Unranked Oklahoma State Still Contender in FBS

  As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer, fall will soon be upon us. With fall, comes all the pumpkin spice lattes and thoughts of Halloween candy for the young kids, but most importantly, college football is back, baby! Tonight, in Michigan, the Oklahoma State Cowboys will kick off their 2015-2016 season, and look to showcase some sweet all-white helmets with a chrome Pistol Pete on them while thumping the Chippewas of Central Michigan. Many questions during the off season were directed towards the other state school, Oklahoma, but that doesn't mean OSU didn't have some questions they needed to address, as well.
  First off, their starting quarterback this season, Mason Rudolph, has only played 3 games under center for the Pokes, so how do we know he is ready for a full 12-game load? In his 3 starts, Rudolph hung in there down in Waco against Baylor, then the Christmas miracle in Norman definitely put his face on the map, and finally, he showed some good things in the Cowboys' win against Washington in their bowl game to end the season. I know that Central Michigan isn't even close to the caliber of opponent that Rudolph faced his previous 3 games, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Chippewas are not scrubs by any means, and being away from Stillwater for this game is sure to bring out the maroon and gold bleeding citizens of Michigan to fill up all 32,000 seats in Kelly/Shorts Stadium. This crowd will be fired up, very loud, and very rowdy. Rowdier than Boone Pickens? Nah. Besides the crowd, though, what do the Chippewas bring to the table?
  Central Michigan's starting quarterback, Cooper Rush, has had 2 nice seasons under his belt, and passed for over 2,500 yards and 20 TDs in his last 12 games. The good news for the Cowboys, though, is that he also threw 12 interception, so I'm sure OSU defensive coordinator, Glenn Spencer, has emphasized forcing Rush to make some mistakes like he has shown to be prone to do in the past. Other than that, we know Rush is not the type of QB to take off running. He has negative 77 yards on the ground, and that is mainly due to being sacked. With the big and highly touted defensive line at Spencer's disposal, players like defensive end, Emmanuel Ogbah, are sure to take down Mr. Rush a couple times tonight. So the Chippewas QB situation only beats OSU's on experience, and I'm sure most OSU fans could care less because of what they have seen out of Mason Rudolph so far. So what about the running game of Central Michigan? Do they have a back that can take some pressure off Cooper Rush? They answer is, maybe.

Oklahoma State exits the tunnel before kickoff in 2014. The Pokes will not be in
Stillwater for their opener for the second year in a row.

