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By Jordan Lauterbach  August 1, 2009, at 11:59 pm  For the next few weeks our very own Jordan Lauterbach will be previewing the upcoming 2009 College Football season. Each day, he will be posting a new preview so be sure to check in everyday.
Last Season: 12-2, 7-1, National runner up….
The national runner-ups were mired in controversy last season because of how they got to the big game. Although they fell to Texas during the regular season, the Sooners climbed over the Longhorns in the final standings and earned the right to play for a national championship.
Controversy or not, no one can argue that the Sooners boasted the most explosive offense in the country last year. Whenever a team averages over 50 points a game, you know that they are for real.
Luckily for the Sooners, the Heisman Trophy winning Sam Bradford returns as catalyst for the high powered offense. Bradford threw for 50 touchdowns last year while racking up over 4,000 yards. But perhaps the most startling stat from Bradford’s season was his interception rate. The proficient passer was picked only eight times last season. A touchdown to interception rate of +42 will put anyone in the running for a Heisman Trophy.
Although the numbers may not be as outstanding, expect Bradford to be just as efficient under center. The measure of a quarterback isn’t measured just in pure numbers, but also in efficiency rate. Bradford certainly has that. One reason for the decline in pure numbers is the revamped offensive line. Oklahoma’s o-line was one of the best in the nation. The unit could pass protect as well as it could run block. The Sooners were the first team in the history of the game to have both a 4,000 yard passer and two 1,000 yard rushers. That’s a direct reflection on the offensive line.
But now the group is vastly different. For what it’s worth, Oklahoma’s running backs gained only 52 yards on 27 carries in the spring game. I think it’s hard to make too much of a game played after a few spring workouts. That, and Oklahoma played its spring game without its two top backs, Demarco Murray and and Chris Brown. I would expect the line to struggle a little early on and gain steam as the season goes on. Also, if initial growing pains are experienced, look for the running game to struggle more then the passing game.
With Bradford’s top receivers gone, tight end Jermaine Gresham may wind up being Sam’s favorite target.
A major positive for the Sooners this season will be its improved defense. The spectacle offense overshadowed what was the worst Sooner defense in ten years last season. It allowed over 25 points a game last year. This is easily hidden when the offense is putting up fifty cent pieces on the other side of the ball. The large point’s allowed margin came from a nasty over aggressive habit. The ball-hawing defenders led the Big 12 in turnover margin. Unfortunately, this also led to being burned on big plays.
But, according to the defensive coaching staff, a change in attitude will fix the problems that led to overaggressive play. This, as well as a fine linebacking core, will contribute to a better Sooner defense.
Although the offense may take a minor step back, The Sooners may be a better team in 2009. But, I wonder if last year’s BCS controversy may hurt them a little with the pollsters if a close call were to arise for a second straight season.
3 Games to Watch
October 17th- @Texas- So many layers to this game. The two best quarterbacks in the country not named Tim face off….Texas looks to gain revenge for last season’s snub…Oklahoma tries to show that yes, they can beat Texas. All that and serious BCS implications (presumably) makes for the most intriguing game on the schedule.
October 24th- @ Kansas- The Jayhawks were one of the few teams to “keep pace” with Oklahoma last season. They only lost by 14 points. Truthfully, the Oklahoma schedule may not have three good games on it, but it will be interesting if Kansas can continue it’s path to being relevant in football for a long sustained period.
November 28th- Oklahoma State- Besides being an interstate rivalry, some pundits expect Oklahoma State to have a decent team this season. ESPN’s Bruce Feldman thinks Oklahoma State may have a shot at a BCS bowl this season. If that’s the case, this game could have serious late implications for both teams. Final week of the year. Double bowl significance…doesn’t get better than that…
By Max Caster August 1, 2009, at 10:48 pm Bruce Bowen was just released by the Milwaukee Bucks. He fell victim to a bad team making a move purely for salary cap space. Now it’s being said that the 37-year old swingman will most likely not go back to San Antonio — the place where Bowen made his name known. Now he’s a free agent, waiting for any offers to roll in.
The New York Knicks have an abundance of forwards, most notably, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. Those two youngsters will no doubt get the most minutes. Al Harrington and Larry Hughes will get time there too. But what that group lacks is lockdown defense and a championship pedigree.
 Bruce Bowen As a team moving forward, the Knicks aren’t expected to make any huge jumps in the standings within the next two years. The group of young players hasn’t proven itself yet. Hell, we don’t even know if it’s complete with David Lee still out on the market. But even with Lee, the group would improve immeasurably if Bruce Bowen was part of the team. Having that stable veteran with 3 NBA titles under his belt will make an impression upon the kids.
Bowen clearly didn’t make his name as the leading scorer. His career-best is 8.2 points per game. But — as cliche as it sounds — he did all the little things. Hard work, diligence and intelligence are evident in Bowen’s game. He can stress the significance of team basketball displayed in San Antonio. He’d be like an extra coach. New York doesn’t have that type of presence on their roster — not since the exit of Malik Rose.
The other thing Bowen brings is a ruthless, underhanded nature. He’s not the most athletic player, but Bruce Bowen always ends up guarding the Kobe Bryant’s and Carmelo Anthony’s of the NBA. Why? Because he plays semi-dirty, pesky defense and is known to slip in some blows now and again.
