Matthew Emmons – US PRESSWIRE

The college football season is already a quarter over. Which Oklahoma Sooners players have made an impact up to this point?

With a lackluster 4-game start, the Oklahoma Sooners are still looking to turn things around for the 2012 season. With a quarter of the season already gone, they may be running out time to make the proper adjustments.

Most of the major concerns became apparent with the loss against Kansas State Wildcats at home. Kansas State is a good team, but it definitely wasn’t the toughest team the Sooners will face in the upcoming weeks. Most notably is the upcoming Red River game against the Texas Longhorns with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish two weeks after.

See on www.rantsports.com

Sooner4OU Commentary: It is interesting the back and forth, up and down discussion that the 2012 edition of the Sooners are causing after only three games. The discussion is almost religious in it’s fervor. Both sides of the coin vehemently believe their opinion is right and the others are confused or not knowledgeable about football. Yet, even the coaches and players seem to go back and forth. Stoops has said We aren’t that good”, Switzer says “They just don’t have the talent” and the players have more quotes than I can cover regarding their performance so far, yet you read this article and Stoops and company are highlighting that they have the best record in last ten years, etc… How is a member of the Sooner nation meant to decipher all this news and information?

Article Excerpt: If the signs seem to show Oklahoma falling from the ranks of the national elite, Bob Stoops isn’t buying it.

“It hasn’t been just a flash in the pan,” Stoops said. “I mean, we have (averaged) 10 wins over the last 13 years. I’m guessing there’s probably not but a couple — two or three teams — that have done that over the last 13 years, and I don’t know who they’d be.

“That’s pretty consistent and I’m not going to all of a sudden abandon what has built the program and what has sustained it over a loss, or two or three last year.”

From a consistency standpoint, Stoops is right. His 10.7 wins per season are the most among college coaches with at least 10 years of experience at the Bowl Subdivision level. He’s just ahead of Ohio State’s Urban Meyer (10.4), TCU’s Gary Patterson (9.9), Georgia’s Mark Richt (9.6) and LSU’s Les Miles (9.4).

See on enidnews.com

Barry Layne Switzer was born on Oct. 5, 1937, in Crossett, Ark. Crossett is 135 miles south of Little Rock and only a few miles north of the Louisiana border.

When Switzer was a newborn, his family’s home was a houseboat. As a child, Switzer resided with his father (Frank Mays Switzer), mother (Mary Louise) and younger brother (Donnie) in a shack without electricity or plumbing.

Frank Switzer served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. During the ’40s and ’50s, he was known as a proponent of the fair treatment of black residents of south Arkansas.

As an OU assistant, Barry Switzer aggressively recruited black athletes years before other power programs like Texas.

See on www.tulsaworld.com

Sooner4OU Commentary: Isn’t Bob Stoops’ quote in this article interesting? He states “What I don’t think is we’re a good enough football team.”  Now, that is a stark difference from the information that was put out during camp.  To me that sounds like a pre-cursor to 10-2 or 9-3 record.  Obviously, we hope for the best record, but re-settings expectations is not something Stoops does lightly.

Article Excerpt: Oklahoma is 6-4 over its last 10 games, dating back to last season. Last Saturday’s 24-19 loss to Kansas State meant Bob Stoops’ Sooners have lost as many contests at home (two) in their last five games as they did in Stoops’ first 12 seasons in Norman

“I think we’re a tough enough team,” Stoops said after the Kansas State loss.

“What I don’t think is we’re a good enough football team.”

Among the countless explanations for OU’s struggles, one that has become more prevalent since a lackluster 2012 season opener at UTEP is a decrease in talent.

See on newsok.com

It might be difficult to remember now, but there was a reason why Landry Jones was a Heisman favorite last August. Coming off his 2010 season, many expected him to thrive. Instead, he has struggled since losing Ryan Broyles in late 2011.

