Now for OU's OOC!
September 4th 2010 12:52
No, in no way, shape, or form did I save my alma mater for last based on any sort of bias whatsoever.
I don't know what you're talking about.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Now we get to a team that I truly objectively believe has a chance for something really special in 2010.
The Sooners open up the season against the Utah State Aggies for their OOC.
Again, as I've said at least once nearly every Big 12 team before this last one, not much to say about this match-up. It's in Norman, Utah State is clearly outmatched on both sides of the ball, and it would take nothing short of divine intervention to grant victory to the Aggies.
The Crusader's Call: OU not only starts out the season 1-0 unlike 2009, but with this victory they also join the 800-win club.
But Oklahoma won't have too much time to be pleased with themselves, as they'll have a real test coming to Norman the week after in the Florida State Seminoles.
This will be the first time these two blue-blood programs have met since the 2000 Orange Bowl, in which Oklahoma defeated Florida State 13-2 to be crowned national champions.
Look for this reunion to be a bit on the awkward side.
Most of the trouble for the Sooners will center around this guy right here. Christian Ponder, already a possible Heisman candidate, is big and bulky and is a 2000 passing man. He also has prolific targets in Rod Owens and Bert Reed. FSU's RBs aren't too shabby either.
The overall idea is that the Seminoles have one prolific offense, and it will be up to Oklahoma's defensive line to bring the pressure and disrupt Ponder. The young backfield also needs to dig in their heels and not allow any big gains on Owen Field.
The Crusader's Call: Look for guys like Jeremy Beal, Adrian Taylor, Travis Lewis, and Ronnell Lewis to make that difference. The Sooners scrape into a hard-fought 2-0.
OU stays at home for their third game of the season against Air Force.
Air Force carries into Sooner Country a weird mojo about it. There's just something about the Mountain West and OU. It was a Mountain West team, TCU in 2005, that makes up one of Bob Stoops' only two losses at home since he took the reigns.
After pounding the Horned Frogs and ascending to number 1 in the country back in 2008, Oklahoma thought they had finally exercised those demons. But then, in 2009, OU fell to another Mountain West team, Brigham Young, in their season opener inside the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Not only that, they had lost Sam Bradford in the fray.
So you can bet Oklahoma will be keeping a wary eye on this next Mountain West team coming into their house. The same things apply that did with Florida State, and OU must assert the dominance that has come trademark with their homestands from the first down and on.
The Crusader's Call: And I believe they will, and go 3-0.
Now comes a late ringer right here, and it falls right before Texas. The Sooners will travel all the way up to Cincinnati to fight the Bearcats.
Some have already written off this game. But, it's a road game, and the Sooners packed a wallop for it as well. The Bearcats are the defending Big East champions, and even though they lost 11 starters after last season, including staunch offensive weapons Tony Pike and Marty Gilyard, Cincinnati is still lead by upperclassmen QB Zach Colarros.
Colarros also has a veteran O-Line protecting him. Their D was very much young last season, so expect all of that to carry over into experience now. The Bearcats will try to riddle that Oklahoma defense with a proficient air attack, so they had better be ready.
And on the road too. This will prove to be quite a test indeed. Forget the new coach excuse, for it was an interim-coached West Virginia team that decimated OU in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
The Crusader's Call: But I really do think the Sooners can pull it off if they keep their current angry, vindictive atttude and lose the stigma of having so many road losses.
You'll call me biased, but I call OU going undefeated in their OOC and I give them the ranking of 4 OUT OF 5 STARS. They have a great blend of OOC opponents.
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