Obviously, there are some feelings after that loss that don't have to be expressed...heartbreak, disappointment, a feeling of "here we go again"...so I'll try to leave that stuff out and analyze what I saw live (haven't watched the replay).
Offense
-I thought Josh Dobbs played tentative in the 2nd half. There were throws he could have made, but chose not to and runs he could have made, but chose to throw the ball away. Not sure why. It didn't look like the Dobbs we're used to.
-Jalen Hurd is a man. He played tough, ran hard, and, for the most part, ran smart. He had the one fumble, but made up for it by hustling back and recovering it. The lost yardage hurt bad, but it could've been much worse if not for his hustle.
-I thought Kamara was poorly used. Not sure why he ran the ball on the goalline on the first drive instead of Hurd. Kamara should be getting more touches between the 20s to save Hurd for the rugged yards. Also, I wanted to see both in the game at the same time more. They ran a play with AK in the backfield, motioned him out, and it opened up a nice run for Hurd. Then we never went back to it.
-Needed to attack the perimeters more. OU stacked the line a lot, but was vulnerable on the outside. This is one of the criticisms I have of Dobbs...he doesn't give his WRs a chance to go up and make plays. That's the entire point of having elite WRs...they turn 50/50 balls into catches. So give them a chance to do so. When did we throw to Pearson (our best WR)? Maybe once? Also, more jet sweeps...those worked when we ran them (Pearson slipped on one, but he would've had yardage if he hadn't). We had way too much going between the tackles and never did anything to get OU spread out.
-I watched the OLine and didn't think they played bad. They outplayed OU's OLine. Now, they did allow some pressure and didn't always get push, but they were going against a stacked front. When Dobbs got hit and fumbled, that was on Ethan Wolf. The OTs played well, from what I saw. Wiesman made a nice pull and block on Dobbs' TD (told y'all his athleticism makes him an improvement over Jackson). They weren't great, but they weren't bad, going against a stacked line. Also, how many times did Dobbs drop back and have all day, get flushed out, then throw an incomplete pass or (maybe once) get sacked? That's not on the OLine. That's either the WRs not getting open or Dobbs not seeing them. The team and coaches didn't do much to help out the OL, IMO.
-Alex Ellis has to catch that ball. That could've been 6.
Defense
-What a difference a week makes. Of course, knowing now what Matt Johnson and BG did to Maryland, last week's performance doesn't look as bad.
-I told y'all Todd Kelly should start over McNeil. Should've started last year. Never understood that decision. But now he's starting. And he makes plays (but man, I wish he'd kept his feet on the 2nd pick...could've been 6).
-Does Todd Kelly make that big of a difference in the secondary? They got better when he entered last week. Or does Martinez being back make that much of a difference? Probably both. I noticed Justin Martin played some too, which helped. Need to get him in full-time by the Florida game.
-The DLine played better this week than last. But may not have been playing against as good an OLine (funny as that sounds). But man, I wish they would FINISH MORE SACKS. It seemed like Mayfield got away from about 10 other possible sacks. And he nearly escaped with Tuttle and Barnett on his back.
-Shy Tuttle can move, y'all. He's going to be good.
-Jumper leaves a lot to be desired at MLB. Kirkland needs to develop.
-JRM played a whale of a game. That kid is a player.
-Losing Maggitt in the 2nd half hurt more than I thought it would.
-Moseley came back and made some nice plays but also gave up some, including the Sheppard TD (which was really a great throw and catch). He's obviously going to get picked on with Sutton on the other side, but I thought he improved from last week. Young kid, just a sophomore, first year as a full-time starter...be patient with him. He will develop. He has all the tools.
-Overall, I'm happy with the defensive performance. They improved a lot from last week. That type of effort will win us a lot of games in the SEC.
Special Teams
-What can you say about Trevor Daniel? Kid was booming them last night. Remember how we couldn't get a punter to perform under Dooley? Funny how they all seem to perform under Jones & Co. Coaching matters.
-Medley was great on kickoffs, all going into the end zone and only one was brought out, stopped short of the 25. Kick coverage was good. Didn't get much in returns until Berry had a nice one that was called back by a hold.
-Medley's missed FG was huge. Yes, it was 48 yards, but he has to hit that. It's what he was recruited to do. Hit that and we win. Which leads me to...
What-ifs
Okay, I said I'd leave out the emotion. But I'll confine it to this section. There were so many what-ifs. The missed FG. Ellis' drop. The settling for 3 on the first drive. The BS PI call on Foreman on the last drive. The hold calls on Jumper when we stopped them on 2 different 3rd downs. The missed obvious false start right after the BS PI call. Any one of those plays could have changed the outcome. I also wonder if O'Brien missing the game or Maggitt missing the 2nd half might've changed the outcome. Dunno.
And that's why, in spite of the fact we stood toe to toe with Oklahoma and can still win the East, this hurts.
Overall
Taking the emotion of heartbreak out of it, the overall outlook for the season may have gotten brighter on September 12th. Tennessee took OU to double OT, which many didn't think possible. Florida looks average. And its D doesn't look as mighty as we predicted. Georgia struggled to put Vandy away and has some severe QB issues. Missouri and Arkansas struggled with cupcakes...one skirting by, the other losing. And Bowling Green took Maryland to the woodshed, making Tennessee's 29 point win over them look a lot better.
This team still has a very real chance to win the East. And if it wins the East and finds itself in a 1-game scenario in Atlanta, who knows what can happen. The Youngest Team In College Football will then have 12 games under its belt. Those freshmen will practically be sophomores and the sophomores practically juniors. Freshmen like Kirkland, Martin, McKenzie, Tuttle, Williams and inexperienced sophomores like Moseley, Thomas, and Kendrick will all be more experienced and, presumably better.
