Oklahoma vs. TCU: Five Things from the Game

Oct 5, 2013; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Brennan Clay (24) runs for a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The Oklahoma Sooners beat the TCU Horned Frogs 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

DEFENSE

The defense played stellar against TCU, they did not even allow a first down in the first half. In the second half the defense did allow TCU to score 17 points, but still was able to create enough stops to allow a win. There was alot more aggression shown this week from Mike Stoops who did not allow Boykin to get comfortable in the pocket during the first half. By the end of the game the defense only allowed 210 yards. The second half exposed what could possibly be the weakness of the defense in the future, there is not alot of substituting players by the coaches. I think there needs to be more substituting to keep the defense fresh and allow for more blitzing. On another note Corey Nelson was lost for the season to a torn pectoral and will be replaced by Dominique Alexander or Aaron Franklin. Bob Stoops had said that it is possible Nelson will explore a medical redshirt, but with half the games played that seems unlikely.

Pass Protection

For much of the game the offensive line was unable to block well enough to protect Blake Bell. Bell never really seemed to settle in throwing the ball and went 20 of 31 for 152 yards with only 4.9 yards per completion. Bell ended up being the second leading rusher and was able to seal the game with a first down rush.

Run game

While the rush statistics are perhaps a little skewed because of Brennan Clay’s 76 yard touchdown run to end the game, the running game was still able to be productive during this game. Roy Finch and Keith Ford sat mostly on the bench in this contest and were under utilized in my opinion. I think that Keith Ford needs to be used more especially in goal line situations where tough running like his can benefit the team. One good thing I saw out of the run game was the use of Trey Millard near the goal line. While Millard still seems to be the best pure football player on the team the coaches seem to struggle with finding ways to utilize his abilities.