I hearken back to the series against New Orleans where Bowen threw a forearm shot to the injured back of David West. That knocked West out of the game and helped the Spurs win the series. That type of attitude is reminiscent of the Knicks teams of the 90’s.
I’m not suggesting that Bruce Bowen alone would bring a title to NY, but it’s a step in the right direction. I wouldn’t recommend signing him to anything more than a 2-year deal worth very little money. But an off-season with Bowen, David Lee and Ramon Sessions all signed would make the Knicks more appealing to upcoming free agents.
By Jordan Lauterbach August 1, 2009, at 3:05 am It was almost a joke. Almost comical. It was as if Tiger Woods stepped onto the golf course today at the Buick Open and declared “I’m done with being normal, put me back on my perch”.
After a disconcertingly normal one under, 71 in round one of this weekends PGA tournament, Tiger Woods blasted up the leader board by shooting a nine under 63 on Friday. The back-on-track performance marked a few milestones for Woods. First, it was his best round of the year. Second, it was the best first five holes of his entire career.
By the time the ball hit the bottom of the cup on the par 4 14th (he started on the back nine), Woods had birdied four holes and eagled the other. This comes a day after bogeying two of the first five holes in round one. Woods would exceed par only once yesterday, bogeying the par 4 18th.
The round skyrocketed Tiger into a tie for fifth place, trailing leader Jon Senden by four strokes.
I think this was an important round for Tiger and, depending upon how the next three weeks go, could be looked upon as a turning point in his already under-rated season. After missing the cut at the British, I think many expected a round like this to come on Thursday. Instead, it did not. The shockingly normal one under wasn’t close to the British disaster, but it didn’t exactly inspire confidence either. He struggled off the tee again. This led me to believe that Tiger had not yet erased the demons that plagued him at Turnberry.
Apparently, those demons left Tiger Thursday night. I’d expect Tiger to continue this surge and march towards a Buick Open victory on Sunday. I can’t see players like Senden, Michael Luztig, and Vaughn Taylor keeping a hot Tiger at bay.
By Jordan Lauterbach August 1, 2009, at 2:12 am For the next few weeks our very own Jordan Lauterbach will be previewing the upcoming 2009 College Football season. Each day, he will be posting a new preview so be sure to check in everyday.
Last Season: 13 wins, National Champions
- The one thing that’s great about college football is also the one thing that makes it somewhat difficult to follow. The sport is a variable revolving door. It is extremely rare that a championship caliber core stays around for more than a year or two. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, its just the nature of the beast.
Because of this, the outlook of the 2009 Florida Gators has to be looked upon with awe. How can a national championship team look as good, if not better, then they did the year before? One name says it all.
Tim Tebow
Like him or hate him, there is no arguing his impact of the game. Sports media types often talk about how much fun it is to watch true greatness. The reality is, Tim Tebow may not only be the best player in the country, he may be one of the all time college football greats when its all said and done. Tebow is the Florida offense. Without him, it ceases to exist. He is not only the returning team leader in passing yards, but also the returning rushing leader. He is the most dynamic player in the game- and its not even close.
But the Florida love fest doesn’t end with Tebow. Plenty of teams have had play making, dynamic quarterbacks and failed to win the way Florida has. On top of Tebow, Florida lost only two offensive skill position players. One of those, Percy Harvin, was struggling to play at full strength (or at all) for the stretch run last season.
But don’t get me wrong, replacing Harvin will be no easy task. Although hampered by injury, Harvin still racked up more all-purpose yards by himself in 2008 than the Gators top 5 receivers on the 2009 roster. Trying to replace Harvin is where the Gators will see the majority of their offense hiccups (I don’t think anyone with Tebow under center can ’struggle’ offensively).
Watch for tight end Aaron Hernandez to have a big role. Hernandez is widely regarded as the best tight end in the SEC. Hernandez caught 34 balls for 381 yards and 5 touchdowns last season. I think if the receiving tandem of Carl Moore, Justin Williams, and David Nelson struggles like they did at points last season, the tight end could quickly become a go-to option out of the passing game.
The loss of Harvin is doubly huge because it affects the running game as well Jeffery Demps and Chris Rainey will share the bulk of the running back load in the begining of the year. Look for freshman Andre Debose to have a serious impact in the second half.
If you’re looking for something that could derail the 2009 Gators, its the inability to find that explosive “keep the defense honest” option that Harvin was. However, I’m never confident as a defense when it comes to making Tim Tebow make plays. That tends to work out.
The defense is almost a non issue because it’s basically the same. Every defensive starter is retuning. Last year, the defense averaged a little under 13 points allowed per game. I’d have no reason to believe that it will be any different, barring injury of course.
Despite the loss of Harvin, I still think a Tim Tebow led offense will score two touchdowns a game.
Just a hunch….
3 Games to Watch
September 19th- Tennessee- Over under on the amount of times we’ll see the Lane Kiffin “recruiting violation joke” tape on ESPN this week? My guess is about 502. I have a feeling this game has been circled in the locker room for a mighty long time.
October 10th- @LSU- The Gators haven’t won in their last two trips to the bayou. This is a tough road game against a team that is in a lot of unofficial pre-season top 10’s. If there’s a loss on the schedule, it could come here.
November 14- @South Carolina- So Steve, Tim Tebow’s not a preseason all-american…Really?…Really??I think almost everyone in the universe disagrees…especially Tim’s Girlfriend
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