  Chippewas running back, Thomas Rawls, averaged 122 yards per game last year, and has been a decent running back for Central Michigan. He transferred from the University of Michigan and played his first season, and the most games in his career, wearing maroon and gold, last year. He played a total of 9 games and rushed for over 1,100 yards. When he was a Wolverine the last 3 seasons before that, he only played a total of 12 games and managed only to rush for about 400 yards. I'm guessing he was a little low on the Michigan depth chart and wanted more playing time, so he decided to go play for the Chippewas. The massive drop-off in overall talent from playing against Big 10 opponents to playing MAC opponents helped his stats, I'm sure, but that also means that OSU may have their way when it comes to containing Rawls. So if Central Michigan can't get their offense going against Oklahoma State, then it will have to rely on their defense to try and keep them in this football game tonight. Unfortunately for Chippewa fans, that doesn't look like a recipe for a win.
  Central Michigan defensive coordinator, Greg Colby, coached on the Illinois sideline last year, and is hoping to turn this Chippewa defense into a more formidable force. CMU ranked close to last in the FBS against the pass last year, and their run defense was even worse. So when Vegas tells everyone that OSU is a 24-point favorite, I can't dismiss that. The numbers seem to lean that way on paper, but tell that to Michigan in 2007 and tell that to Kansas State in 2013. Appalachian State beat Michigan on their own turf, and North Dakota State showed us how weak the Big 12 was when they beat KSU in Manhattan. Oh, and let's not forget OU and their loss against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl in 2007, as well. The bottom line is that college football is a crazy game where anything is possible, and Oklahoma State fans are hoping the only thing that will be crazy tonight, is their huge lead that will be showing on the scoreboard. So with all these things being said, where should you, as an OSU fan, expect to see your Pokes when the dust settles on this 2015-16 season?
  With the new College Football  Playoff system in effect for the second year, 4 lucky teams will get the chance to duke it out for all the marbles and that creates controversy. More controversy, the better, for college football, but when is enough, enough? Brad Edwards, an ESPN college football analyst from Mississippi, gave out his 4 playoff teams on national television a couple days ago and had these 4 teams making it to the college football "Final Four": Ohio State (defending champion), Auburn (from SEC), USC (only second year off probation), and...Oklahoma State. No TCU, no Baylor, and not even the mention of the University of Oklahoma. But should OSU fans really be thinking this is the year they win the Big 12, go to the CFP (college football playoff), and compete for a national title?! I think not. OSU has the talent to go 11-1 this year, but that's looking at it in a very "glass half full" way. More realistically, Jim Traber, of WWLS The Sports Animal, a local sports radio station in Oklahoma, sees the Pokes going 9-3 and heading to a higher-end bowl game. So let's throw both those predictions out and say that I can't choose either of them as my prediction. I can see the Pokes going 8-4, but going 10-2 would give Mike Gundy his fourth double-digit win total in the last 6 years. Personally, I think that we will see Mason Rudolph blossom, the defense improve against the passing game, and that Oklahoma State will go 10-2. TCU and Baylor look to be the "bad guys" for the Pokes, but Texas may sneak in there if the Cowboys don't play well when they face them, and I know OSU fans never forget Bedlam. With a new QB under center for the Sooners, that last conference game in Stillwater could be one that OSU fans will want to forget. Just something to think about, as college football parades into our lives, once again, for the 2015-2016 season. OSU will kick off theirs at 6:00 PM CT tonight.

UnBEARable Loss: Sooners Get Mauled by Baylor

  11 AM kickoffs in Norman have become a trend this season for Sooner fans, and on Saturday, Gaylord Memorial Stadium was completely filled with crimson and creme maniacs that had the impression OU was going to get revenge for last year's 42-14 blowout loss in Waco, even with OU's top wide receiver, Sterling Shepard, out for the game after re-tweaking his groin in warm-ups. Boy, were they ever wrong about that! In the first quarter, it was all Oklahoma, and with a 14-3 lead over the Bears, everyone thought that it was the beginning to huge OU win. Just like all good things, though, it came to an end, and the sleeping bear was prodded with a stick one too many times, and awoke from hibernation. Baylor proceeded to rack up 45 unanswered points over the next 3 quarters, and with a little over half of the fourth quarter remaining, the Sooners starting quarterback, Trevor Knight, went down with an apparent left shoulder or neck injury. The Bears ended up routing the Sooners, 48-14. Not only did Baylor destroy OU's chances of getting to the football final four, but they may have destroyed the Sooner's opportunity for a Big 12 title.

Running back, Shock Linwood, (#32) and offensive tackle,
Spencer Drango, (#58) of the Baylor Bears
celebrate a touchdown against the Oklahoma 

