OU has an average team at best this year. WV shot themselves in the foot too many times to count. The Sooners are no longer an elite team or program for that matter. Elite being defined as competing and Winning national championships not withstanding Ala 3 out of 4 year run. The Sooners seem unable to recruit the elite athletes they once could. Much of that I attribute to the weak and I mean weak Big 12. The loss of Neb, and TX AM hurt a lot and OU and Texas being down just makes the conference not very appealing. I am an OU grad and my interest in the Sooners has fallen significantly because well they are average at best and the conference is not a compelling one with teams in it.

They should give Bell a shot. He fits the strengths of the offense better. Any advantage Knight gives the offense is immaterial because of the inexperienced, mediocre-at-best play of the receiving corps. The only real question is can Heupel play call for a power running team. Unfortunately, I suspect that's outside of his wheelhouse.

OU has an average team at best this year. WV shot themselves in the foot too many times to count. The Sooners are no longer an elite team or program for that matter. Elite being defined as competing and Winning national championships not withstanding Ala 3 out of 4 year run. The Sooners seem unable to recruit the elite athletes they once could. Much of that I attribute to the weak and I mean weak Big 12. The loss of Neb, and TX AM hurt a lot and OU and Texas being down just makes the conference not very appealing. I am an OU grad and my interest in the Sooners has fallen significantly because well they are average at best and the conference is not a compelling one with teams in it.

Stoops has lost his drive and it is showing. He is comfortable with his new house and fat contract. Must be nice to not worry about your job and live off a National Championship 12 years ago.

I think it's safe to say the program is off (and been off for a few) the elite shelf and down on the good shelf...As long as we don't get back to the 90's shelf I won't bitch much

Trevor Knight is at McBride Orthopedic Hospital here in OKC. His mother tweeted a prayer that his knee be ok. That explains why OU players were talking after the game about him getting "banged up." It was obviously worse than it looked. No matter the QB situation, we have to wish the best for Trevor Knight.

Knights knee

Oklahoma Sooners QB Trevor Knight has MRI on knee, source says - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9650878/oklahoma-sooners-qb-trevor-knight-mri-knee-source-says)

Knight is out against Tulsa, so its back to Bell...

Knight is out against Tulsa, so its back to Bell...

Bell was going to start either way

Knight is out against Tulsa, so its back to Bell...

Source on that or just speculating? I googled around a bit and couldn't find anything.

After seeing several college programs use the 2 QB approach under the guise of - they are both good, I have decided to come up with my own translation. For now on when a coach says they are going with 2 QBs it is because no one at the position is 'starter' worthy.

Source on that or just speculating? I googled around a bit and couldn't find anything.

reported by soonerscoop.com

reported by soonerscoop.com

Yup. Was reported on Ch 9 news this morning - strained ligaments in knee. Absolutely out for Tulsa, and Bell will start/play.

From my vantage point, I never saw him limping - was in the west upper deck - but someone who was near the field in the endzone said he was favoring a leg after one of the big hits.

Purely my own speculation here, but I thoroughly believe this brings Kendall Thompson squarely back into the mix. Hearing rumblings he's healthier/farther along in healing/rehab than might be generally perceived. If he truly is back to full health, and that's naturally a big "if," I'd not be surprised at all to see him take some snaps vs Tulsa.

Yup. Was reported on Ch 9 news this morning - strained ligaments in knee. Absolutely out for Tulsa, and Bell will start/play.

From my vantage point, I never saw him limping - was in the west upper deck - but someone who was near the field in the endzone said he was favoring a leg after one of the big hits.

Purely my own speculation here, but I thoroughly believe this brings Kendall Thompson squarely back into the mix. Hearing rumblings he's healthier/farther along in healing/rehab than might be generally perceived. If he truly is back to full health, and that's naturally a big "if," I'd not be surprised at all to see him take some snaps vs Tulsa.

stoops said it on his conf call this morning ..and he said KT is back at practice as the back up today

Traber now says “OU is terrible at QB”

Traber now says “OU is terrible at QB”

I don't think we are terrible, it is just a different kind of offense than we are used to. TK is not going to throw for an average of 314 yards a game like Landry did over his career, but he could run for 1,000/season and our running game could average 250-300 yards/game which again is something we are not used to. Our defense is better this year, despite being younger and I think the LB's and secondary will help carry this team. I was concerned that we couldn't get any pressure on the WVU QB even when we were blitzing.

