OU-Tulsa film study: Sooners' depth jumps off TV screen

Trying to keep up with everyone going on during a football game can be tough at times, especially when you’re trying to take notes, update Twitter, crunch numbers and pay attention to who’s on the field. So each Sunday, I will go back and watch film to get a better understanding of everything the Sooners did in the game.

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The FX broadcast looks sharp, clean and real professional. I’m sure many people would like to see more FX broadcasts and less Fox Sports Southwest. I heard a lot of positive feedback from OU fans about FX.

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Oklahoma opens the season with — shocker — a pass. Landry Jones stares down Ryan Broyles on a short route in the middle of the field before checking left and throwing a swing pass to Brennan Clay for eight yards, which moved Jones to No. 2 for the Sooners in career passing yards.

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The Sooners are really pushing the tempo early. Even though Tulsa plays a quick, no-huddle offense, the Golden Hurricane look rushed and out of position.

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The Way brothers are going back and forth with some big kicks. If you missed it, OU punter Tress Way’s younger brother, Cole Way, punts for Tulsa. The kicking gene runs in the family, I guess.

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OU’s defense looks strong so far, especially in the middle. We’ll see how the defensive line handles a more talented opponent, but the Sooners are stuffing Tulsa’s runs up the middle.

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And there’s the first big play of the year. Broyles gets lost in Tulsa’s zone coverage, and Jones quickly spots the bust and hits his favorite target for a 35-yard gain. Broyles is such a talented guy.

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If this was the first time I was watching the game, I’d probably make some remarks about OU having a tough time clearing some open running lanes and allude to last season’s paltry average of 3.3 yards per rush. However, I know what happens as the game goes on. As you were.

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The overthrown pass to Trey Millard in the back of the end zone is on Jones. It was a good use of the formation and of routes, but Jones just puts too much on it. Dominique Whaley was open out to the right. If Jones would have checked down to him, we could be talking about a five-touchdown day for Whaley.

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Watching Jones on the broadcast, his “shaky” start doesn’t look so shaky. He threw a couple bad passes initially and was keying in on Broyles often, but his presence and zip on the ball look good. Bob Stoops said sometimes he finds himself taking Broyles for granted, well sometimes we take Jones for granted — he ended up completing 75 percent of his throws, for goodness sake.

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Back on defense, the Sooners’ front four are terrorizing Tulsa. Frank Alexander is doing some work on those offensive linemen. Tulsa can’t find any rhythm. And for a team that relies on rhythm, that won’t do.

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I’m a fan of Josh Heupel’s play calls. I think he’s mixing it up with good formations and attacks. He isn’t afraid to pound the ball down his opponents’ throat, which then opens up big throwing lanes for Jones to get the ball to his receivers. That’s good news for the Sooners.

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OU is using Millard pretty effectively. Stoops love fullbacks, and he has had nothing but great things to say about Millard since the kid got to Norman last year. On Saturday, Millard was cutting a lot of underneath routes and getting himself open. And to think, he’s only a sophomore.

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Deep ball to Broyles. Jones underthrows the ball, but Broyles makes a great catch. The way he uses his body to stay in control is unreal. And he nearly kept his balance after all that (and a defender trying to tackle him, too).

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Oh, Jimmy. Sooner fans love to hate Jimmy Stevens, and his missed PAT doesn’t do the kicker any good.

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Alexander has got some sweet moves, right? It looks like he nearly calls for a fair catch on that interception on the pass deflected by Jamell Fleming. The way he rumbled down the field for 27 yards was quite a sight to see.

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I wrote a lot of Whaley after the game, but watching him power through these holes is impressive. He keeps his feet churning and has a great burst. I like the way he is constantly leaning forward as he runs and slips through defenders — and I’m sure Stoops like that, too.

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The broadcasters remark how Jones is not an “athletic” guy, but his rollouts are looking good. He stays in control of his body and puts a nice spin on the ball, this time to Trey Franks on a comeback route. Jones might not be a dual-threat quarterback, but the guy is an athlete.

