This addition to OU Insider VIP is in Year 3 and is set to be the best series yet! Each week I put a bow on the previous game then transition to the upcoming game. Per usual, there will be “bold predictions” at the bottom and I implore you to add your own in the message board replies.

Each year the comments immediate ask “Where are the recipes, Grill Boy??”. Well, this year I am giving you just that! Each week I will be filming a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a dish that coordinates with the opponent for that week. This will live on the OUInsider YouTube Channel.

1. Last article I said “It’s time to feed Xavier Robinson. Brent Venables has already confirmed that Oklahoma plans to redshirt the Carl Albert alum. Robinson has already appeared in three games, so he can appear in one more before he has to shut it down. This is the one.”

At the time, Brent HAD planned to redshirt Robinson, but feed him they did, and ball out he did. Xavier averaged 6.2 yards per carry and added a 7 yard reception on a swing pass. He ran downhill, trusted his speed, squared up his pads, and broke tackles. Then, the offense went away from it. When Xavier Robinson is cooking, the run blocking is there, and Jackson isn’t seeing things well, it should be a fireable offense to drop back to pass late. This coaching staff continues to suffer from paralysis by analysis and its maddening. It’s as if they think other teams will adjust to what’s working for Oklahoma, so instead of continuing to do what is working they switch to what hasn’t worked for Oklahoma in hopes the element of surprise will win the day.

2. When the clock struck zeroes in Columbia last Saturday, Oklahoma had achieved something nationally once thought impossible. The head coach preaches standards and accountability at every corner. Yet on Saturday they took over the #1 spot in America in lost fumbles. On Saturday they fumbled the ball six times and lost four. Four of those fumbles were by Jackson Arnold. Two of those fumbles were non-contact fumbles by Arnold. One of those by Arnold was with twenty two seconds left and allowed Missouri to walk in for the game-winning touchdown. If it were up to me, I would bench Jackson going forward, but it is not up to me. Yes, Michael Hawkins Jr. turned the ball over plenty to start the game against South Carolina. None were as egregious as Jackson’s non-contact fumbles. Jackson was benched for bad turnovers against Tennessee, then was given a second chance once Hawkins turned the ball over. Shouldn’t Mike be given that same second chance? Shouldn’t there be some type of consequences for handing a winnable game away on a silver platter? Arnold completed one pass over 10 yards when he linked with Deion Burks for a 14 yard pickup. The production is not worth the long leash, in my opinion. Missouri has the 10th ranked scoring defense in the SEC.

3. I’ve seen a few folks imply that this loss fell on the defense. Those people need to get their heads checked. They were given short fields to defend due to turnovers and inept offense. They were on the field for nearly 35 minutes. Brent Venables shared that Oklahoma has defended more plays than anyone in the country this season. That’s humiliating if you’re the offensive staff, but even more humiliating the Brent Venables let his offensive staff but his defense in that position. Could the defense have played better? Of course. It always can. Should they have stopped Drew Pyne to protect their touchdown lead with two minutes to play? Sure. The whole reason they had the lead late is due to Billy Bowman’s scoop and score when all seemed lost. Sooner Magic turned to Sooner Tragic when the defense just wore down. Danny Stutsman set a career high with 19 tackles. Billy scored a touchdown. None of it mattered in the end.

4. I was unaware that Theo Wease had beef with Oklahoma and/or their fans. I understand that athletes also “invent” beef to add motivation to an upcoming matchup, but Theo approaching the OU section and making a mini movie about how personal it was to him felt so odd. Then I perused the Instagram comments under his post about the game where he dissed OU with the caption. It made me sad, so you will share in my sadness as I share SOME of them.

Spencer Rattler: “I love it! (100 emoji)

Joshua Eaton: “Yea stick”

Rhamondre: “Bih cold fr”

Jackson Sumlin: (handshake emojis)

General Booty: (fire emojis)

Delarrin Turner-Yell: “Sheesh”

Andrew Raym: “let em know 1!”

Marvin Mims: “you different brotha”

Brian Asamoah: “H1M”

Mario Williams: “Get back a mf (salute emoji)”

Marcus Stripling: “Theee (fire emoji)”

Jeremiah Criddell: “Legendary”

Tyrese Robinson: (three salute emojis)

DaShaun White: “Hahaha major”

Shane Whitter: “Let em know 1!!”

Charleston Rambo: “Yuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Jalen Redmond: (ooh wee emojis)

Tre Norwood: “Popping it (fire emojis)

So I suppose there must have been some beef? Or Lincoln’s recruits are really just Lincoln’s guys? Or they just love Theo? I don’t know. But it’s a bummer to see over twenty former OU players celebrating his diss of OU.

5. This will come off as sour grapes, but I would feel this way if Oklahoma would have dominated Missouri.

What on earth made the SEC decision makers think that Mizzou belonged in the SEC? This isn’t a “they aren’t good enough for it” thing, as they just beat us, but the campus, the geography, the stadium, the people.. NONE of it even suggests “south”. It feels like a Big 12 school, and if I had to place them into a “Power 2” league, it would definitely be the Big 10. They just seem like such an outlier. I have been to Auburn and Oxford this year. I’ve been to games in Baton Rouge, Fayetteville, and Columbia, SC. I’ve been to Austin. Those all felt like traditional southern or SEC environments. Even in a loss to Ole Miss, I left excited to return. There is nothing that makes me want to go back to Columbia, Missouri. Listen to me, already an SEC gatekeeper despite just becoming part of the conference. I’m a quick study.

