Oklahoma-TCU: AllSooners Picks
John Hoover
Look for Oklahoma to make some personnel changes in the linebacker/secondary corps. TCU’s team speed is far superior to Kansas State’s, so there Sooners will deploy a lot more five- and six-DB alignments to keep up. That means fewer snaps for the down linemen in three- and four-man fronts as well as the linebacker trio of David Ugwoegbu, Danny Stutsman and DaShaun White. It could mean a change for the “cheetah” position as well, which could produce more changes at the safety position (think Key Lawrence and Justin Harrington). With that many tweaks possible, TCU’s offense should have opportunities to be productive. If the Sooners get more athletic in the back end, however, that could produce more takeaways. With TCU still trying to build a defensive identity in the post-Gary Patterson era, a shootout seems likely.
Final score: OU 45, TCU 35
Ryan Chapman
The Sooners got flat-out run over last Saturday, and it’s something they’ll look to correct in Fort Worth. TCU quarterback Max Duggan can move the ball on the ground, though not to the same level of Adrian Martinez, but he’ll have a pair of great weapons in Quentin Johnston and Derius Davis who can hurt OU over the top. But all talk of reading the headlines has left the Oklahoma defense, and it’s a group that now has something to prove yet again. On the other side of the ball, the Sooner offense needs to clean up the procedural penalties, but they otherwise moved the ball really well against a strong Kansas State defensive front. TCU doesn’t have the talent to match the Wildcats up front, and OU should be able to score at will being an offensive line that has raised its levels of play the last two weeks. It may look like a shootout early, but the Sooners should steady the ship and get back on track headed to the Cotton Bowl next week.
Final score: Oklahoma 45, TCU 31
Josh Callaway
Last week was a debacle for Oklahoma against Kansas State, especially on the defensive side. The Sooners simply have to bounce back this weekend at the risk of this season getting sideways on them very quickly — and it feels safe to say they will respond with their backs against the wall. In recent Oklahoma history, OU has been tremendous the week following a loss. It's hard to imagine a world where Brent Venables doesn't have these guys ready to play and respond to the world largely mocking them after what happened against the Wildcats. While Max Duggan and the Horned Frogs offense will get some yards and points on the board, it will be better than what happened against Kansas State. Dillon Gabriel and the Oklahoma offense have a similar output as a week ago, but this time do enough for the Sooners to outlast TCU for the win in Fort Worth.
Final score: Oklahoma 38, TCU 28