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Whaley has now scored his third touchdown. The guy is tough between the tackles and has great vision, as he showed on this play with a nice cut back to a big hole.

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Tulsa sure is missing Damaris Johnson. Even though the Golden Hurricane hit the Sooners for a few big plays Saturday night, the offense lacked a big-play threat. Johnson surely would have done some damage against Oklahoma.

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Here’s where Tulsa scored its first touchdown. From the look of it, Fleming was on a corner blitz and somebody missed the call. Javon Harris looks like the guilty party, but FX showed Brent Venables talking to Corey Nelson on the sideline. Stoops said after the game that a safety read the signal wrong, but I assume this was a bust that both Harris and Nelson were responsible for.

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Roy Finch gets his first carry. It’s funny to think that one of the preseason All-Big 12 running backs could go nearly the entire first half without a touch, but Finch was on the field in the slot much of the night.

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Unfortunately for Franks, his fumble near the goal line stains an otherwise outstanding game. Franks was fighting to reach the end zone — starting to stretch his arm toward the goal line — when the Tulsa defender hammered the ball loose. But, Franks really stepped up and filled in for the suspended Kenny Stills in a nice way. Jay Norvell has a nice problem of figuring out which receivers to play.

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The Sooners came back out after halftime with good energy and kept the game on track. The defense is flying around the ball, and OU’s offensive line is starting to really make some big holes.

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Clay gets his first score on a nice 11-yard run to the left. Clay, the starter in the backfield, got lost in all the Whaley commotion, but he finished with 105 yards of offense. Clay runs like Whaley, and he is really quick after he hits a hole. This running back-by-committee thing might just work for OU.

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Oklahoma is in complete control of this game. The line isn’t getting an extreme amount of pressure on G.J. Kinne, but with a scrambler like Kinne, you have to be more disciplined to stay in position. I thought the Sooners did a really nice job on him all night.

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Another breakdown in the secondary. Harris seems to bite on Tulsa’s Willie Carter’s route. Harris was probably the most hot and cold player the Sooners had Saturday night. This is evident by him recovering a fumble on the next play. Harris is a good player, just has to play smarter.

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Whaley is a beast. Most of the game has featured him running for tough yards up the middle, but he really showed the entire package there. Shedding three tackles on his way to his fourth and final score. The FX broadcasters talked about when Whaley will get a scholarship from Stoops, and that run should make it a done deal. Like Whaley said after the game, he just has to keep working hard and it will come.

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Michael Hunnicutt is in the game kicking. Is this bad news for Stevens or is Stoops just giving Hunnicutt a chance to show what he has? That was never answered (or asked, oops).

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Harris attempts to jump the route, again. Harris gets out of position, again. Harris slips and Tulsa’s Carter gets free for a catch and big gain, again. Harris will improve, but he needs to play in position more and quit trying to go for the pick every time — that’ll just get you in trouble.

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Now we’re to the end of the game and the backups are coming in. Here’s a quick rundown of some notable names:

Drew Allen makes an appearance. Allen looked like a good, solid backup. He made some nice throws and he made some bad throws, nothing too bad, though.

Kameel Jackson turns a bad pass into a great play. Grabs the ball at his feet, evades a tackler and scampers up the sideline. Coaches have been high on Jackson, but squeezing him into the rotation (especially when Stills is back) will be a challenge.

Jaz Reynolds makes an appearance, but doesn’t get a chance to show what he can do. Stoops made a point this offseason to talk about Reynolds growth, so you have to assume he’ll get a chance soon.

Jonathan Miller gets in and runs well. Like the receiver “problem,” there are too many running backs and not enough snaps to go around (even with the Sooners running 100-plus plays).

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OK, that about does it. Obviously, the Sooners came out and took care of their business in the first week. The coaches sounded pleased during the post-game press conferences, and it looks like they’ll be able to take the good and the bad from watching film and make adjustments as the team prepares for Florida State.

Chris Lusk

Chris is a former staff member of The Oklahoma Daily who worked as Copy Chief, Managing Editor, Online Editor, Night Editor and Editor in Chief.