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The straight scoop from
Colonel Mustard

Oct. 29, 2001

Huge win for Frank and 7. It seemed to me that Oklahoma didn't think they could lose. The crowd was a big advantage and getting two turnovers was the difference in the game. But I was wrong, after seeing the teams in person. We have the better team and should win if there is a rematch. We did not play our best game. 7 didn't have a great game, but he had a great play. Stuntz made a perfect throw on his first pass of the season. Remarkable.

Bohl was creative -- the 3-3-5 alignment was confusing for them. Kelsay had a big game, but the real pressure came up the middle from Bingham and Clanton. They were both impressive. The holding in the fourth quarter was embarrassing for the officials. I don't complain about officiating, but 114 pass attempts in two weeks with no holds is horrible. They were grabbing our jerseys as we ran by them. Burrow made a number of solid tackles, particularly on QB draws. Overall our tackling on their short passes was much better than last year and it really took away a lot of their offense. Swiney still has a target on his back and is in my opinion our fifth-best corner. Ricketts played a great game. He is a terrific cover guy. To me the keys to our defense was a good scheme with blitzes from many angles, combined with other than Swiney great secondary play and especially in the fourth quarter a good push up the middle. I was surprised that they dropped so many passes. Their QBs were less accurate than I thought they'd be. Overall their O wasn't what it's been cracked up to be.

On the other hand their D was amazing. The hitting and the team speed were impressive. But we could hit them in the face and move them. The Maryland I and the play-action passing worked. Anything with a delay was dead, and the option was difficult against the speed. Putting Ringenberg in the slot on the illegal formation worked for a completion and would have been a TD if 7 had seen the wide-open Thomas. I would have used the illegal formation more and I believe that we will have to in a rematch. We need to move the ball more consistently. Wistrom got open on one leg and 7 should have hit him on the third and two in the third quarter. He was wide open on another play and 7 missed him. It is impressive that we won even though 7 didn't play a great game. The O-line came though. Holding out the Sooners long enough for the double-reverse pass is an overlooked part of the success of that play. We can play better on offense, and that gives me confidence down the road. Their D is the real deal, especially Williams and Bush-league (Calmus). He should have been thrown out of the game. If Groce was out of the game, we could have lost, and he was trying to put him out. I am surprised our guys didn't go after him.

Frank made the call of his life, and I couldn't have been more impressed. He needed to stay with his power-running game when it was working. His bootleg call from the 2 after we had smashed it down there was bad, and he was still very slow to get the plays in in the second half and many times we had to hurry just to get the play off. I love the guy, but he has to get better at this.

Overall it was the best win in a long, and I never get tired of sitting in our stadium and chanting "We're No. 1" and I never will. We won with a ton of injuries and a so-so offensive game and a young aggressive defense with a developing coordinator. I am very optimistic. Enjoy this one. I am especially thrilled for Frank and 7. They came through in the biggest game of their careers.
 
-- The Colonel

 

 
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