm not 100% certain either was "really" the "best player," that's all I'm saying. George Rogers in 1980 was not a "bad" choice, but he only got the award because he was a senior and Herschel was a freshman, and Rogers led the nation in rushing on an obscure 8-3 team.

The best player in 1980 was probably Walker, but I wouldn't have been too upset if Jim McMahon, who threw 47 TDs (an insane total back then) and for over 4,500 yards, won it. Both of those totals exceed Kyler Murray's numbers from last year during the modern era of Big 12 flag football.

And the reality is that if Walker had been on USC or Oklahoma - instead of Georgia - and had an unbeaten season then he very likely (even in that primitive day of "this is an award for juniors and seniors") would have won it. But playing for Jawja? Oh, those numbers don't matter.

Walker as a freshman (for those who didn't see him) was Bo Jackson or Cam Newton at their absolute best. Pick the five best all-around players you ever saw in the history of CFB.....and Walker (unless you're 70 or older) has to be one of them.