October 8, 2009

Know the opponent: Oklahoma

SicEmSports.com got in touch with Oklahoma football expert Josh McCuistion from SoonerScoop.com. He was able to answer five questions about the Sooners as we continue our previews of the Bears' weekend opponent.

1 - I'm sure this is a day-to-day situation and a question you get a lot, but what is the status of Sam Bradford, and what do you think is the chance that he plays this weekend?

Bradford is now taking part in practice every day and it seems to be believed that Bradford is very nearly back to full speed. As far as playing this week, it's going to be announced on Friday but the rumor is that he will play in some role against Baylor. That's not confirmed in any way, shape or form, but looking at things and the rumor it seems very possible.

2 - Ryan Broyles has somewhat quietly been having a big year for the Sooners. How does his injury affect the offense and how have the new receivers looked this year?

Before the Miami game Oklahoma was at a loss at the position without Ryan Broyles but after the injury sustained on his catch and run against Miami.

The two who seem to have stepped up and shown an ability to make plays for the Sooner offense are Brandon Caleb who had a huge game against Tulsa and Cameron Kenney who over came some early season drops to catch Oklahoma's first touchdown against Miami.

Now it's unclear whether either are truly dynamic options yet but there are a few young guys like Jaz Reynolds and Dejuan Miller that may get a long look this week and a chance to show that they could be difference makers.

3 - What were BYU and Miami able to do to have success against the Sooners, and how have they responded to being 2-2?

I think the biggest connection between the two was varying blitz packages. They did things that confused Oklahoma's young offensive line and gave them fits in their protection looks. In turn that also tried to force Oklahoma to throw to win rather than being multi-dimensional as they of course want to be.

Offensively they did a nice job going across the middle and working drives rather than trying to hit home runs against the Sooners, which is almost impossible to do with continual success.

As far as their response to the record, you hear the right things but this Saturday will ultimately be the answer. The right things were said following the BYU game and once they faced another quality opponent it seemed that it was much to do about nothing.

4 - Is the offensive line still a concern for Oklahoma, and how would you grade their performance through four games?

As mentioned above they've had some problems but I still believe there is talent there. Obviously Trent Williams is a future NFL guy and I feel there may be a few other guys with Sunday futures as well. However, there has been something of a musical chairs and it's led to some cohesion problems. However it looks like the same starting five from last week will start again this week and the group showed some promise in the run game against Miami.

5 - What is your prediction for the game this weekend?

If Robert Griffin is still in the equation, this is a very scary game for Oklahoma between the disappointing loss to Miami and the big game in Dallas next week.

That being said I just don't see Baylor being a big enough threat to Oklahoma's defense in Norman.

38-14 Oklahoma.
