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Posted

Cross-posting from the other OU thread. OL shuffle incoming (via their On3 site)

OU could start two freshmen on the offensive line this Saturday against No. 15 Michigan.

In January, the Sooners brought in two of the most highly-touted freshmen linemen in the country in Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje. And since they arrived on campus, they’ve been impressive. Both competed for starting jobs this preseason camp — Fasusi at left tackle and Fodje at right guard. And both could be the difference versus the Wolverines.

“We’ve been bragging on those guys since they got here in January, every opportunity we could,” coach Brent Venables said on Wednesday during the SEC teleconference. “Only because their physical maturity and mental maturity have stood out, their willingness, their ability to show up every day and work at a high level, pick up the mental challenges of learning a new language, and then being away from home for the first time, they’ve been exceptional in every way.”

Fasusi didn’t play in the season opener versus Illinois State after having a heat-related episode in practice. But he’s expected to return against Michigan and could potentially start with Jacob Sexton likely missing the game due to a knee injury.

“It’ll be good to get Mike back,” Venables said. “He had a really good fall camp.”

As for Fodje, he could also start on Saturday. He came in at right guard in the first quarter and never came back out, playing 56 of Oklahoma’s 72 snaps.

“I thought it was, for a true freshman, that Ryan did some fantastic things,” Venables said. “He whooped and got whooped, lost a few battles as well, which is part of it.”

According to SoonerScoop sources, Fasusi and Fodje have both gotten some first-team reps in practice this week. So has Derek Simmons at right tackle, as he also missed the first game.

It’ll be fascinating to see who takes the first snaps of the game on Saturday. Oklahoma has several options at every position, including even center, as Troy Everett and Jake Maikkula are still battling.

But it’s clear whether they start or not, there’s a good chance both Fasusi and Fodje will play meaningful snaps on Saturday night. That’s a tall task for two true freshmen, but OU feels like they are up for it.

“Both those guys are mature beyond their years,” Venables said. “Have a lot to still learn and a lot of developing still, but we trust those guys. They’re going to strain, they’re going to compete, they’re going to respond. They’re going to show up ready to play.”

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Posted
1 minute ago, Hookem2147 said:

Cross-posting from the other OU thread. OL shuffle incoming (via their On3 site)

OU could start two freshmen on the offensive line this Saturday against No. 15 Michigan.

In January, the Sooners brought in two of the most highly-touted freshmen linemen in the country in Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje. And since they arrived on campus, they’ve been impressive. Both competed for starting jobs this preseason camp — Fasusi at left tackle and Fodje at right guard. And both could be the difference versus the Wolverines.

“We’ve been bragging on those guys since they got here in January, every opportunity we could,” coach Brent Venables said on Wednesday during the SEC teleconference. “Only because their physical maturity and mental maturity have stood out, their willingness, their ability to show up every day and work at a high level, pick up the mental challenges of learning a new language, and then being away from home for the first time, they’ve been exceptional in every way.”

Fasusi didn’t play in the season opener versus Illinois State after having a heat-related episode in practice. But he’s expected to return against Michigan and could potentially start with Jacob Sexton likely missing the game due to a knee injury.

“It’ll be good to get Mike back,” Venables said. “He had a really good fall camp.”

As for Fodje, he could also start on Saturday. He came in at right guard in the first quarter and never came back out, playing 56 of Oklahoma’s 72 snaps.

“I thought it was, for a true freshman, that Ryan did some fantastic things,” Venables said. “He whooped and got whooped, lost a few battles as well, which is part of it.”

According to SoonerScoop sources, Fasusi and Fodje have both gotten some first-team reps in practice this week. So has Derek Simmons at right tackle, as he also missed the first game.

It’ll be fascinating to see who takes the first snaps of the game on Saturday. Oklahoma has several options at every position, including even center, as Troy Everett and Jake Maikkula are still battling.

But it’s clear whether they start or not, there’s a good chance both Fasusi and Fodje will play meaningful snaps on Saturday night. That’s a tall task for two true freshmen, but OU feels like they are up for it.

“Both those guys are mature beyond their years,” Venables said. “Have a lot to still learn and a lot of developing still, but we trust those guys. They’re going to strain, they’re going to compete, they’re going to respond. They’re going to show up ready to play.”