Florida is still the biggest game of the season. Always was. Keep grinding, get better Western Carolina week, then go down to the Swamp and end the streak.
Offense
-I thought Josh Dobbs played tentative in the 2nd half. There were throws he could have made, but chose not to and runs he could have made, but chose to throw the ball away. Not sure why. It didn't look like the Dobbs we're used to.
-Jalen Hurd is a man. He played tough, ran hard, and, for the most part, ran smart. He had the one fumble, but made up for it by hustling back and recovering it. The lost yardage hurt bad, but it could've been much worse if not for his hustle.
-I thought Kamara was poorly used. Not sure why he ran the ball on the goalline on the first drive instead of Hurd. Kamara should be getting more touches between the 20s to save Hurd for the rugged yards. Also, I wanted to see both in the game at the same time more. They ran a play with AK in the backfield, motioned him out, and it opened up a nice run for Hurd. Then we never went back to it.
-Needed to attack the perimeters more. OU stacked the line a lot, but was vulnerable on the outside. This is one of the criticisms I have of Dobbs...he doesn't give his WRs a chance to go up and make plays. That's the entire point of having elite WRs...they turn 50/50 balls into catches. So give them a chance to do so. When did we throw to Pearson (our best WR)? Maybe once? Also, more jet sweeps...those worked when we ran them (Pearson slipped on one, but he would've had yardage if he hadn't). We had way too much going between the tackles and never did anything to get OU spread out.
-I watched the OLine and didn't think they played bad. They outplayed OU's OLine. Now, they did allow some pressure and didn't always get push, but they were going against a stacked front. When Dobbs got hit and fumbled, that was on Ethan Wolf. The OTs played well, from what I saw. Wiesman made a nice pull and block on Dobbs' TD (told y'all his athleticism makes him an improvement over Jackson). They weren't great, but they weren't bad, going against a stacked line. Also, how many times did Dobbs drop back and have all day, get flushed out, then throw an incomplete pass or (maybe once) get sacked? That's not on the OLine. That's either the WRs not getting open or Dobbs not seeing them. The team and coaches didn't do much to help out the OL, IMO.
-Alex Ellis has to catch that ball. That could've been 6.
Defense
-What a difference a week makes. Of course, knowing now what Matt Johnson and BG did to Maryland, last week's performance doesn't look as bad.
-I told y'all Todd Kelly should start over McNeil. Should've started last year. Never understood that decision. But now he's starting. And he makes plays (but man, I wish he'd kept his feet on the 2nd pick...could've been 6).
-Does Todd Kelly make that big of a difference in the secondary? They got better when he entered last week. Or does Martinez being back make that much of a difference? Probably both. I noticed Justin Martin played some too, which helped. Need to get him in full-time by the Florida game.
-The DLine played better this week than last. But may not have been playing against as good an OLine (funny as that sounds). But man, I wish they would FINISH MORE SACKS. It seemed like Mayfield got away from about 10 other possible sacks. And he nearly escaped with Tuttle and Barnett on his back.
-Shy Tuttle can move, y'all. He's going to be good.
-Jumper leaves a lot to be desired at MLB. Kirkland needs to develop.
-JRM played a whale of a game. That kid is a player.
-Losing Maggitt in the 2nd half hurt more than I thought it would.
-Moseley came back and made some nice plays but also gave up some, including the Sheppard TD (which was really a great throw and catch). He's obviously going to get picked on with Sutton on the other side, but I thought he improved from last week. Young kid, just a sophomore, first year as a full-time starter...be patient with him. He will develop. He has all the tools.
-Overall, I'm happy with the defensive performance. They improved a lot from last week. That type of effort will win us a lot of games in the SEC.
Special Teams
-What can you say about Trevor Daniel? Kid was booming them last night. Remember how we couldn't get a punter to perform under Dooley? Funny how they all seem to perform under Jones & Co. Coaching matters.
-Medley was great on kickoffs, all going into the end zone and only one was brought out, stopped short of the 25. Kick coverage was good. Didn't get much in returns until Berry had a nice one that was called back by a hold.
-Medley's missed FG was huge. Yes, it was 48 yards, but he has to hit that. It's what he was recruited to do. Hit that and we win. Which leads me to...
What-ifs
Okay, I said I'd leave out the emotion. But I'll confine it to this section. There were so many what-ifs. The missed FG. Ellis' drop. The settling for 3 on the first drive. The BS PI call on Foreman on the last drive. The hold calls on Jumper when we stopped them on 2 different 3rd downs. The missed obvious false start right after the BS PI call. Any one of those plays could have changed the outcome. I also wonder if O'Brien missing the game or Maggitt missing the 2nd half might've changed the outcome. Dunno.
And that's why, in spite of the fact we stood toe to toe with Oklahoma and can still win the East, this hurts.
Overall
Taking the emotion of heartbreak out of it, the overall outlook for the season may have gotten brighter on September 12th. Tennessee took OU to double OT, which many didn't think possible. Florida looks average. And its D doesn't look as mighty as we predicted. Georgia struggled to put Vandy away and has some severe QB issues. Missouri and Arkansas struggled with cupcakes...one skirting by, the other losing. And Bowling Green took Maryland to the woodshed, making Tennessee's 29 point win over them look a lot better.
This team still has a very real chance to win the East. And if it wins the East and finds itself in a 1-game scenario in Atlanta, who knows what can happen. The Youngest Team In College Football will then have 12 games under its belt. Those freshmen will practically be sophomores and the sophomores practically juniors. Freshmen like Kirkland, Martin, McKenzie, Tuttle, Williams and inexperienced sophomores like Moseley, Thomas, and Kendrick will all be more experienced and, presumably better.
Florida is still the biggest game of the season. Always was. Keep grinding, get better Western Carolina week, then go down to the Swamp and end the streak.
