Dean's List: Keys for OU's Game against Texas Tech

Dean Blevins breaks down what the Sooners must do on both side of the ball to pull off a victory.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:01 pm

By: News On 6

Dean's List: Keys for OU's Game against Texas Tech

Originally Published: Nov 11, 2010 9:4 PM CDT

Dean Blevins
Oklahoma Sports Sports Director - Oklahoma City

Keys for OU defense versus Texas Tech

1. Block somebody. Place truth serum in the offensive coaches, and they’ll point to that as the No. 1 problem. OU runs against Nobody’s and struggles against the Somebody’s. If it’s Somebody’s on the road, game, set, match.

2. A coach tell #22 to get in the game. Many of us were flabbergasted that DeMarco Murray survived and at times thrived with 39 touches (for the record, 25 runs, 10 recepts, 4 kick returns, which if they’d preferred Roy Finch return the kicks, they’d have had him trade places with Murray). I suspect the pecking order of making sure that Finch gets his share of touches versus Tech is Stoops, OC Kevin Wilson and RB Coach Cale Gundy, who is still scrambling to stand up after being thrown under the bus by his OC, who said it is always up to the position coaches to decide who plays.

3. Improved blocking on perimeter. A good deal of OU’s offense is based upon having success on the perimeter, be it bubbles or runs off bubble calls, or stretch plays that get pushed out, etc. The wide receivers were somewhere between poor and awful in their blocking duties. WR Coach Jay Norvelle is big on “competing” on every play, and I expect it to be much improved and to also use other ways to attack the defense if it brings a safety over the top and shuts down the perimeter game like A&M did. Tech is lame in pass defense (The Red Raiders bring the 118th-ranked pass defense, allowing 293 yards per game, against Broyles, who leads the FBS in receptions per game (9.6) and Jones, who is third in passing (315.2 yards).

Keys for OU defense versus Texas Tech

1. Play with a wreckless abandon for sixty minutes. It might sound trite to put it that way, but I’m seeing this defense make too many alignment mistakes and overall busts. More importantly, I see a defense that is not responding.

2. Don’t let QB Taylor Potts get in a groove. He didn't start in last week's win over Missouri but he came off the bench late in the first half and threw TD passes on three straight possessions. He is ranked 20th in the nation in total offense (280 yards).

3. Stronger in the middle. Everyone knows the down linemen are not playing anywhere close to what the great OU teams have gotten in the past. How could you, with guys like Tommie Harris and Gerald McCoy in the NFL and with your best remaining player playing on a weak and painful ankle that allows him to have 50 percent the impact he would have had if he’d returned healthy for his senior season (Adrian Taylor - a fabulous young man suffered the grotesque ankle fracture in the Sun Bowl win over Pac-Ten leading Stanford)? Injuries and lack of depth make that position weak. That means Brent Venables must get stronger play from DBs and LBs, not only on the edges, but in the guts of the defense. Wort, Jefferson and four or five others must pick it up, or the Sooners will lose two of their final three games.