Some random thoughts as I watched the first 3 quarters again:
1. I get the JT haters. He misses open receivers often. The deep ball in the 2nd quarter to McLaurin was a bit behind. The ball Mack caught in the 3rd was too high (Mack just made an amazing play). And he had KJ Hill wide open in the back of the end zone and overthrew him. It's not good because,
2. Our receivers still don't get open. Many times there are 1-2 defenders bracketing our guys so JT doesn't have much of a choice. He could try and force some throws into tight windows but he's not Baker Mayfield. If JT's accuracy is a problem, then you don't want him trying to fit the ball into the size of a microwave. But my biggest problem is with,
3. The offensive coaches. When we ran the tailback (either Dobbins or Weber) between the tackles we had success. Why go away from that when they are not stopping it? Because Kevin Wilson told Kirk Herbstreit that "we need JT to run because it opens up so much more." Well, when we get inside the 15 the defense knows JT is going to keep it and they key on him. After Mack's catch (10-10), instead of Dobbins or Weber, it's JT run x 2 for nothing and then a missed throw. And once OU took a 17-13 lead (clearly not insurmountable), Dobbins and Weber each had one carry after that. 2 runs out of the last 26 plays. So if they know we cannot throw and JT will keep it, how hard is it to stop us?
4. Speaking of coaches, how many times do they need reminded that LT Isaiah Prince needs help in pass protection? I get that he worked hard in the off season but it's clearly not good enough. We need a TE right with him to help out. We don't do that and I don't know why.
5. Our DBs get a lot of the blame, but our LBs are lousy in pass coverage. They were biting on run fakes all night allowing TEs and RBs to get behind them. Which leads me to another gripe,
6. Our defensive coaching adjustments for the 2nd half. They are usually very good. Saturday, they were non-existent.
All that being said, we only fell to No. 8. If OU keeps winning, and they should, the loss will look better and better. We are already 1-0 in conference. We get Army, UNLV, and Rutgers next. Should be 3 fairly lopsided wins. Maryland and at Nebraska will be tougher but hopefully we will have some things ironed out and prevail. Then PSU in the Shoe.
We should not change JT out for Haskins. First of all, we could put Phil Mariola at QB v. Army and UNLV and he would look great. But if he'd played v. the Sooners, the result would have been no different. He would barely get through his first read before Prince would have blown a block. Second, JT is not that bad. He's regressed but he's still very, very good. Third, if the coaches would (a) run the tailback and (b) help Prince block, then JT will look better and the criticism will lessen. JT is not Todd Boeckmann or Joe Bauserman. He is not Stanley Jackson. And remember just 2 years ago we were begging Meyer to bench Cardale so that JT could play full-time.
Ok, enough. Looking forward from here on out. FYI - Matthew and I will be at the UNLV game in 2 weeks. Hope it's a nice day.
Oh, and thoughts to Don Powell (Orlando) and Jim Altiere (Jacksonville) in our group. Hope Irma was kind to you.
Please keep me in your thoughts as Raleigh is going to experience clouds and winds up to 15 mph. I'm not evacuating. I'm going to stay here and protect my mulch and hope leaves don't blow in my yard. I went out and got extra bottled water so I'm good.
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