See on sports.espn.go.com

Oklahoma Sooners’ recruit Matt Beyer, a four-star offensive tackle, told the team two weeks ago that doctor’s diagnosed him with a spinal-cord condition that will force him to quit football. Since Beyer was only a verbal commit, offensive tackles coach Bruce Kittle had to inform him on Sept. 25 that OU would no longer honor his scholarship offer.

See on www.examiner.com

Contrary to all that you may have heard this week, Oklahoma’s season did not actually end following last Saturday’s loss to Kansas State. It just felt like it did.

Would some say we here at Crimson and Cream Machine have been as guilty as most in piling on in the wake of the loss? Yeah, probably. Some of us (ahem, yours truly) more so than others I’m sure, but that’s just one of those things that comes along with the super important job of being a sports blogger.

But this isn’t about us, it’s about this Oklahoma football team. And if there’s one thing we know, it’s that we’ve all been hurting for things to talk about this week when it comes to Oklahoma football.

When the 2012 schedule first came out, we originally believed these two early bye weeks were a bad thing. While, as a fan, suffering through two byes in three weeks most certainly sucks something awful, given all that we’ve seen through three games this second bye may have actually come at the perfect time.

See on www.crimsonandcreammachine.com

Sooner4OU Commentary: Ahhhhh…for all you folks in Oklahoma, who have been rained on the last few days, here comes the warm rays of the sunshine pumpers.  They are out to convince you that all is well in the the Sooner nation and it is all just a mirage.  No, in all seriousness they are rallying to offset all the fire Stoops and this team is a in chaos messaging that is out there.  It is more than likely that this sunshine messaging is being pushed by the PR side of the OU Athletic department, as they should.

Article Excerpt: OU still has time to turn it around. Sure, OU lost a game to Kansas State it should have won, and its offense has struggled in two of its first three outings.

Enjoy this bye week, Sooner fans. Really, enjoy it.

Take advantage of it. Watch other teams around the country. Try and gain some perspective.

Believe it or not, college football exists outside of Norman city limits. There are 124 other FBS teams, and the majority of them can’t hold a candle to the mighty Sooners.

Sure, OU lost a game to Kansas State it should have won, and its offense has struggled in two of its first three outings. But OU isn’t the only team in college football that’s struggling right now, and the offensive woes ailing the Sooners aren’t unique to OU either.

Anyone watch USC play the last two weeks? The Trojans — who were ranked preseason No. 1 — boast arguably more talent offensively than any other team in the country. In each of their past two games, they turned the ball over three times, and, in a 21-14 loss to Stanford, they failed to muster 300 yards of total offense.

How about LSU? Ohio State? Wisconsin? All are teams with tremendous talent on offense, and all have struggled thus far.

See on www.oudaily.com

Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones has been a hot name amongst NFL draft analysts for some time. In September of last year, Mel Kiper called Jones his No. 2 quarterback amongst 2012 draft eligible prospects. Fast forward to this year, and as late as September 5, Chris Steuber ranked the now senior Sooner signal-caller his 19th overall 2013 draft prospect.

Because expectations were so high for Jones a year ago, I started breaking down his film very early. By the time he announced his decision to stay at Oklahoma for his senior season in January, I had already charted eight games of his.

I came away less impressed than some analysts, and while I believe he made a smart decision by staying in school, I feel he thus far he has not improved upon a disappointing 2011 campaign, and question whether he truly has next-level skills.

See on bleacherreport.com

Oklahoma junior center Gabe Ikard, a team captain, said one of the biggest problems for the Sooners through three 2012 games is that the offense and defense haven’t clicked at the same time very often.

“We’re not complementing the defense,” Ikard said. “We haven’t played well as a team, whether the offense is clicking or the defense is clicking.

“There hasn’t been a half where we were both on the same page doing well.”  Midway through the third quarter of Saturday’s 24-19 loss to Kansas State, the two units seemed on the same page, although briefly.

See on newsok.com