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Oklahoma-BYU GameDay: X-Factors

Mother Nature ... Start fast ... Keeping the crowd quiet ... Playing confident, but not cocky
John E. Hoover|
Oklahoma-BYU GameDay: X-Factors
Oklahoma-BYU GameDay: X-Factors

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Oklahoma Sooners

Mother Nature 

The forecast isn’t as bad Friday as it was earlier in the week. Notorious warm-weather quarterback Dillon Gabriel was looking at playing another game in the low 40s with a 70-percent chance of rain and winds up to 20 mph. But the forecast has mellowed — a little. Now the weather for Saturday morning is supposed to be a mix of clouds and sun early with a high of 56 and winds of 5-10 mph. Best of all for Gabriel and the OU offense, rain chances have dropped to 22 percent, with most of that expected on Saturday night. Gabriel is remarkably more efficient when the weather’s nice, so he should expect access to Jeff Lebby’s full playbook.

— John Hoover

Start fast

Last week, Oklahoma’s offense looked like a well-oiled machine. Dillon Gabriel led Jeff Lebby’s group up and down the field. The Sooners limited their own mistakes, while exploiting weaknesses in West Virginia’s defense both through the air and on the ground. OU’s last two trips on the road to Kansas and Oklahoma State have been far from straightforward, mostly due to the Sooners shooting themselves in the foot. Starting fast on Saturday in Provo will keep the pressure firmly on BYU, not Oklahoma, which has been a recipe for false starts and head-scratching turnovers for OU. If the Sooners can build momentum early, things could snowball on a BYU team that has been blown out in three straight contests.

— Ryan Chapman 

Keeping the crowd quiet

The Sooners have clearly struggled on the road this season. Both losses came away from Norman and both crowds were fired up. In losses to Oklahoma State and Kansas, the Sooners committed costly turnovers at inopportune times and allowed the crowd to control the momentum. Whether it was a low snap that caused a fumble or an ill-advised pick six, the crowd playED a big part in both losses. While BYU hasn’t had the best inaugural season in the Big 12, it’s safe to guess the Provo faithful with show up and show out with the No. 14 team in the country coming to town. It’s the only chance the Cougars will have at the Sooners, and at 5-5, BYU is one game away from bowl eligibility. The Cougars travel to Stillwater to finish up the season next week, so finding a way to knock off the Sooners in front of the home crowd would be ideal. Oklahoma has to take care of the ball at all costs and not allow the crowd to give BYU any momentum on the field. Playing mistake-free football should be enough to get the job done.

— Ross Lovelace

Playing confident, but not cocky

Against a 5-5 BYU team in the midst of a three-game losing streak that has featured three losses of 29 points or more, the Sooners should be able to take control early and put the game away. If Jeff Lebby has confidence in his quarterback and OU plays with the same swagger that the team had against West Virginia last weekend, Oklahoma should be able to build a sizable lead. If the Sooners get too confident, however, OU could face a similar situation to what it saw against Kansas. Getting too cute on offense, not being set on defense and plenty of other minor miscues could cost Oklahoma if the team is still focused on last week's 39-point victory.

— Randall Sweet

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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