First and foremost, did everyone tune in to watch ESPN's "The Depth Chart" special centered around OSU's quarterbacks?
"Holy balls!" is right, Todd Monken! That was definitely a very impressive look into the OSU football program. ESPN's production value was through the roof. But perhaps the best part was during the beginning of the show.
Why you ask? Because CRFF put its own stamp on the show! That's right. Your favorite OSU bloggers (that's us) were heard at the beginning of the program talking about the expectations of the OSU season. Cincy won the "They Call Me 'Tripod'" award with his closing prediction line, "I've got Oklahoma State at 12 and 0...we're not going to lose, boys" at the end of the intro. I don't know about you but I definitely went camping in my pants.
For those of you who missed it, it is definitely worth your time to find the next time it airs. Great publicity for the program and a great opportunity to hear a lot of great quotes from Todd Monken. These were some of my favorites:
"Fuck!"
"Shit"
"What the fuck, motherfucking fuck shit motherfucker!?"
"Everyone relax....."
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!"
And now, a small Texas breakdown after the jump.
Ok, moving on to the upcoming game against Texas. I believe we'll have a more detailed breakdown later but for now I thought I would hit on a few keys that I think will be important to the game.
1. The linebackers and defensive ends must play disciplined football. Texas will run trick plays. Whether they be counters, reverses, double reverses, or Matthew McConaughey playing bongos on the 80,000 foot jumbotron, Texas will try to use trickeration to take advantage of OSU's youth and aggression in the front seven. Our DEs and LBs must cover their assignments and not over-pursue. Watch for the QB keeper on the zone read! Along those lines, they also need to keep Texas's speed backs from getting to the edge. Containment will be key in order to stop the Longhorns from gaining big yards on runs.
2. The O-Line and the running backs must identify the blitz. Texas is going to bring pressure a lot. It's their style. And they bring it from everywhere.Running backs Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith Smiff have to keep their heads on a swivel in order to identify where the pressure is coming from. Up front, the bigs must block the gaps when linebackers run zone blitzes. If Weeden finds himself often under pressure, Texas will keep this game close.
3. Remain clean and stay away from stupid mistakes. The Pokes have been pretty good in the last two games in terms of penalties and turnovers. This will be key in the upcoming game. Turnovers are always huge when playing on the road. The turnover battle will be a huge key to this game due to Texas's youth at QB and how opportunistic OSU is on defense. If OSU can capitalize on early Longhorn mistakes while limiting their own, this game may be well in hand by halftime.
On the other hand, if OSU commits a series of stupid mistakes and lets Texas control the game clock, the Longhorns will gain more and more confidence as the game moves forward. They have a ton of young athletes. If they get it in their head that they will win the game, it will be hard to stop them. OSU must hurt them fast and often to keep them from gaining momentum.
Curious what the other side thinks are the keys to the game? Check out Burnt Orange Nation's 5 Keys to the Game.