Mizzou Football 2011

[cardsfansince82]

I don't think Oklahoma made us look that bad at all. They haven't lost at home in almost a decade and it's Franklin's fourth start. We outrushed them by 100 yards and won the turnover battle 2-0. We lost by 10 and missed two field goals. That touchdown to Broyles could easily have been called incomplete and they have to kick a field goal. There were a couple of drive killing penalties. Both teams run uptempo styles so there were a lot of possessions. Oklahoma is going to put up 30+ on anybody if you give them that many chances. Mizzou's offense isn't quite on that level yet where they could keep up.

Franklin was 16-33 but didn't fumble or throw any picks and only took two or three sacks. It was also for 291 yards so he wasn't just completing safe little wide receiver screens. He had a lot more success against that defense than EJ Manuel. He still needs to get better at reads and recognizing when to stay in the pocket/bail and throw it away/bail and run, but that will come with experience. He was very effective on designed runs, but he ran to the sideline and threw it away instead of taking off on pass plays. I would like to see him look for Moe and Egnew more to sustain drives. Guys are getting open, he's just not always finding them in time. If he turns a handful of those 17 incompletions into positive plays it's a really tight game. Landry Jones is better than Franklin at this point and that was the difference, but I think Franklin and most of the team acquitted themselves pretty well. We desperately need to find a way to get pressure on the quarterback. The secondary is pretty good at one on one tackling so I would try to bring more blitzes when the D line isn't getting it done.

[redbirdjazzz]

I don't think Oklahoma made us look that bad at all. They haven't lost at home in almost a decade and it's Franklin's fourth start. We outrushed them by 100 yards and won the turnover battle 2-0. We lost by 10 and missed two field goals. That touchdown to Broyles could easily have been called incomplete and they have to kick a field goal. There were a couple of drive killing penalties. Both teams run uptempo styles so there were a lot of possessions. Oklahoma is going to put up 30+ on anybody if you give them that many chances. Mizzou's offense isn't quite on that level yet where they could keep up.

Franklin was 16-33 but didn't fumble or throw any picks and only took two or three sacks. It was also for 291 yards so he wasn't just completing safe little wide receiver screens. He had a lot more success against that defense than EJ Manuel. He still needs to get better at reads and recognizing when to stay in the pocket/bail and throw it away/bail and run, but that will come with experience. He was very effective on designed runs, but he ran to the sideline and threw it away instead of taking off on pass plays. I would like to see him look for Moe and Egnew more to sustain drives. Guys are getting open, he's just not always finding them in time. If he turns a handful of those 17 incompletions into positive plays it's a really tight game. Landry Jones is better than Franklin at this point and that was the difference, but I think Franklin and most of the team acquitted themselves pretty well. We desperately need to find a way to get pressure on the quarterback. The secondary is pretty good at one on one tackling so I would try to bring more blitzes when the D line isn't getting it done.

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[JL21]

I think you're being kind. When the game actually mattered- the first 3 quarters- OU handled Mizzou quite easily. The Tigers dominated the first 9 minutes and got their ass whipped over the next 36. 83 of Franklin's passing yards (and 33 of his rushing yards) came in the 4th quarter when OU went soft. 165 of their 532 yds. total came in the 4th quarter. It wasn't meaningless but I think it's completely fair to put a lot more stock in the first three quarters than the fourth. The 10 point final deficit and the final yards are mostly cosmetic.

Maybe I overstated it by saying Mizzou looked "bad". I feel much better about the rest of the season today than I did yesterday. But with the way OU was moving at will against Mizzou, while Mizzou was clinging to 45 yard FG attempts for offensive progress, there was clearly a huge gap there between the two teams. Part of it's talent and health/depth, part of it's home field advantage, and the rest of it is experience. I doubt Mizzou and/or Franklin faces a secondary, or defense for that matter, as talented as OU for the rest of the year. Nor will they play in a place as difficult to win as Norman.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I don't think that gives enough credit to what they did just because it happened quickly. If you score 14 points, that's upwards of 30-50% of your scoring in any game. To exclude it and make the rest of the game the focus does them an extreme disservice. They scored 4 TDs on drives of 76, 76, 89, and 73 yards, and should've had more with the missed FGs. They started 12 of 14 drives inside their own 30. They had their struggles, but they more than doubled what an experienced QB and offense did at home against OU last week. OU was the better team, played better, and deserved to win. The "breaks" like the missed FGs, Broyles' dropped TD, etc. work out in the end. But they didn't lose that game because they were outclassed all over the field. They lost because they went on the road with an inexperienced player at the most important position on the field, while OU has a 3 year starter who made plays.

[BigDCardlvr]

So it looks like we have an emerging running back and an emerging qb?

[cardsfansince82]

So it looks like we have an emerging running back and an emerging qb?

If they can both stay healthy. I've liked Josey from day one because of his elite speed, but I'd feel more comfortable if there were more guys to share the rushing load.

I think you're being kind. When the game actually mattered- the first 3 quarters- OU handled Mizzou quite easily.

OU is definitely the better team, but they felt a little vulnerable. Maybe the fast start gave me false confidence, but it would have been interesting to see how OU would have reacted if Franklin could have done better than a goose egg in the second and third quarters. The O had a pretty good game against a quality defense, so that's a good sign. We were able to run the ball pretty consistently and they gave Franklin time to throw for the most part.

[JL21]

@Dave_Matter
Bob Stoops: "Missouri's a good, good football team. They're going to win a bunch of games."

This is good to hear, I guess. The schedule looks much more difficult now than it did 2 months ago. Meaning, Baylor, Iowa St., Oklahoma St., and even Texas A&M have all looked better than I figured they would be.

[robbotis]

@Dave_Matter
Bob Stoops: "Missouri's a good, good football team. They're going to win a bunch of games."

This is good to hear, I guess. The schedule looks much more difficult now than it did 2 months ago. Meaning, Baylor, Iowa St., Oklahoma St., and even Texas A&M have all looked better than I figured they would be.

That will be a difficult stretch if the Missouri Defensive Line doesn't show up.
What happened there!?!? They need to step up and make some plays.

[JL21]

They're really really good at stopping the run, but the pressure they've gotten on opposing QB's has been somewhat embarrassing. Maybe we underrated how much of an impact Aldon Smith really had last year.

[redbirdjazzz]

If the D-Line is still having trouble getting pressure once Jacquies has had more time to settle back in, I'll be a lot more concerned. OU's offensive line is always good, and they always hold a lot without getting caught.