Last Comments on OSU Game

Here are 5 items about the game in Stillwater that I feel like writing about:

1. Joe Cox was not sharp - flu, sore arm, whatever. Must feel the pressure and take care of the football in the pocket. Throw the ball away when running for your life outside the tackles. He got little help from his receivers - I counted four 3rd down throws that were not great passes but were catchable and were not caught. Got less help from the playcalling by Bobo - Must be put into quick hitting pass plays that don't require multiple reads and long passes. Must get the ball to AJ Green at least 10 times each game.

2. Mike Bobo was completely schizophrenic in his playcalling and failed to find a combination that would move the chains. Pray that he solves this issue by Saturday. I think we need to commit to establishing the run since we cannot establish the pass first with Cox's arm. Make it easier for Cox by making defenses respect the run and then throw off of play-action.

3. Offensive line did not impose their will like I expected going in and and kept looking for in the second half. In fact, it appeared that the OSU DL took over as they game went on and that they were better conditioned. To me, perhaps the failure of our offensive line to open gaping holes for our running game that was most surprising thing of the day. I hope Coach Searels was equally disappointed. If so, we will certianly see improvement next Saturday.

4. Richard Samuel did not break tackles. He runs hard and has great top-end speed, but he must elude tackles better. I know he only recently turned 18, so I hold out hope that he can continue to improve. Getting Caleb King back may (and I stress may) take some of the pressure off. Caleb King, heal thyself. We need a second big -ish back. We can use Carlton Thomas situationally, but he is not equipped to carry the ball into traffic.

5. Reshad Jones - Great stick that was completely legal and nobody can ever intelligently say otherwise. It was a stunningly horrible call. Jones led with his shoulder and hit the receiver in the sternum and did NOT raise his forearm whatsoever. In fact, if you want to create a "How To" video to teach DBs and referees on how to properly make a legal hit on a receiver, this would be the perfect training video. I can only hope that this hit got enough exposure on ESPN highlights that at least one of our SEC opponent receivers willl be thinking about it, consciously or subconsciously, and will grow alligator arms at a crucial moment in the game. Perhaps Mo Brown this Saturday. I was proud of our defense despite the goose egg in the sacks department.

BONUS: Here is a great recipe for football analysis: Drink heavily from 10:00 am until approximately 7:00 pm - at which point your team has lost a bitterly disappointing football game. Then go on message boards and blog comments and impress the world with your drunken drivel about firing coaches and yanking scholarships. Sharp, boys. Razor sharp.

There is more that could be said, but I am looking forward... moving on.

GO DAWGS! GATA!