The Oklahoma Postmortem

Another Oklahoma game, another lopsided outcome. The Sooners dominated in every facet of the game, and beat ISU by a score of 52-16.

Take one quick glance at the stats from this one folks, and it’s evident Oklahoma steam-rolled through an ISU defense like a knife through butter. The Sooners averaged 7.2 yards per carry, and 16.2 yards per completion. That is as efficient as, well, every team against Kansas.

While the defense struggled to stop Baker Mayfield and company, the offense was just as stagnant. Seeing Joel Lanning throw for 51 times is not a good sign. He is not a drop-back passer that is going to beat you solely with his arm, rather Lanning excels in a run-first offense, and that run game that he desperately needed didn’t show up to play on Saturday.

Save for a few dropped balls, this offense showed signs of life in the passing game. Allen Lazard did Allen Lazard things, making a few jump-ball catches seem normal, and demonstrating that he belongs with the big boys in the Big 12.

All in all it was a typical game against Bob Stoops and the Crimson and Cream. OU had bigger, stronger and faster players on the field. This will not take away anything from the Cyclones season, as they still have winnable games left on the schedule.

What Went Well

Offense – Very little in this category. It was evident ISU tried to establish the run game, and it got gobbled up like the bottle of fireball that we passed around on Saturday evening. The offense moved the ball when Lanning was able to tuck it and run, especially in the first drive of the game. The sophomore QB ran the ball 11 times, albeit for only 37 yards. Take away the sacks, and he was the team leader in rushing yards.

Lazard led all receivers with 101 yards on 8 catches. This guy needs to get the ball more, as he is a freak athlete who can outjump anyone covering him, especially in the red zone where ISU struggled to put touchdowns on the board.

Defense – The second quarter was good, as OU was held to 54 yards of total offense and zero points. The other three quarters – well, we don’t need to talk about that. This is the good part of the story.

In light of No-Shave November, Levi Peters and his No-Shave-for-Three-Years Beard forced a fumble, had a sack, and also picked up seven tackles on the day. Dale "Sack Mamba" Pierson got back in the sack column as well, corralling Baker Mayfield in the first half.

Freshman Brian Peavy led the way with nine tackles, and Qujuan Floyd was busy catching running backs in the secondary with eight stops.

Special Teams – Hide your kids, hide your wife, Cole Netten is back! The Ankeny native went 3-for-3 on Saturday, even making a career-long 51-yarder. We didn’t see much out of the return game, and the punt return defense held OU returners in check yet again.

What Went Wrong

Offense – This offense only works if the run game is on. Against OU’s stellar front seven there was little to room to run, as Mike Warren averaged 2.4 yards per carry. After putting up 225+ yards on the ground in their last six games, the offensive line pushed their way to a measly 114 against Oklahoma.

A lot of Lanning’s passes were uncatchable, as he had pressure in his face, wasn’t able to step into throws, and short-armed a few. Also there were a ton of dropped passes, including a beautiful corner-route pass to Dondre Daley that should have been a TD.

After ISU’s first 10-play drive ended in three points, their next 10 included five three-and-outs, two turnovers and two more field goals. Quick point on the field goals – in order for ISU to stay with the OU’s of the world, they have to convert opportunities into 7 and not 3.

Defense – Oklahoma had their way in the second half, scoring on every drive, other than one, including four straight touchdown drives. And oh yeah, the only time they didn’t score, was at ISU’s five-yard line when they kneeled to run out the clock.

I saw too many missed tackles, as well as bad angles taken by defenders, as the Sooners were just faster to the edge and cut the corner quicker. Needless to say, Oklahoma did whatever they wanted to – on the ground and through the air in this one.

Special Teams – Punter Collin Downing had a below-average day, only netting 36 yards per kick. ISU was dominated in the field position game, and partly due to our lack of stretching out punts.

Offensive Grade – D-Plus

Defense Grade – D

Special Teams – B-Minus

The Cyclones welcome an undefeated Oklahoma State team to town on Saturday, and we all remember what went down the last time that happened….