People will probably knock the sooners offense by saying that they play a bunch of weak defenses that inflate their offensive production. While that may be true, does anyone really think FSU’s new and improved defense will be better then the average Big 12 defense? I don’t think so.

OU has also only lost 2 home games since Stoops has been there. While the game might be competitive, I don’t think FSU will pull it out. And if its a close game, I don’t think that the talking heads will focus on FSU keeping it close and being ‘back’.

Traditionally, FSU plays very well when they play unfamiliar opponents (Last year BYU West Virginia ).

and FSU should have beaten Miami. This game is very winnable.

smart, tough, agressive, WELL COACHED football? I haven’t the foggiest. If we play up to just the F.S.U. last 30- some year defense( with or w/o playbooks), we have a CHANCE to disrupt the new qb,s timing early and shake his confidence. Of course if he has mastered their(proper use, lol) fast- break type offense, he could very well destroy confidence in the new zone-style pass defence among our young db’s. Loving our noles as I have most of my life, I HOPE for the former and a huge win for the new staff. Lord knows it would sure start the Jimbo era off with a bang. Hopefully the reworked, older defensive line can at least resemble F.S.U. dl’s of the past. If that happens we won’t be ( as good) as a middle of the pack Big 12 defense, we will be better.( as we historically have been)
one final thought about an oft- repeated statement on here.( hope i’m allowed…..it’s off-topic cringe) I’ve read very numerous times on here of our recruiting rank when BB was still coach and when sighning day arrived. Any old- timer will tell you historically BB was always a fast closer as sighning day neared. I mean NO disrespect to Jimbo or the truely awesome job done by he and his staff. I just had to clear that up. Thank- you and as always…..GO NOLES

this guy doesnt know what he is talking about… there offense isnt even in the same caliber as FSU’s and they went 8 and 5 last year… Didnt we put up 30 plus against miami.. On and Miami went 9 and 4 last year. This guys predictions are way left field because Oklahoma only put up half the points we put up against miami.. I think we could lose this game. But saying that the Sooners are the number one team is not good college football analysis.. GO NOLES!!!

I understand that OU is predicted to be a tough opponent for us next season. I understand that they are favored to win and have this impressive home winning streak. What I don’t see is how everyone is just rolling over and conceding a loss to these guys. Yeah we had some problems on D last year. But anyone who knows about our situation also knows that we were not getting any player coaching and development for the last 2 – 3 years on that side of the ball. MA had all but called it quits after his son’s passing. There was no leadership on that side of the ball. Their idea of coaching was to tell everyone to man up and beat your guy (see Dawkin’s interview for more on the old philosophy). That strategy would work against inferior talent, but as we all know, when the real competition arrived, we suffered. We now have young energetic coaches on that side of the ball. I am not expecting a complete turnaround in year one as there will be plenty of thinking going on the field instead of natural instincts taking over. I do expect there to be fewer 80 yard TD’s as a result of blown coverages. I do expect teams to have to have extended drives in order to score as opposed to the 1 and 2 play strikes that we saw last year. Remember, the players we have lined up over there are not some Div !! rejects. These are players that were top recruits coming out of high school. They may just make a major improvement with some coaching. Even in under one year.
As for OU. I am just not that impressed with what they have coming back. They lost a lot of games last year to inferior talent. If OU is so good they can just reload year after year, why did they suffer so much when they had injuries. Surely the 2nd string guy was SO DAMN GOOD they could just step right in. Obviously not. When they faced tough competition they lost. Sure their QB put up great numbers last year as a freshman, but not against the real competition. I wish we could have played Idaho State, Tulane, Tulsa, and Kansas and even Texas A&M amongst others.
Generally speaking OU faces 3 levels of competition. The first group OU blows out 35-0 by halftime and cruise to 50 point margins. These opponents are generally outmatched from the beginning. Idaho State, Tulsa fall into this category. We do not. The second level usually gives OU a tougher battle for the first half, but lack of depth usually shows in the second half and OU wins by 20. Iowa State, Texas A&M, Kansas, Missouri, KSU, and even OSU may fall into this category. Again we are not in this group. Our 2nd team is as talented as theirs. The 3rd level of competition is where both teams are evenly matched and have equal depth. OU does not fare nearly as well against these teams. They also don’t see them too often in Norman thus their long winning streak. It also explains OU’s abysmal record in BCS games. The only reason IMO that they have been to the BCS championship so often is because of lofty preseason ratings and a weak schedule every year. When you only real challenge is against UT you tend to have great win-loss records. Their record in BCS bowl games (or OOC BCS regular season games) tells a different story.