1. There is likely one path to victory for Oklahoma this week. That path is narrow and winding. That path has obstacles you have to avoid. That path includes stopping Jalen Milroe’s legs and living and dying with his arm. In SEC play Milroe has throw five touchdowns and six interceptions. In the Tide’s most recent loss, Tennessee held Milroe to 11 yards rushing and forced him to throw it 45 times. That’s the recipe for success defensively. In the LSU blowout, Milroe rushed for a whopping 185 yards and four touchdowns. Luckily, Oklahoma’s run defense looks a heckuva lot more like Tennessee’s than it does LSU’s. Tennessee ranks #1 nationally in defensive rushing efficiency. Oklahoma ranks #2 in that category. LSU ranks 82rd which is good for second-to-last in the SEC. Limit the effectiveness of Milroe’s legs and you stay on the narrow path to victory.

2. Another thing you MUST do to say on that narrow path is something the Sooners have failed miserably to do all season. They MUST hold on to the football. This is a highly opportunistic defense coming in to Norman. They’re riding a three-game streak of forcing three or more turnovers. They are licking their chops imagining Arnold, Tatum, and Bowen’s ball security issues. If Oklahoma is to stay on the path, they will have to keep the ball out of harm’s way. In a recent interview, Xavier Robinson told reporters that he, Brent, and DeMarco had revisited the redshirt conversation and they were going to burn it. I expect Robinson to get a heavy workload because I will lose my mind if they burn his redshirt for a handful of carries. My strategy for keeping the ball out of harm’s way would be to hand the ball off to Xavier Robinson and Jovontae Barnes (if available) a combined 50+ times. I know that sounds dramatic, but if this Alabama defense has a weakness, it's the interior of their run defense. You can run between the tackles on this unit. Shorten the game with the run offense. Stick with the run. Protect the ball. Catch the punts. Don’t commit stupid penalties. If those five things happen, you’re still going to be on that narrow path.

3. Eli Bowen has been one of the few bright spots of this season. He got mossed on a highlight reel toe tap by Theo Wease, but he was in perfect position. He had kept Luther Burden relatively quiet, until Luther made that big play late to set up the touchdown. But that wasn’t on Bowen. That was on Jacobe Johnson. I think those two are still likely your best options going in to this game. Eli is the best cover corner available, and Johnson is such a physical presence that can go up and catch a jump ball if he’s in position due to his background as a wide receiver. As wild as it sounds, a game after calling for true freshman Eli Bowen to shadow All-American Luther Burden, I want Bowen shadowing freshman phenom Ryan Williams. He’s made defenders look silly all year and he has bailed out an often inaccurate Milroe repeatedly. If I’m going to go down to Ryan Williams and Jalen Milroe in the passing game, I’m going to go down with Eli Bowen trying his best.

4. Don’t look now, but we’re starting to get some of that elusive continuity on the offensive line! It only took spring ball, fall camp, and the majority of the season to get there, but we did it! The offensive line issues from early in the year have undoubtedly cause Jackson to see ghosts, as he continues to put his eyes down and leave even clean pockets, but hopefully the bye week film sessions showed him that he can trust it a bit more. Logan Howland and Heath Ozaeta have both improved by leaps and bounds since we saw them at Ole Miss and Tennessee, respectively. I can’t imagine where they’ll be if they finish this season holding down the left side, then get all offseason to work together over there as well.

5. This game is going to be a bit emotional inside that locker room and all around the stadium. Danny Stutsman, Ethan Downs, Billy Bowman, Woodi Washington, and others will be taking their last-ever snaps on Owen Field. This particular group of seniors are the last of the Riley holdovers. Brent Venables commended their loyalty in a recent press conference. Danny specifically has become the face of the program after the last couple years. Imagine telling someone in 2017 that a linebacker would soon be the face of Oklahoma Football. At some point “Da-nny Stuts-man” chants will rain down and it will be a great moment. If there was ever a time for the defense to stand tall one last time at home, wouldn’t it be the perfect fairytale to do it against the program that’s dominated the sport for the decade plus? On national television? Danny Stutsman might have to break his single game tackle record that he just set last week, and shut down Milroe repeatedly. But then again, he IS the highest rated linebacker in the entire country when it comes to run defense grade. I can’t think of a better opportunity to leave an exclamation mark.

Each week we’ll see if anyone can nail the exact score. If you do, I’ll try and get Parker to send you some mens skincare product or something. (I have not discussed this with him, but I can at least try!)

My prediction:

Alabama 24

Oklahoma 14

Throughout the season we will do bold predictions for each game. I will start us off, and then I will ask the members to give me some bold predictions in the comments. From the member-produced predictions, I’ll add any that came true to the next article.

Best predictions from last week:

@LesWilson said “Defense Scores.” Billy’s scoop and score got us there, but what if he would’ve kneeled it at the one and we drain clock to kick the go ahead field goal? I blame Les.

My predictions for this week:

Xavier Robinson matches his season total in one game with 15 carries. They aren’t burning the red shirt for no reason (I hope).

Danny Stutsman has 20+ tackles. I think you’ll have to go out there and pull him off the field if you’re Brett Venables.