OU has been terrible throwing the ball through two games

OU has been terrible throwing the ball through two gamesTrue. And even if you want to be more of a running offense you have to be able to throw. Good defenses will eat a one dimensional offense alive.

The mystery issue I think may start to emerge over the next few weeks is that of Kendall Thompson. If Blake Bell lost the starting job to Knight, and that competition in the fall was waged without Thompson due to injury, it makes me wonder whether he might not have made a serious run at the job had he been healthy.

If we realize this offense bears little resemblance to its predecessor of the last five years, and we know this revised system (ideally) offers lots of zone-read/corner option, that has to scream Kendall Thompson as a legitimate candidate to run it. And while I realize the game situation dictated that OU run the ball to melt clock with WVa out of timeouts, I don't think it was entirely accidental they ran exactly *one* pass play while Bell was in there (IIRC).

If Thompson hadn't gotten hurt, I think he might have won the starting job, and Knight would have been #2. We have no way of knowing how well-suited Bell is to this offense, although we're going to find out (a little) on Saturday. But don't be surprised for a second if KT doesn't get a bunch of playing time, especially if OU gets out to an early lead on Tulsa. And if he performs well, the off week could be one of most intriguing mid-season QB "recompetitions" since the Bomar/Thompson business in '05.

I would be absolutely stunned if Thompson actually won the starting job for Notre Dame, but given that Stoops has demonstrated a willingness to break outside the box everywhere from his staff to his offense, I put nothing outside the realm of possibility. But, if Thompson were the best suited to run the offense from the outset, only to be held off by injury, it may be the result of how things were envisioned in the first place.

We'll see. If nothing else, its grand fun to speculate.

True. And even if you want to be more of a running offense you have to be able to throw. Good defenses will eat a one dimensional offense alive.

Like the defences in the SEC when bowls games come around.

True. And even if you want to be more of a running offense you have to be able to throw. Good defenses will eat a one dimensional offense alive.


Like the defences in the SEC when bowls games come around.
...especially with 4-6 weeks to prepare for them. Urban Meyer said so when he was at ESPN for a season when taking about Oregon, he said if they hadn't of had all that time from the conference championship games to the BCS title game to watch film and prepare/implement a game plan. The trouble for SEC defenses would be if they have to defend them with a week turnaround much like a different offense than one normally sees during the season like the wishbone used to do to some teams.

Based on limited information (high school film, spring game, etc.), Kendall Thompson seems to have the best pocket presence and running feel of the 3 QBs. He makes the good cuts and seems to have an accurate, albeit weak, arm. Having said that, we don't really know what he'd do in a game and whether his arm is sufficient.

Bell is slower, but seems to make good running decisions. He had happy feet in the pocket in high school and Stoops has been hesitant to let him throw. So, we'll see...

Knight never looked comfortable in the pocket and made too many poor throws to attribute to youth, but hopefully he can improve. He just doesn't look ready now... At least yet.

In the end, these guys just need to play in games to learn who is most ready to thrive. Hopefully we can find a winner this week or it could be a long day in South Bend.

what do you base "stoops has benn hesitant to let him throw." comment on ....

last year he replace LJ in the normal O for i think 1 play ... he threw an out route for a first down .. the rest of his "real" snaps were in the belldozer

Based on nothing more than what I've seen of Blake Bell, I suspect the guy could throw the ball through a brick wall, but I wonder if he could throw it through a two-foot hole in that wall. That is, I have a suspicion he's got a cannon for an arm, but I don't know if he can ratchet the power back on those throws where accuracy is more important.

No way of knowing anything about Kendall Thompson. I've talked with a couple of guys who either played with or against him, and the discussion was always about what an amazing natural athlete he was - where some guys can train and develop and learn how to be a really good athlete at a given level, this guy just walks out and does it - played basketball, football (multiple positions), you name it, the kid can apparently do it. That's why I can't help but wonder if the tailoring of the OU offense wasn't made in anticipation of Thompson being the one to run it, making Knight the backup due to his presumptive skill set, with Bell next in line because he's got more fullback-bullrush speed rather than make-you-miss-on-the-corner skills.