The writers on 247 have been foreshadowing the playing early of Fasusi and Fodje since the spring, and they've been touting this as a good thing.

Fodje looked lost at times on Saturday. Not every highly ranked OL is Kelvin Banks. He's an exception to the notion that freshmen OL should be redshirted. Numerous people who evaluated both players, including before they were OU signees, said they'd need at least a year inside of whoever's program they signed with last December. So, wait, OU won the OL lottery not once, but twice, in the same signing period? Right. 

Fodje graded out at 61.2 for his first game against an FCS opponent. I wonder how that score is going to look after this weekend?

The reality is that these guys are being rushed to play because OU has absolute dogshit for personnel on the OL. They let Bedenbaugh take a 3 year nap in recruiting and they've failed to fix that in the portal. Now they've got numerous injuries, again, and bad options, so here we go. 

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Posted

I hope Michigan mudholes them. I’m expecting a low scoring, sloppy game, though. If I’m Michigan, I’d take a conservative approach on offense. Play field position, and wait for OU’s offense to make a mistake and give you a short field. 

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Posted
12 hours ago, Chili dog said:

I hope Michigan mudholes them. I’m expecting a low scoring, sloppy game, though. If I’m Michigan, I’d take a conservative approach on offense. Play field position, and wait for OU’s offense to make a mistake and give you a short field. 

I anticipate this game will be fairly similar to what we saw on both side in Texas v OSU. Hard to get a complete picture from either of their first games but I'm fairly confident the Michigan front 7 performs well against the OU OL and ultimately leads them to a 10-14 point win. 

Then again, I know shit about fuck.

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Posted

Just read an article on OU's On3 site saying this is the biggest game of the Brent Venables era, and people were in the comments basically trying to convince themselves it would be a program-changing win.

A home game against the #15 team, starting a freshman QB, where you are favored by almost a touchdown.

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Posted
4 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Just read an article on OU's On3 site saying this is the biggest game of the Brent Venables era, and people were in the comments basically trying to convince themselves it would be a program-changing win.

A home game against the #15 team, starting a freshman QB, where you are favored by almost a touchdown.

The 247 site wrote a similar article, spoilered below. The comments aren't rationalizing anything, though. My favorite was "Based on his history as HC at OU - every game is the biggest game of his career."

Spoiler

Oklahoma-Michigan could be biggest game of Brent Venables' head coaching career

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(Photo: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, USA TODAY Sports)

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    NORMAN — Brent Venables has been a part of three national championship teams. He has coached in three other national title games, along with a couple other College Football Playoff appearances as a defensive coordinator. Then there's the 14 conference championship games he has been part of during his career.

    Venables is no stranger to big games, but ask the Sooners' fourth-year head coach, and he'll tell you that every game has been the biggest game of his career. He said as much about Oklahoma's season-opening win against Illinois State, an FCS opponent.

    "Some people, they don't like that," Venables said. "And that's cool. This next game, it'll be the biggest game of the year. And I've coached in a lot of games where it was the biggest games of my career. I'll run out of fingers and toes where I've had that same attitude. I've never been in a game bigger than this one."

    That's just Venables' singular, consistent approach to coaching. Every moment, every game, is like a fourth-and-1 situation.

    "He truly lives by the motto, 'How you do anything is how you do everything,'" offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said.

    While the next game is always the biggest game to Venables, there's a case to be made that Saturday's marquee matchup with Michigan is at least the biggest game of Venables' career as a head coach. The 15th-ranked Wolverines (1-0) visit Owen Field to take on the 18th-ranked Sooners (1-0) on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., with the game airing on ABC as the most high-profile matchup of Week 2.

     

     

    Venables' tenure at Oklahoma has been uneven to date: a 10-win season sandwiched between a pair of 6-7 campaigns and zero bowl wins in three years. The program's two signature wins during his time as head coach have been the thrilling 2023 Red River Rivalry victory against Texas (which still managed to win the Big 12 and make the College Football Playoff that year) and last season's upset of Alabama in OU's home finale.

    Those shortcomings fall at the feet of Venables, who will be the first to take ownership of the program's lack of success under his watch—something that both eats at him and fuels him.

