The Sooners faced their first top 25 opponent Saturday, and Oklahoma was exposed.\u00a0 Baylor dominated the Sooners in every aspect of the game and beat The Sooners 27-14 in Waco. \u00a0Despite having two weeks to prepare for Baylor, the Sooners looked uninspired and ill-prepared. Clearly, Oklahoma has an abundance of talent however, they all seem to be lacking in passion or heart.\u00a0 On many occasions, Oklahoma appears to be just going through the motions.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, head coach Lincoln Riley<\/strong> had his worst game at Oklahoma calling plays. \u00a0Why would he totally give up on the running game and focus solely on the deep ball? After taking a 7-0 lead, the Sooners were not competitive in this game.\u00a0 As for all those who were complaining about the College Football Playoff Committee, it appears that they may actually have had it right.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time for some of the Sooner fans to take off the crimson-colored glasses and recognize what this team really is…Oklahoma is an overrated, and overhyped college football team.<\/p>\n To point out the obvious, the Sooners were undisciplined and uninspired on the offensive side of the ball.\u00a0Notably, true freshman Caleb Williams<\/a> had by far his worst game since he entered the Texas game.\u00a0 Although this may be true, all the blame shouldn\u2019t be placed at his feet.\u00a0 After all, Williams is a freshman and freshmen make mistakes.\u00a0 As Williams didn\u2019t have much help on offense. Coupled with the fact that the offensive line has not continued its trend of improvement from week to week.<\/p>\n In addition, the wide receiver group had their poorest outing of the year.\u00a0 The receiving corp had a difficult time getting separation from their defenders and had way too many drops. Comparatively, the running group in particular Kennedy Brooks<\/a> didn\u2019t fair much better.\u00a0 With respect to Brooks, Riley gave up on the ground much too early.<\/p>\n On the other side, Baylor moved the ball at will against the Sooner defense.\u00a0 If not for a fourth-down stop inside the Oklahoma five and a Bears missed field goal, the Sooners would have had a bigger hole to dig out of in the first half.\u00a0 Baylor was prepared and dominated the rushing game.\u00a0 The Bears outrushed the Sooners 296 to 78.\u00a0 The Sooners showed a lack of discipline with nine penalties and two turnovers.<\/p>\n Once again, the Sooner defense turned in a lack luster performance.\u00a0 What was once a strength of this team has turned out to be a detriment to the team.\u00a0 This defense is fundamentally unsound and is an extremely poor tackling team.\u00a0 Time after time the defense has an opponent with third and extremely long and still can\u2019t get off the field.\u00a0 The Sooner defense rarely plays with any passion or extra effort.<\/p>\n On top of that, the secondary constantly has receivers running uncovered and wide open.\u00a0 This secondary, like the remainder of the defense is just soft and very passive.\u00a0 Possibly it\u2019s simply a case that they have given up on the system or they just have too many outside distractions. Clearly, this<\/em> defense was way overhyped coming into the season, honestly, they are just not very good.<\/p>\n Rarely does Oklahoma\u2019s kicking game get outperformed.\u00a0 Gabe Brkic<\/a> had by far his worst game as a Sooner.\u00a0 Brkic missed two very makeable field goals and a kickoff sailed out of bounds. As far as the punting department, Michael Turk<\/a> was impressive as usual. Turk averaged 55.3 yards a kick on four attempts.<\/p>\n Without question, Oklahoma was outcoached by Baylor coach Dave Aranda<\/strong> and his staff. Baylor came into this game mentally and physically ready to play.\u00a0 In contrast, the Sooners were still on their bye week.\u00a0 Was Riley\u2019s absence mid-week a factor in the team\u2019s lack of focus and poor performance?\u00a0 Perhaps, that\u2019s hard to determine unless you are on the inside of the Oklahoma locker room.<\/p>\n Moreover, on the defensive side of the ball, “Speed D” just hasn\u2019t worked.\u00a0 Every week defensive coordinator Alex Grinch\u00a0<\/strong>says that he needs to coach better.\u00a0 The question begs, when will that start?\u00a0 With this being said, no one should be in danger of losing their job.\u00a0 Although major changes need to be made, possibly those changes need to be schematic or personnel.<\/p>\n In conclusion, obviously, this season’s team has been a major disappointment.\u00a0 The Sooners have struggled virtually every week with inferior opponents.\u00a0 Notably, the first top 15 opponent Oklahoma faces those close calls caught up with them.\u00a0 Any given Saturday a team can have a bad day and Oklahoma had their worst day against Baylor.<\/p>\n As could clearly be seen, the final score definitely did not begin to show how completely the Sooners were dominated. This was the most winnable game left on their schedule.\u00a0 The Sooners must step up the passion and play so as to not end the season with three consecutive losses.<\/p>\n In fact, this team hasn\u2019t put four quarters together all season.\u00a0 This is usually the time of year that Riley coached teams kick it into high gear.\u00a0 That just isn\u2019t the case this year.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s just time for fans of the crimson and cream to just say \u201cwait until next year\u201d. This Oklahoma team has a lot of\u00a0 ‘quit’ in them!<\/p>\nOffense<\/h3>\n
Defense<\/h3>\n
Special Teams<\/h3>\n
Coaching<\/h3>\n
The Final Word<\/h3>\n