The Good, The Bad: Oklahoma vs. UTEP

The Good:

Kenny Stills’ playmaking ability. With a relatively new group of receivers, Stills is the most experienced, and he delivered Saturday night. He made some big catches, especially a 68-yard touchdown reception to tie up the ball game. He finished 121 receiving yards on six catches, and if Landry can trust any one, it has to be Stills. He was the most dependable, and hopefully, his case of the drops he developed last year go away permanently.

Oklahoma’s Secondary. Heading in to the game, Nick Lamaison was hoping to challenge the Sharks. However, the secondary had a good outing in El Paso. Tony Jefferson and the secondary had a plenty of near picks, regardless, they did not allow anything to come easy to the Miners. Of course, the defense had trouble stopping the run, but the largest reception of the day only went for 13 yards. Lamaison and Carson Meger combined to complete 27% of their passes, and had a grand total of 48 passing yards. Javon Harris and Aaron Colvin, also, looked good, and the improvements were apparent in the secondary.

The Belldozer. Blake Bell was not called on much Saturday, but he was very effective in his four carries. If my memory serves me correct, Bell delivered every time his number was called. The first time he got in to the game, on third and short, Bell barely got across the first down marker and had to get some extension to move the chains. Even though it is UTEP, Bell should continue to be a solid short-yardage rusher for the Sooners. He looks just as big, if not bigger, and even ripped off a 19-yard run in Miner territory that could have went for a touchdown. Be happy Oklahoma will be utilizing Bell the entire season, as opposed to half of last.

The Bad:

OU’s Punt Protection. I’ve felt in the past that Tress Way has been a bit of a slow punter, but I would not put the failures of the punt protection on Tress. The Miners scored their only points in the game as a result of the blocked punt and were close to blocking a second punt later in the game. The Sooners can not be giving up points in special teams situations if they expect to be a top tier team. If this problem persists later in the season I will be very worried.

Landry Jones’ Decision Making. We’ve been here before. Chalk it up as the opener. Maybe it’s because it was a road game. Maybe it’s just because this is just who Landry Jones is: an extremely physically gifted athlete who struggles with some of the non-physical aspects of the game. The two sacks could be credited to the offensive line, or they could be because Landry held the ball too long. Landry also appeared to stare down his receivers, evident when a throw to Metoyer was almost intercepted. Landry also had a few missed throws in the game. I think he’ll improve as his receivers find their comfort zone and the offensive line settles in, but if he does not we will always ask ourselves if Landry could not succeed without Ryan Broyles.

Dominique Whaley. Whaley was by no means terrible against the Miners, but consider me worried. I think Whaley’s injury was pretty bad last season, and you wonder if this game was the result of “shaking off some rust” as Stoops put it, or if he just is not ever going to be as good as he was last season. Last season could have just been a fluky result (he really had never been that good at any level prior to 2011), or even if it was he might never be at that level of health again. I hope Whaley comes out and has back to back 100 yard games against Florida A&M and Kansas State to put our fears to rest.