Archive for September, 2009
There’s only one Oklahoma.
Many people are wondering what the status of Sam Bradford’s injury is and whether he will be back in time to play against Miami.
Jermaine Gresham
The decision will be made later this week because Stoops stated, “It will be determined on how we go through the week, on how he performs, on how he feels. To make sure he can make all the throws we need him to make. Until we go through practice, I won’t know that.”
Coach Stoops pointed out that Sam was looking better, but he is waiting to see how the shoulder reacts to the strain of throwing more. We don’t know when they will make the verdict on Bradford, and it could be a game-time decision. But no matter what, I hope they make the right decision. Should Bradford come back this week and play against Miami? Or would it be better for him to sit out longer and rehab the shoulder more?
Other questions circulating in Norman are about Jermaine Gresham. Everyone knows he is out for the year, but they all want to know whether he will be back for a senior season or enter the NFL Draft.
Coach Stoops addressed this question on Tuesday and said, “Jermaine’s going to the draft.”
Now that everyone knows he will enter the draft, do you think he made the right decision?
“It will be determined on how we go through the week, on how he performs, on how he feels,” Stoops said. “To make sure he can make all the throws we need him to make. Until we go through practices, I won’t know that.”
With the week one devastating loss to BYU, the Sooners looked to bounce back against the Idaho State Bengals. It was the opening home game for the Sooners, and they didn’t disappoint the Sooner Nation. Although the weather conditions were rainy, Memorial Stadium was packed with Sooner fans who were anxious to see how the Sooners would respond to their opening loss. When this game started, you could tell Landry Jones looked more confident then the week before. Jones connected on his first four passes of the game and didn’t let up as he finished with 286 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. While the running game started off sluggish, the Sooners managed to open it up with a solid passing game. Landry’s go to receiver was Ryan Broyles, who finished the night with 155 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns.
Ryan Broyles catches a touchdown pass versus Idaho State.
Demarco Murray managed for 101 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns to lead the Sooners in rushing yards. On the defensive side of the ball, the Sooners dominated the Bengals by only allowing 44 total yards of offense. The Bengals only crossed into Oklahoma’s territory once late in the third quarter, and the 49 yard line was as far as they would get. Since the Sooners came out strong, many reserves had the opportunity to get playing time in the second half. Freshman linebacker Ronnell Lewis and freshman running back Jonathan Miller stepped up and made some big plays for Oklahoma. The Sooners finished the game with blowout victory of 64-0, which was their first shutout since 2006. Despite playing a weak opponent, Oklahoma showed improvement in their execution and looked very disciplined by committing few penalties. Coach Stoops was pleased with the outcome, but the Sooners will need to step it up as they will start to face tougher opponents. Which brings the question, do you think the Sooners can turn their season around and be in the hunt for the National Championship?
TE Jermaine Gresham out for year
Jermaine Gresham after he caught a tipped pass and scored in the bedlam game last year.
Jermaine Gresham, the tight end for the Oklahoma Sooners, is out for the year because of a season ending surgery. The surgery repaired the torn cartilage in his right knee, and he will be rehabbing it for five months to recover fully. This is a devastating loss to the Sooners because Jermaine was top returning receiver with 66 catches for 950 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. This will make it tougher for the Sooners to score because Jermaine added a dimension to OU’s offense that was tough to stop. He not only was a threat to defenses because of his receiving ability but also because of his run blocking skills. Gresham was a second-team All-American last year and considered a first round NFL prospect for last years draft. He decided to stay at Oklahoma to pursue winning a national championship. The question that now circulates him is whether his draft stock will fall for upcoming draft in 2010.
Sam Bradford getting his shoulder wrapped on the side lines, after injuring it in the first half against BYU.
This past weekend the Sooners took on The number 20 ranked BYU Cougars of the Mountain West Conference. The game was held in Arlington, Texas at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. I was fortunate enough to go to the game and see the new stadium,which was an incredible venue. The stadium lived up to all the hype it received before the season. The most amazing feature was the scoreboard that stretched from the 20 yard line to the opposite 20 yard line. The stadium left me in awe and I was most definitely impressed by it. But the game, however, would turn out rough for the Sooners. The Sooners changed the score board first, but it would be a long game after that because that would be the only time they crossed the end zone in the game. In the second quarter, Sam Bradford went down awkwardly on his right shoulder, and he sprained his shoulder. This was a scary moment and to find out that he would not return to the game worried many Sooner fans. Bradford threw for 14 attempts and completed 10 of them. He compiled 96 yards of passing with one touchdown toss to Ryan Broyles. With the Sooners on top 10-7 at the half, the defense had to stay strong in the second half in order to keep the Sooners on top. Landry Jones would have to come out and lead the Sooner offense in the second half, and the Cougars knew that if they stopped the run game that they’d be in a good position to take down the Sooners. In the second half, the game was a defensive battle. The Sooners struggled to get a rhythm going on offense and once they did they came up short and could not capitalize on a touchdown from the one yard line. Instead, they settled for a field goal and this would come back to haunt them. With the Sooners up 13-7 in the fourth quarter, all the Cougars had to do was put together a solid drive and put the ball in the end zone and that’s what they did. BYU scored with three minutes left and took a 14-13. The Sooners had one last shot to take the lead with a field goal attempt from 54 yards. Sadly, the field goal came up way short and the Cougars knew they had upset the 3rd ranked team in the country, and they could just run the clock out with 1:23 left in the game. This left the Sooners with a bad taste and many questions about the rest of their season. Would Sam Bradford be able to regain his health and be back in time to keep the Sooners dream to win a National Championship alive? Or after this loss, were the Sooners even in contention to still battle for a shot at another National Championship? For the Sooners to get back to the championship they will need to go back to the drawing board to figure out some things. I think the defense looked good in spurts but what hurt them was the secondary. The secondary got beat deep on a couple of plays that cost them and favored the Cougars. Also, the Sooners will need to especially improve on offense. With many busts on the line and receivers dropping passes, you could see that the Oklahoma offense was very inexperienced. The offensive line and receivers will have to step up if the Sooners want to stay in the hunt for a BCS bowl game. And with Sam Bradford out for atleast 4 weeks, Landry Jones has some big shoes to fill, but hopefully he will gain valuable strides against the Sooners next opponet Idaho State.