    "I've been incredibly disappointed that we haven't been able to give more reason for celebrating and excitement with our end product," Venables said. "But I'm motivated by that. I think that that's a byproduct of keeping your head down and, doing everything that you can to help build the program the right way."

     
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    That has been the mission for Venables, who inherited a program in flux and undertook a larger rebuild than what may have appeared from the outside. Oklahoma had 63 first-year players in Venables' first season as head coach. Year 2's success was buoyed by a top-five scoring offense but a defense that was still in the works. Last year, the Sooners' defense looked more like a Brent Venables defense, but the offense fell apart after a bad hire at coordinator, an array of injuries at wide receiver and along the offensive line, and inconsistent play at quarterback.

    Venables worked quickly to fix those mistakes. He brought in Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer from Washington State, hoping to import the duo's offensive success while surrounding them with new weapons at wide receiver and running back, along with a retooled offensive line.

    Now, after a dress rehearsal of sorts last week against Illinois State, Oklahoma heads into a spotlight matchup against Michigan with a chance for Venables' program to make a statement and secure perhaps the biggest win of his tenure — or maybe the most important one. Michigan, despite its own disappointment last season during a transition year, won a national championship in 2023 and is 49-8 overall since 2021.

    A win Saturday in this early-season nonconference showdown would give the SEC some bragging rights over the Big Ten, sure, but that's secondary, at best. Primarily, it's a win that could serve as proof of concept for Venables and the direction of the program — while also acting as a canary in the coal mine for what this season could bring, considering the daunting schedule still ahead for Oklahoma. After this Michigan game, Oklahoma's SEC slate still features eight teams in the top-25 of ESPN's SP+, with seven of those games against teams ranked 18th or better.

    "It's our guys against their guys," Venables said. "It's Oklahoma-Michigan. The opportunity we have in front of us — finding a way to win, what that would mean for us as we build and create momentum for this season and improve our football team."

    It's an opportunity that, even after more than three decades of coaching and two-plus decades of big-game experience, Venables still gets juiced for. Then again, that's not as difficult when every game is the biggest game to date.

    Except Oklahoma-Michigan really might be, especially for a head coach who so desperately years to deliver success to a program he has dedicated much of his career to.

    "I'm passionate about what I do," Venables said. "I think the energy and enthusiasm — our players are going to be ready to play their butts off. My job is to make sure they have poise under pressure, that they're prepared, that they can quiet the noise and chaos of game day. Game day — that's real. The best team, best players? They have poise under pressure. As we've said, pressure is a privilege, and I want our guys to embrace that and everything that goes along with it. But winning doesn't negotiate, and you don't want the emotions of game day to be a tranquilizer to you as a player, to hijack your emotions in all the wrong places. You have to be able to channel your passion and energy for all the right things and not lose your mind in the middle of it.

    "That's my job is to create the right type of mindset with our players on how you go win in these moments. Do what winning requires is where it starts for me."

 

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Posted
5 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Just read an article on OU's On3 site saying this is the biggest game of the Brent Venables era, and people were in the comments basically trying to convince themselves it would be a program-changing win.

A home game against the #15 team, starting a freshman QB, where you are favored by almost a touchdown.

Right.  And if they lose to Texas again all that will be instantly forgotten while they discuss his buyout.

Posted

I've spent a little time watching both OU and Michigan from week 1, more OU than Michigan because I watched that entire hideous game. Figured I'd post thoughts on what this one could look like and see how it holds up. Spoilered for TL; DR people.

Spoiler

OU's strengths:

-DL (they didn't really show much or look great against ISU, so this is a reputational strength rather than first game performance-based).

-Mobile QB who can sling it.

-Experienced LB crew with talent.

-Solid safeties.

OU's weaknesses:

-The QB will not quit on a play that should be quit on. 

-The OL is a hodgepodge of mixed talent and backups. They're likely starting two true freshman in this game, one at LT.

-Depth on the OL and at WR due to injuries and poor recruiting.

-They have extremely mediocre talent at most offensive skill positions. 

-The assumed star RB, Ott, has been hurt and will play sparingly unless he gets on a quick heater and feels okay. That hasn't happened since 2023, btw. 

-OL gets no push in the running game. 

Michigan's strengths:

-Seasoned and successful offensive line. 

-Experience at h-back and WR.