I love the intangible "fire" Bell obviously brings to the team. I think these next couple of weeks are a really big deal for this offense, as KT becomes a player for the starting job, Bell takes it over against Tulsa, and ND looms large ahead. Huge room for big success or big failure in there for OU.

what do you base "stoops has benn hesitant to let him throw." comment on ....

last year he replace LJ in the normal O for i think 1 play ... he threw an out route for a first down .. the rest of his "real" snaps were in the belldozer

Bell could easily have thrown out of the Belldozer package more often (and did a very limited number of times - see Notre Dame). Bell has been a lot of games in the Belldozer, blow outs, and even last week, and Stoops has let Bell throw very little. There is clearly at least some lack of confidence in his throwing abilities IMHO. This is even more apparent considering he lost the starting job to a freshman who has turned out to be a shaky thrower himself. I suspect the lack of confidence might stem from the really bad INT Bell threw 2 seasons ago in a short yardage situation. Stoops hates bad turnovers. Bell has happy feet and was overly anxious to throw in his high school film, but he could have corrected this over the last few years. We'll learn a lot soon...

Bell could easily have thrown out of the Belldozer package more often (and did a very limited number of times - see Notre Dame). Bell has been a lot of games in the Belldozer, blow outs, and even last week, and Stoops has let Bell throw very little. There is clearly at least some lack of confidence in his throwing abilities IMHO. This is even more apparent considering he lost the starting job to a freshman who has turned out to be a shaky thrower himself. I suspect the lack of confidence might stem from the really bad INT Bell threw 2 seasons ago in a short yardage situation. Stoops hates bad turnovers. Bell has happy feet and was overly anxious to throw in his high school film, but he could have corrected this over the last few years. We'll learn a lot soon...

Running the ball helps you control the pace of the game. Why would he throw it if they can run it down their throat for three or four yards every carry he gets the ball?

Running the ball helps you control the pace of the game. Why would he throw it if they can run it down their throat for three or four yards every carry he gets the ball?

Just an occasional throw can (a) make the defense account for it on future plays and (b) can catch the defense off guard because they aren't expecting it. Towards the end of last season the Belldozer started being stopped with more frequency so a throw here or there might have opened things back up again. You've got to keep defenses honest.

Bell look very good today
He was on target and did not throw but about 2 bad passes that he would like to have back.
He also made some nice plays with his feet.

Yeah...the competition is over with unless he just takes early in one game.

Yeah...the competition is over with unless he just takes early in one game.

Yes... I was anxious to see what this Thompson kid could have done before the Notre Dame contest. I hope Bell doesn't need a backup...

Nice playback from Sporting News: Oklahoma QB Blake Bell lights it up, earns start at Notre Dame - NCAA Football - Sporting News (http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2013-09-15/blake-bell-oklahoma-quarterback-ou-tulsa-start-at-notre-dame)

Tulsa: Win.

From the "I said it, stand by it" department....not much to offer about this week's win, as it was a very good performance against a very mediocre team that is not up to its own standards of the last few years.

That said, its clear now that the brakes were officially hit on the complete transition to the read-option offense, and what OU rolled out against Tulsa much more closely resembled the offense of the last few years than the run-oriented variety the Sooners put out against ULM and WVa. Mind you, it isn't a complete break from the zone read, as OU ran a great many of its base plays from the "diamond" formation with at least a token read on some handoffs, and surely there will be the opportunity for Bell to run some option off of it in the coming weeks. But, more importantly, the offense seemed much more comfortable with itself although it struggled at times in the red zone - settling for three FG's and leaving a dozen points on the field.

The bigger result from Saturday's game is the realization that the Knight experiment is done, and this is Bell's team the rest of the way barring injury. I fully admit I was surprised that Kendall Thompson got *zero* playing time - I fully expected him to see quite a bit of playing time, but for whatever reason, he didn't. Bell showed that he can put touch on the ball and throw strikes - a seam-route TD to Sterling Sheperd in the 3rd quarter was a thing of beauty. If he can continue to develop touch as the season progresses, and these receivers continue to mature, this offense could be much more productive than any of us might have expected after the first two games.

Defensively, OU didn't play as well as it has the prior two weeks. Without Aaron Colvin and, later, without Gabe Lynn, the secondary was vulnerable and gave up entirely too many 3rd and long's - an eerie echo of last year. Defensive pressure from the front line was not nearly as disruptive. EVen post game comments indicated the absence of Colvin and Lynn hurt defensive communication for coverages and assignments. Here's hoping if not suspecting Colvin's holdout was precautionary, a basic scheme was put in place for Tulsa, and the hope was to escape injury free to give the defense two full weeks to recover and prepare for Notre Dame.

