(long read)
watching that OU/Clemson game was so disappointing for me.
Still hurts to think about. Let me have my peace.
Despite Clemson being the better team, it highlighted a bigger issue.
If you look at OU 10-12 years ago, we had big, huge LBs, 6'0+ physical DB's with size, etc. Our WRs were big guys. Our linemen were maulers. You look at us now, and it's not the same. What happened?
It's been building for years, but now all 10 outta 10 teams in the Big 12 have switched to some version of the air-raid offense. A decade or so ago, it used to be just Texas Tech that was pass, pass, pass... Every team back then good or bad, had a different identity. Now there's no balance anymore.
Long story short, you now have to build/recruit your teams a certain way to win consistently in the Big 12. You have to score in bunches to keep up with Baylor, TCU, WVU, OkSt, and Texas Tech b/c there's no way to shut them down EVERY WEEK. Sure, in a one off game you might be ok.....but for 9 conf games,
somebody is gonna catch you slipping and crazy stuff will happen. Building a team to win the Big 12 doesn't prepare you well to win against top teams from other confs. You have to have a lttle smaller, quicker player to compete in the Big 12. You think a big safety like Roy Williams could play today? Not a chance. Our leading tackler, LB Dom Alexander, LOST 10 lbs before this season so he could play at 220lbs and be quicker for the Big 12 style. That's crazy.
Clemson's D-coord, Brent Venebles, was almost ran out of Norman b/c his last couple years were simply AWFUL. Everybody blamed him when in retrospect the real problem was these week to week gimmicky offenses. Granted he might have a little better talent at Clemson, but he also isn't handcuffed the way D-coordinators are in the B12.
Two years ago OU switched to a more traditional run-heavy ball control offense, and a 3-4 defense......that season we beat Alabama at the end....but we also got stomped by Baylor that year. And then the following year lost 4 conf games. So this season we switched up things again, we outscored everybody and played fantastic pass defense, but Texas beat us by essentially playing bully ball..Clemson too. Our team isn't really built for that, BUT you also can't win in the B12 consistently playing bully ball b/c you'll need to score more week to week. It also makes it a harder sell to 4-5 star recruits on the defensive side of the ball.
So yeah, Big 12 had it's time, but it needs to go away, be dissolved into others, whatever.
I wouldnt mind seeing OU in the Big 10, Pac-12, or SEC West.
Basically your problem isn't The Big 12. Your real problem is that Bob Stoops hired an Air Raid OC in Lincoln Riley instead of hiring an OC that runs a Run based-spread system.
We could've used a big victory to legitimize us to the southeastern part of the country.