-Talent across the board on defense, experience in the back 7 and at Edge.

-Justice Haynes was wasted at Bama and looks like a revelation at RB. 

Michigan's weaknesses:

-Completely green true freshman QB getting his first start against a P4 program in a hostile environment.

-Weak or young talent at WR. 

-DT depth and experience. 

When OU has the ball:

OU is going to be pass first in this game, whether that is due to injuries or talent is irrelevant. The one thing they know is that Mateer can throw the ball, so they're going to do what they can to make that work. They couldn't run the ball against Illinois State and they tried. They attempted 32 carries and picked up just over 100 yards. The OL does not get push in the running game and it is unlikely that Fasusi, who is currently slated to start at LT and not really at a fighting size in physique yet, will change any of that against the UM front. WR Burks is healthy and he looks okay, but I expect Michigan to try to bully him as much as they can due to his size versus their secondary. Okies are high on WR Keontez Lewis, but he looked like a replacement level WR against an FCS team even though he caught for over 100 yards. 

Martindale has figured some things out with the college game and his personnel. He's going to try to disguise some stuff and confuse Mateer, but not in a manner that overwhelms the instinct of his defense. Mateer has never faced a defense with this level of talent, nor the sophistication in its coaching staff. Arbuckle hasn't really either. OU posters are talking of Arbuckle as some sort of wunderkind, but let's him coach a few games against P4 powers before we go there as well. Michigan will not have to expend any additional resources to shut down OU's running game from the first snap forward. They were able to force NM to pass and then picked the QB 3 times without showing a whole lot on the playcalling. The game was never out of reach, but never in jeopardy, either. 

If Mateer is the real deal, he'll be able to prove it in this game. He's going to get zero run support and he's going up what will be a top 15 defense that can get into a QB's head if he allows it. Mateer's lack of experience against this type of team has been blithely ignored by the CFB media as they talk him up for the Heisman. As we just experienced, maybe they should all wait a little bit and see how this goes for the guy. 

When Michigan has the ball:

Michigan's talent on offense favors the running game. They have a star in the making at RB in Haynes. The OL has mostly played together now for a full season. They have a transfer from Cal Poly who started at OG after playing OT the past twos in FCS. Several of the more experienced OL graded out above 70 on PFF in game one, the others graded 63, 58, and 53. Sprague, the RT, looks like the only potential liability. 

I expect Michigan to ease Underwood into the game and hostile environment by leaning heavily on the run game, even if that means a few early 3 and outs. The dude isn't much of a runner by reputation, so I'm skeptical that he'll play much of a role in that regard. 

If the Michigan personnel can get comfortable and have any success running the ball, that should open up the passing game. Michigan's talent at WR is either shit or young. They're likely going to have to get their talented but inexperienced TEs involved, along with Bredeson the H-back and the RBs. Venables will obviously try to disguise and confuse and get pressure and INTs accordingly. 

Outlook:

Moore isn't an idiot and has played conservatively on the road when the advantages favored him on the talent and experience side. See @PSU in 2023 and @Ohio State in 2024. The turnover margin expectation favors Michigan in this game if they limit Underwood's attempts early. OU is going to have to pass the ball and also use Mateer in the run game. Turnovers likely decide the outcome here in another early season rock fight between two blue bloods with new QBs. 

I don't know which coach needs this win more, but I have to think it's Venables. A loss, at home, with the new shiny objects at OC, QB, and RB, could put the entire season on tilt for the OU program and Venables himself. OU will have to win with a dominant front 7 performance and Mateer playing out of his shoes. Michigan can win by controlling the clock with a strong running game and then containing and confusing Mateer. 

Give me Michigan 20 - OU 14. 

 

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Posted (edited)
26 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

That's a parody account.

I got it from a sooner claiming it was real, and Nagy is a moron, so I never questioned it. 

Edited by Chili dog
Posted
On 9/3/2025 at 9:16 PM, Chili dog said:

I hope Michigan mudholes them. I’m expecting a low scoring, sloppy game, though. If I’m Michigan, I’d take a conservative approach on offense. Play field position, and wait for OU’s offense to make a mistake and give you a short field. 

If Texas against tOSU had the Underwood that played for Mich last week,

Texas wins handily.

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