  Amongst the mass chaos that took over Norman that afternoon, the stats were not necessary to convey the dominance Baylor displayed. Mike Stoops, the defensive coordinator, was furious when his cornerbacks were giving the Baylor wide receivers an 8-yard cushion on every play to start the third quarter, and when he screamed for them to scoot up, they didn't. Not because they couldn't hear him, but because they knew that if they did, getting beat deep was inevitable. That's when the realization that this team was not championship caliber came to light for many in the Sooner nation. As crazy as it is to see OU sitting in sixth place in the Big 12 behind Baylor, TCU, Kansas State, West Virginia, and even Texas, the Sooners are still in a relatively decent position. Am I crazy?
  The answer to that question is yes, but that has nothing to do with Oklahoma football. When it comes to the question, "Is OU still in a spot where winning the Big 12 is a possibility?" The immediate response, without thinking, is no, because how could 5 teams in front of OU choke like a bunch of losers? Well, let me paint you a very hypothetical picture then. Baylor will have to lose all the rest of their games, (OSU, Texas Tech, and Kansas State) which isn't the craziest thing that could happen, TCU would have to lose to Texas and Iowa State, which is unlikely because Iowa State has yet to win a Big 12 game, but that could be the reason they sneak up on the Frogs. As for Kansas State, they would have to lose to West Virginia and Kansas. Again, most likely, the Wildcats should beat Kansas, but the Jayhawks are coming off of their first Big 12 win this season over Iowa State, so maybe the momentum could carry them. To wrap it up, West Virginia would have to lose to Iowa State, and Texas would have to fall to OSU, and then both teams would have to win the remainder of their games. Still, OU would be tied with TCU and Kansas State for first place, and the Sooners did lose to both of those teams, so putting them ahead of the Frogs or Wildcats is very bold, but if the losses to bad teams (Kansas, Iowa State, and Texas) outweigh OU's losses (TCU, Baylor, Kansas State) then why not have them at the top spot? Plus, if these teams fold like they need to for OU to miraculously win the Big 12, then OU should be ranked higher in the nation's Top 25 poll than both K-State and TCU.
  Okay, so the liklihood of OU winning the Big 12 is the same odds you have of getting hit by a bus in your own living room, but it the bottom line is that it is still a very, very, very slight possibility. Other than that, what exactly do the Sooner have left to play for? The only answer to that question is that they are playing for a very prestigious bowl game against another team that will be left on the outside, looking in, when it comes to this year's college football playoff. Sure, it's a long ways down from being a top 4 team in the nation and being labeled as having "the best defense in the country" by week 3 of this season by ESPN analyst, Kirk Herbstreit, but at least 9-3 is a respectable record.  Still, OU has to travel to Lubbock this week, and no team coming off such a huge defeat ever wants to set foot in that environment, so we'll see how the Sooners can respond. In the Baylor game, body language was very negative when the Bears started their 45-0 run in the second quarter, so the moral of this team needs to be very high, heading into Saturday, because we all know the crazy things that have happened in Lubbock for the Sooners in the past. Until then, it's just another thing to think about as OU prepares for the Texas Tech Red Raiders at 2:30 CT on ESPN.

Got To Get Back Up

   A re-run. A good, old-fashioned, beat down. Déjà vu. The Oklahoma City Thunder lost Game 5 of their series against the San Antonio Spurs with a score of 89-117. Kevin Durant scored 25 points and Russell Westbrook added his 21 points to combine for well over half of the team’s points. Reggie Jackson was the only other Thunder player to score double digits, and the next highest scorer for OKC was only able to muster up 6 points. The defense of San Antonio was not the cause of the huge loss as much as the fact they shot 51% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. OKC shot 25% from 3-point range and only shot 43%. On most nights, a team shooting an overall percentage in the low 40s would’ve been good enough to win, but when teams, like the Spurs, make 13 shots from distance, you’re odds of winning decrease exponentially.

  Most media members and Thunder faithful believed this series would come down to a Game 7 in San Antonio, so OKC should win Game 6 at home on Saturday, right? Well, according to the numbers, the Thunder can win Game 6 all they want, but in Game 7 (if there is one) they only have about a 15% chance of coming out with a victory. Teams have overcome these numbers that have been accumulated over the history of time before, but the way Oklahoma City just let San Antonio players into the lane and wide open for easy 3-point shot opportunities made this Game 5 feel just like Games 1 and 2. Bringing that to light, does that mean Serge Ibaka’s return was all for not? Was his Willis Reed-esque return something people will look at down the road and just say, “Well, the Oklahoma City front office just lied about him being so severely hurt. Didn’t matter in the end though,” or will they recall of a time where one player helped a team maximize its potential in the playoffs and got the job done? With all the speculation surrounding the Thunder organization and the way they handled Ibaka’s injury, it’s becoming more of a story than the actual games being played in these Western Conference finals. The reason this happening is because no game in this series has been competitive all the way down the stretch, and with Ibaka in or out, the Thunder got thumped, again, in the AT&T Center.