Offensively, OU has the luxury of making Notre Dame guess what kind of offense they'll see. Will OU continue the Tulsa trend and throw more of the four-wideout packages, or run more option out of the diamond as they started to under Knight? Considering Notre Dame had a good fight with a marginal Purdue team (albeit on the road), I have to think a better, more diversified offense can really challenge the ND defense.

I'm somewhat more optimistic for OU going into South Bend than I was at the start of the season. ND is considerably more pedestrian on both sides of the ball than they were a year ago, but they will still attack OU physically on the line on offense. The lack of Everett Golston at QB hurts, but his replacement is hardly a slouch. Defensively is where ND was really bitten due to attrition, and if OU can weather the early storm of emotion that starts big games such as those, I think they have a very good chance of pulling out a win. Going in, playing at home, have to figure OU goes in about a 4.5-pt dog, or something thereabouts, despite the ranking disparity.

Should be a fun week, and a good game ahead. If OU can pull out a win at South Bend, could be a great push for the rest of the season. We'll see.

"Cornerback Aaron Colvin (Owasso High School), who missed the majority of last week's practices, didn't play. Gabe Lynn (Jenks) was injured (right leg) following a 31-yard interception return in the second quarter. Stanvon Taylor (East Central) - who made his first start - departed (left foot) in the third quarter."

"Cornerback Aaron Colvin (Owasso High School), who missed the majority of last week's practices, didn't play. Gabe Lynn (Jenks) was injured (right leg) following a 31-yard interception return in the second quarter. Stanvon Taylor (East Central) - who made his first start - departed (left foot) in the third quarter."

Colvin has the leftovers from the mysterious "cracked molar" he tweeted about following the WVa game, but had Stoops dodging questions all week. Lots of speculation he had a concussion. I personally think he could have played had he been absolutely needed, but he wasn't.

Lynn was hurt on the very play where he snagged the interception. Hope he's ok - the kid has had some rough seasons where he just wasn't playing in the right positions, but he's really hit his stride this year and has been playing really well. Here's hoping he's OK.

Not sure about Taylor.

Of additional concern was an injury to Jordan Phillips, a guy who has emerged as a real force on the DL. He was banged up on one play, and the trainers were summoned, but he walked off on his own power. I'm not sure, but I think he returned later. They've found some good, fundamental starters on that line, but they're absent much (well, any) depth, so it will be vital for them to stay as healthy as possible - especially going up against that physical ND OL in a couple of weeks.

I think the bye week couldn't have come at a better time - two weeks to get the nicks and scrapes healed up, and head to South Bend. Huge month ahead for the Sooners - the upcoming slate of ND, TCU, and Texas could be argued to look somewhat less formidable now than it did pre-season, giving OU a shot at least at going 6-0 into the second half of the season. Have to believe Bell and his receivers will only get better.

Lots of exciting potential!

Colvin has the leftovers from the mysterious "cracked molar" he tweeted about following the WVa game, but had Stoops dodging questions all week. Lots of speculation he had a concussion. I personally think he could have played had he been absolutely needed, but he wasn't.

Lynn was hurt on the very play where he snagged the interception. Hope he's ok - the kid has had some rough seasons where he just wasn't playing in the right positions, but he's really hit his stride this year and has been playing really well. Here's hoping he's OK.

Not sure about Taylor.

Of additional concern was an injury to Jordan Phillips, a guy who has emerged as a real force on the DL. He was banged up on one play, and the trainers were summoned, but he walked off on his own power. I'm not sure, but I think he returned later. They've found some good, fundamental starters on that line, but they're absent much (well, any) depth, so it will be vital for them to stay as healthy as possible - especially going up against that physical ND OL in a couple of weeks.

I think the bye week couldn't have come at a better time - two weeks to get the nicks and scrapes healed up, and head to South Bend. Huge month ahead for the Sooners - the upcoming slate of ND, TCU, and Texas could be argued to look somewhat less formidable now than it did pre-season, giving OU a shot at least at going 6-0 into the second half of the season. Have to believe Bell and his receivers will only get better.

Lots of exciting potential!

Jordan Phillips sat out a few plays but came back in and played effectively..Lynn will be fine. He got kicked in the shin. Taylor will be fine too.....A win at ND is huge for the program. If OU stays relatively healthy this young team will get better on both sides of he ball. OU's depth while thin in some spots is still probably over all the best in the conference. But it is a very good time for an off week.

Everyone should be fine by Notre Dame according to Stoops... Which probably means they need amputations. ;) Seriously though, I have a hunch that we'll see more runs for Bell going forward, but they wanted to limit his contact since he didn't have a healthy back up.