25 Disappointed Questions

What is their body of work?

Disappointing.  On one hand, OU football has never in its history enjoyed a sustained period of success like they are now.  On the other hand, they have still never won the MAC Championship Game and won't this year, despite having coaching stability and quality any program would die for.  This year, they were picked to win the East and the conference title, and they will not.  In fact, they need to beat BG and AK just to have a shot at a bowl game.  Which they probably will...but still, this is another disappointing what-if season in Athens.

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

They have 25, which is typical.

Who are their statistical leaders? (Top 20 Nationally)

None.  No one.

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are -8, all games, which explains everything, or a lot.

Offense:

How is their QB play? (MAC Only, from here on)

See, this was part of the thing.  Nathan Rourke was the most efficient passer in the MAC last year and the #17 rusher.  He was the best returning QB and that makes you a favorite.  This year, he just hasn't been the same.  He's still good, but not the same.  In 18, he completed 66% of his passes with a 13/4 ratio and 15 yards per completion, while this year it's 62% on 7/2 and 13.3 per completion...noting that there are still two games left.  He is also their leading rusher--5.7 a carry and a shot at a 1,000 yard season.

What is their scoring and yards per play

They are 5th in the MAC in scoring and 2nd in yards per play.

Can they run the ball?

They are 4th in yards per rush.  OU is typically a run-first team.  They lost Oulette, but they have Allison and Tuggle averaging 5 yards per carry.

Do they pass the ball?

As noted, they are in the middle of the pack in passing offense.  Isaiah Cox is their leading WR.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run a lot, 63%.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

They do.  They lead the MAC at 54%

Do they score in the red zone?

They average 5.6 points per trip, which is very good (all games)

Do they protect the quarterback?

They give up sacks on 8.7% of their passing attempts...that's a lot.

Defense:

The defense is not what OU typically has had.  I know some people are wondering if that's because their DC (Burrow) retired to watch his son win the Heisman Trophy.  No idea if that's the case or not.  OU has incredibly stable coaching, I do know that.

Topline: Scoring and yards per play

They are 8th in points per game allowed and 9th in yards per play allowed.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are 6th at 4.8 per carry.

Can they be passed on?

They can.  They are 10th in pass efficiency defense.  They allow 64% completions and have only 1 INT on the year.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They are 11th at 48%

Do they defend in the red zone? (all games)

They allow 5 points per trip, which is pretty normal.

Do they pressure the QB?

Not really, they get sacks on 5.6% of their plays.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are 9nd in net punting. 

Punt Return?

Nothing too special, they have a long return of 19

Placekicking? (all games)

Zervos has kicked here forever.  He's perfect inside 40 and is 4 of 8 outside 40.  Long of 49.

Kickoff? 

Opponents start on the 25.

Kickoff Return? (all games)

They start on the 24.

Miscellaneous: Overall atmospherics and intangibles.

On paper, this should be a game OU expects to win.  The question is how motivated are they to gut out a 6-6 season and get to a bowl game, maybe.  The other question is how motivated they have to be against an undermanned and beat up Falcon team. OU doesn't have a great defense but I don't know if BG has the firepower to take advantage.  I believe BG will play hard and if OU shows up not interested in playing, we would have a shot.