Sooners Get Back on Track in Manhattan.

Coming off maybe the worst loss since Stoops became head coach in 1999, the Oklahoma football team had their backs against the wall heading to Manhattan to play the always tough Kansas State Wildcats.

After last season's 8-5 record fans and media were very quick to hit the panic button after the 24-17 loss in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl. The once top-ten team was now in a must win situation with not much reason for optimism going forward.

This Kansas State team was coming off a tough loss as well. Losing in the final minute to the third ranked TCU Horned Frogs at home. After watching the game on Saturday I am completely baffled at how the Wildcats were able to even keep it close.
The Sooners arrived later than normal because of a plane malfunction causing the team to leave 8 hours after their original departure time. Just another reason for the Sooners to fold it in and have another good season slip into embarrassment.

The Oklahoma football responded in a way that no one seen coming. The offense came out onto the field first and drove right down the field with tempo and ease leading to a Sterling Shepard TD reception. After an interception by OU corner Jordan Thomas, the Sooners punched it in again this time with Joe Mixon on a quick screen pass to make it 14-0.

A perfect start to shake off the demons from the loss a week before.

It didn't stop there.

The Sooners poured it on the wildcats all afternoon and didn't show any signs of letting up.
21-0...
28-0...
35-0...
And they did all of this by HALFTIME.
Not only did OU put up 20 more points in the second half, the defense remained suffocating not allowing a single point the entire game in a 55-0 blowout. The first shutout Kansas State had allowed at home since 1991.. that is 24 years folks.
Baker Mayfield accounted for 5 TD passes and did it with relative ease.
One of the most impressive and complete games the Sooner football team has played since the infamous Sugar Bowl win against Alabama in 2013.
The Sooners now have momentum coming back home to take on the explosive Texas Tech Red Raiders. I think it is safe to say we won't see another shut out this week but this will be a great test for the OU defense against one of the best offense's in the country to date.
OU kicks off against Tech on Saturday @ 2:30pm

Thunder Preseason Finale

The Thunder will be officially through with the preseason after tonight's matchup in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz.
After that fans must wait EIGHT days before the Thunder play a game but it will be for real as they take on the San Antonio Spurs on opening night at the Peake.
Since this is the last time the Thunder will play someone other than themselves before the regular season, there are some things to look for in tonight's game.

Things to look for:

• Turnovers: Through the first 5 games of preseason turnovers have been the only real big issue I have seen with this Thunder team averaging 18 a game. A lot of that comes from the players trying to adjust to Billy Donovan's new offensive systems. The core players of the thunder ran the same system since 2008 when Scott Brooks took over as head coach so the adjustment period might see some rough patches. Once the players get more comfortable in the offensive scheme Donovan has them, I believe we will see the turnovers cut drastically and this offense soar to maybe the best in the league. Tonight could be a big stepping stone in getting some confidence in their offensive flow before the season kicks off. 
• Rotation: As the preseason has went along we have seen the coaching staff cut down on the number of players getting in the game and there is more of a game type of rotation. Early on Donovan was getting everyone on the floor and getting them a chance to get some reps. Sunday against the Nuggets we seen a more structured rotation of players with Durant and Westbrook seeing more minutes and players like rookie Cameron Payne not playing any meaningful minutes. So tonight we should get a pretty good sense of who we will see on the court for the Thunder throughout the regular season. 
• Durant & Westbrook Minutes: An interesting thing Coach Donovan did on Sunday was stagger the playing time of Durant and Westbrook. Instead of subbing them both out together and going with an all bench lineup, Durant checked out first and left Westbrook in the game with the 2nd unit. Then Westbrook subbed out of the game as Durant checked back in. This is something we have not seen a lot of the course of their careers together as they have spent most of their minutes on the court together when healthy. It makes sense to keep one of the top 5 best players in the game on the court at all times whether it is Durant or Westbrook and I will be interested to see if that trend continues tonight in Salt Lake City. 

The game will not be televised but you can catch it on radio at 98.1 FM The Sports Animal. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00pm.