Since I reside in Kentucky, which borders Ohio, ABC decided to show the Ohio State and Wisconsin game in Louisville. Thanks to ESPN 360 I was able to watch Oklahoma and Baylor play on my computer. Here are my 5 observations of the game.
1. Sam Bradford is a smooth quarterback.
Bradford played for the first time since the first half of the first game of the season. He makes great reads and great throws. Landry Jones did an admirable job of filling in while Bradford was out, but Bradford is not the defending Heisman Trophy winner for nothing. He finished the game with 389 yards passing. This number was limited due to dropped passes.
2. Oklahoma will have to improve in the red zone.
I understand that Jermaine Gresham was a huge weapon last year and is out with injury this year. But the formula run, run, pass, kick is getting pretty predictable especially when the runs are all within the tackles.
3. Oklahoma’s wide receivers will get better with experience.
The young cast of receivers dropped too many balls. However, these young guys seem to be running good routes and can run after the catch.
4. Baylor’s coach, Art Briles is a good coach.
Briles won 4 Texas state championships as a high school coach. He then started the turnaround of the Houston program before heading to Waco. If anybody can get Baylor out of the bottom half of the Big XII South, it will be Briles. He lost to injury the best quarterback Baylor has had in years.
5. Oklahoma’s defense is solid.
In 5 games, the Sooners have allowed a high of 21 points (against Miami). For the season (5 games), OU’s opponents have scored 42 points. That’s 8.4 points per game. In the game today, they held Baylor to 6 rushing yards for the game. 6!
The biggest vulnerability has been when the defensive backs have a misread in zone coverage.
By the way. Next week is the Red River Rivalry.
