OU Channels Moses Malone

It's a beautiful morning for Sooners fans everywhere!  Have you ever seen a team rebound like Oklahoma did after their shaky week one performance?

I was downright nervous before kickoff of the Florida State game.  I just didn't know what to expect.  I realized OU was talented and capable of a big rebound, but I was concerned that FSU was equally talented.  To hear the experts tell it, Heisman trophy contender Christian Ponder was going to walk into Norman and tear apart OU's inexperienced secondary.  If the Sooners could barely get it done against lowly Utah State, how could they ever match the athleticism of the Seminoles?

Well, as it turned out, OU might have held a bit back in their week one victory.  The Sooners dominated FSU in every facet of the game.  Especially on offense where Bob Stoops' baby brother Mark and the Seminoles defense became sacrificial lambs for the highly motivated Sooners.

Landry Jones was spectacular throwing for 327 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.  If it weren't for the ball slipping out of Jones' hand on a pass attempt, and one bad snap, the Sooners probably would have put up 48 points (assuming the extra points would have been good) before half.

FSU couldn't even slow down the Sooners.  Jones got several receivers involved in the game, completing passes to 12 different players.  It was great to see so many players get a chance to contribute on a big stage.  Receiver depth was considered a strength for the Sooners, but it was conspicuously missing last week.  Jones made sure that wasn't the case again.

Ryan Broyles had another dominant performance. The short passing game was effective in picking up first down yardage and converting third downs.  Swing passes kept the Seminoles pass rush ineffective and opened running lanes for Demarco Murray and Mossis Madu.  It also provided downfield opportunities that Jones took advantage of.

Madu saw his first action of the season after being suspended last week.  He was very effective and helped keep Murray fresh.  Madu was a forgotten man at running back, but it appears the coaches plan on using him as the second option this season.  Judging from his performance yesterday, Madu is primed for a terrific senior year.

The offensive line was excellent and kept pressure off Jones the entire game.  Blocking was a total team effort, Saturday.  OU receivers were asked to block early and often, and were instrumental in maximizing yardage.

The pace of the game was clearly more than FSU was ready for.  After giving up touchdowns to the Sooners on their first three drives the Seminoles were lackadaisical.  OU took the opportunity to run their up-tempo offense resulting in back to back completions capped by a 46 yard touchdown to James Hanna.  When the Sooners added another touchdown before halftime, the game was over.

Hanna and Trent Ratterree  both caught their first career touchdown, Saturday.  Ratterree missed an opportunity early, but made up for it later.  Both players made terrific runs after the catch to get in the end zone.  Hanna's agility looked particularly impressive.  He reminded me of Jermaine Gresham catching the ball in stride and gliding for the touchdown.  Hanna did have the benefit of a flawless pass and a nice downfield block by Cameron Kenney.

The Sooners defense, considered a serious problem area after giving up several big plays in week one, shut down Ponder and the FSU offense.  After an opening drive that resulted in a touchdown for the Noles, FSU didn't get back in the end zone until the last play of the game.

The scrutinized Sooners secondary (alliteration) was in position and made plays on the ball all afternoon.  OU brought significantly more pressure than they did the previous week.  They dialed up several different blitz packages and didn't allow Ponder to find a rhythm, keeping the Heisman hopeful to 113 yards passing with two interceptions.

Many new names contributed to the effort, and the energy level by the defense was exciting to see.  I was surprised Ronnell Lewis didn't take more snaps, but everyone that played looked great.  Jamell Fleming and Jonathan Nelson rebounded nicely after struggling last week.

OU was tuly impressive.  The offense was reminiscent of the record breaking 2008 season.  If you have to pick on something, there still seems to be an opportunity in the kicking game.  It could pose a problem when the Sooners play close games later this season.

Faith has been restored in Norman and suddenly the season seems full of possibilities.  As a fan, I have to remind myself that one game doesn't make or break a season, including this one.  But, one game can be a great way for a team to gain momentum and confidence.  The Sooners have both and will look to keep it going next week against Air Force.  Another tough non-conference opponent, but one that OU should take care of easily at home.

I am a happy Sooner today.

Other college football notes:

Utah State's offense is pretty damn good!  Diondre Borel is an excellent athlete, and he will give defenses fits this year.  I am actually excited about their chance to knock off Boise State at the end of the year.  USU took care of Idaho State 38-17 this week and the game wasn't as close as the score indicates.  Idaho State put 14 points up in the fourth quarter after the game was out of reach. Watch out for the Aggies.

If anyone watched Georgia vs. South Carolina you might have seen the next superstar in college football.  True freshman Marcus Lattimore put on an absolute show against Georgia.  He carried the ball 37 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns, but the stats alone don't come close to explaining how dominant he was.  When is the last time you heard of a true freshman carrying the ball 37 times?  More impressive was his tackle breaking ability and balance.  He got most of the yards himself breaking several tackles on every carry.  South Carolina had no confidence in their quarterback and just kept feeding Lattimore the rock.  Georgia knew it was coming but still couldn't stop him.  Best of all, he got better as the game went on.  When Georgia needed to stop the clock, Lattimore kept pounding through defenders.  The last player I saw that wowed me like Lattimore had Peterson stitched to the back of his jersey.

So maybe Boise State isn't as good as we thought.  Virginia Tech, the one tough opponent the Broncos face this year, just got beat by James Madison.  They don't even play in the same league.  That is a game that Tech should be embarrassed to have on the schedule.  Then to lose...unacceptable.  Boise needs to pray that the loss was just a hangover from last week's loss.  If Tech doesn't get significantly better, you can kiss Boise's national championship opportunity goodbye.  By the way, it happened in Blacksburg.  HA!  I told you Virginia Tech was always overrated.

Final note, the ACC is a terrible conference.  For all the pre-season chatter about the "much improved" ACC, they sure didn't do themselves any favors yesterday.  Among the losing teams are: Florida State, Miami, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech (against Kansas!).  Considering North Carolina's troubles with the NCAA, the ACC seems to be their old mediocre self.