   In conclusion, no person will completely count OKC out when it comes to winning this series, but they will have to do something they haven’t been able to do for 3 times already, and that’s win in San Antonio. Either that, or they’ll have to lose to the Spurs at home for the first time in 9 games in Chesapeake Arena, but the more likely of these scenarios is the first one.  Just something to think about as the Thunder prepare to tie up the series, once again, and force a Game 7 back in San Antonio for a chance to advance to the NBA Finals.

Even Steven

  Rabid. Unstoppable. A blur. All of these can be used to describe Russell Westbrook's 40-point performance that helped lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 105-92 victory over the San Antonio Spurs that also tied the series at 2 games apiece. Alongside Russell, was a very productive Kevin Durant, who rang up 31 points of his own, and a rather healthy-looking, Serge Ibaka, who added 9 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. On the offensive side of the ball, Nick Collison was the only player that didn't score while he was on the floor, and defensively, OKC allowed 0 fast break points to the Spurs. All together, a very complete game was played by the Thunder, and the energy level within the Chesapeake Energy Arena was second to none.
  San Antonio came out to take an early 8-0 lead in the first quarter, and the fans within the arena were getting very anxious as they were probably thinking go the 122-105 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers that occurred in that very same arena in Game 1 of the previous round. But before anyone was rushing for the big, red, panic button, OKC got on a roll, and went on a 19-10 run that gave them the lead with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter. From there, the Thunder never lost the lead and extended it to as much as 25 points in the third quarter before Spurs coach, Greg Popovich, pulled his starters and waived the white flag.
  Overall, the Thunder wanted this game more. They needed it more and it showed in a big way. Protecting your home court is so important in the playoffs, and when you dominate the team you're playing by as much as Oklahoma City did in Games 3 and 4, you get the sense that maybe having Ibaka in the middle, once again, is the secret to bringing this so-called, "best fundamental team in basketball" to its knees. San Antonio's leading scorer was not even a starter! Boris Diaw ended the night with 14 points and no other Spurs player cam even close to that (in relative terms)! Hall-of-Famer-To-Be, Tim Duncan, didn't even score in double-digits! Duncan finished his night with 9 points, and his partners in crime, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, combined for only 19 points. If that doesn't tell you enough about how aggressive and effective the Thunder's defense was, then what will? The big question is, can OKC keep it up?
  The answer to that question is an affirmative: YES. With Ibaka in the game, Oklahoma City is 40 points better and allowing about 23 points fewer then they were in Games 1 and 2. If the trend continues, we could be seeing a repeat of the Western Conference finals of 2012 when the Thunder ripped off 4 straight wins agains the Spurs after being demolished in the first 2. If it happens, bet that Spurs fans will be asking for answers just like their players are searching for one when it comes to the outstanding guard play of OKC that is tearing them to shreds. When you have Russell scoring 40 and his other guard counterparts adding on another 13 points, you just might have a problem guarding…well…the guards! But it wasn't just the scoring of Russell Westbrook that is bothering San Antonio, because Russell also dished out 10 assists to go alongside 5 rebounds and 5 steals. The last point guard to have those type of numbers in a playoff game was Allen Iverson in 2003, and that is a huge compliment to be next to one of the greatest point guards in the history of the NBA.
  So with Game 5 back in San Antonio, the biggest question of the day for people is this: Will any of these games be close? As of right now, the team that comes up on top is averaging a winning margin of about 19 points, and a road team still hasn't come away with a victory so far in this series. With those facts being paired together, most people would speculate that the series will end up going 7 games, and that the Spurs will win the series in San Antonio in that Game 7. Of course, Thunder fans wouldn't mind being 2012-esque and ending the series in Game 6, but that would require winning on the road in the AT&T Center in Game 5. Until Thursday at 9ET on TNT, the jury is still out on whether or not Oklahoma City can keep up this momentum after people were saying the same thing about San Antonio after the first 2 games of this series. Neither team has been able to capitalize on the momentum stemming from their home games, but if any team was going to carry it with them, and it be effective, is OKC. Just something to think about as the Thunder and Spurs prepare to square off, once again, in Game 5.