Blogpoll Roundtable 3.2

Even though I'm not a part of the poll (you have to be around for 6 months before you can join), I thought I'd give my hand at filling out the Roundtable discussion as originally posted at Burnt Orange Nation. It seemed like a fitting thing to do since I have no idea what other columns I'm going to end up putting on this blog. That said, here we go: 1. Handicap your team's chances to win your conference championship. If your team is not the favorite, who is? To echo the blog that originally posted these questions, it all hinges on the game in Dallas. Historically, if we win the Red River Shootout (I refuse to use the PC name that the phone company cooked up) we end up winning the division. To be exact, since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, we've won the Shootout six times and represented the South four of those years. Of the other five years, we've gone once. Since OU has won four out of five times we've gone to the game, we're looking pretty good to bring home the title...assuming we can beat the boys in orange and white. The actual percentages, however, tell a different tale giving OU only a 53.6% chance of bringing home the bacon. Of course, I really didn't enjoy statistics in college. 2. Outline the (realistic) best case and worst case scenarios for your team. Best case: From the performance of the team so far against (apparently) sub-par competition, I would say we have a fair shot at an undefeated season. Our schedule is extremely friendly with only four (yes, four) road games. The first is at Tulsa this Friday, so I'll have a better idea of our chances on Saturday. Of the remaining three, two are against the North division (ISU and CU, so probable wins) and the last is against Texas Tech. I'd call the TT game a probable win too, but we all remember what happened the last time we traveled to Lubbock. So, looking at what is actually on our schedule and considering the competition, I'd say 11-1 with a berth in the Fiesta or Rose Bowl. I fully reserve the right to change this to a national championship prediction if we beat Texas by three or more touchdowns. Worst case: We lose to Texas in Dallas, Tech in Lubbock, and Missou surprises us (and the world) at home. It's possible to go 9-3 in which case we'd miss the conference championship game and probably play Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl (again). 3. We're only three games in to the season, but teams and storylines are starting to take shape. Compare your team to a character or theme from a fable or children's tale. I guess it's not a fable, but Oklahoma could be compared to Alexander the Great and his conquest of Persia. We're an unstoppable horde that looks hell-bent on destroying everything in our path, even if it means delaying for seven months just to make sure we don't leave an enemy at our backs. The only thing with a chance of bringing us down at this point is either a revolt by the troops (O-line) or some mysterious disease that suddenly wipes out our leader (Bradford). 4. Imagine you're the coach of your team. Give three specific changes you'd implement immediately which you think would have the biggest impact on improving the team. Put a redshirt on Nichol – We're not going to need him this season as both Halzle and McEachern are decent replacements. If you keep leading him on with the promise of maybe starting a game this season, you could end up with a situation like Notre Dame finds themselves in. Also, recent evidence shows that having a young QB run the scout team for a year really improves their performance when it comes to games (White, Thompson, and Bradford to name three). Involve the tight ends and fullbacks in the passing game – This is less of a change from early this season and more of from last season. So far, the coaching staff has used Gresham and Finley very well, they even tossed a touchdown to Zaslaw against Miami. I have always felt that involving your backs in the passing game slows down the linebackers and defensive ends. The concept (at least with fullbacks) is similar to a screen: if you get four yards on a completion to the FB because the 'backer let him go to try and get a sack, the opposing defense can't be as aggressive. This in turn gives your receivers more time to break off the DBs and get down-field for the long bomb. Which in turn opens up the running game, forcing the linebackers to get more aggressive...you see where I'm going, I bet. Offer Venables the equivalent of a head coach's salary – Obviously, you can't pay him as much as Bob gets, but maybe as much as Mike? Seriously, this man has been the heart and soul of the Oklahoma defense for nine years. If we lose him to an HC job somewhere, will we still have a kick-ass defense? Yes. If we keep him could we win four national championships in a row? Yes. I am not trying to pull anyone's leg here. If we keep Bradford for three years, get Nichol experience on the scout team and keep Venables in charge of the defense, we could contend for at least a share of the next four titles. To do this, we'll have to keep him from being snapped up in the post-season feeding frenzy that is college coaching changes. To do that we'll probably need to be ready to beat any offer from any other program (including Oklahoma State, Georgia, and possibly Michigan). If it means you have to put off expanding the stadium for a few more years, fine, just keep Venables on the sidelines. 5. USC, LSU/Florida, and Oklahoma have established themselves as the frontrunners in the early going. Which other team or teams are you eyeballing as potential BCS party crashers? If Texas wins in Dallas, they have a legitimate shot at forcing all kinds of wacky stuff to happen. Florida also has a valid chance to beat LSU (that same day, by the way) and USC could still lose to three or four teams in conference play. Expect someone from the Big East to make a go again (after all, they have to send someone); Rutgers or West Virginia probably, but don't rule out South Florida. Boston College out of the ACC looks strong too. Surprisingly, I can't think of a team in the Big 10 that I think will actually challenge for the national championship game this year. Penn State will probably win the conference and make it to the Rose Bowl, but I just don't see them being strong enough to pick up the votes needed to make a fuss over. That's the curse of being a program that people expect to do reasonably well: when you do but don't win every week, no one really notices.