Big XII Championship Game Key Matchup: Iowa State Tight Ends
I will concede the Oklahoma team that lost to Iowa State in October 37-30 is not the same Sooner team Iowa State will see Saturday in JerryWorld.
Back then, you had a redshirt freshman quarterback still thinking the Big XII was as easy as playing 7-on-7 in the desert and the Sooners best defensive player and running back were suspended for bad decisions a year ago.
NOTE: Trejan Bridges, the third player suspended six games last December along with Rhamondre Stephenson and Ronnie Perkins is still suspended by the NCAA. I have no idea why Stephenson and Perkins are playing and Bridges is still suspended other than “second hand smoke”.
And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see the improvement in the Oklahoma team during the past six game winning streak since that loss in Ames.
Spencer Rattler is no longer a redshirt freshman. He’s been better in Lincoln Riley’s system since his first half benching in the Cotton Bowl.
And he’s grown up through that experience and no longer is trying to force deep balls into cover two like he did against Iowa State.
Rattler has been helped by the addition of Stephenson who has single-handedly been a wrecking ball in the backfield.
Since his return against Texas Tech, only four games ago, Stephenson has run rough-shod over Big 12 defenses.
Stephenson has 65 carries for 382 yards and 6 touchdowns for a 5.9 average per carry.
And the Senior has also contributed out of the backfield with 14 catches for 175 yards for a 12.5 average receiving.
As for Perkins, the 6’3”, 247 pound Junior from St. Louis has established the edge in the run game and has been a terror rushing the quarterback in his four game season.
Perkins has 4 sacks along with 17 tackles, 6 solo, while giving the Sooners a “take no prisoners” attitude that carries over to the entire team “swagger”.
So, even though the Sooners have won 6 in a row since Ames, and have dramatically improved on both sides of the ball thanks to Rattler growing up and Stephenson and Perkins play adding swagger, is it good enough Saturday against Iowa State?
Because the Iowa State team that beat Oklahoma in Ames three months ago is better too!
Don't believe me?
Just glance at the just announced 2020 All-Big XII Football Team selections:
Breece Hall is the Big XII Offensive Player of the Year.
Mike Rose is the Big XII Defensive Player of the Year.
Xavier Hutchinson is the Big XII Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
Isheem Young is the Big XII Co-Defensive Freshman of the Year.
Matt Campbell is the Big XII Coach of the Year.
Brock Purdy is the Big XII 1st Team Quarterback.
Hall is the Big XII 1st Team Running Back.
Hutchinson is the Big XII 1st Team Wide Receiver.
Charlie Kolar is the Big XII 1st Team Tight End.
Colin Newell is one of five Big XII 1st Team Offensive Lineman.
JaQuan Bailey, Will McDonald, Rose and Greg Eisworth all made the Big XII 1st Team Defense.
Iowa State has also run off a 5-game win streak since their loss at Oklahoma State and their win in Austin ended Texas’ Big XII Championship hopes.
And they’ve done it the E.F. Hutton way..."they’ve earned it!”
Iowa State has a solid ball control offense led by underrated Junior quarterback Brock Purdy, also from Arizona.
Purdy has been rock-solid consistency-wise completing 66% of his passes averaging 227 yards per game and 7.7 yards average per attempt.
And he’s got the Big XII’s best running back in Breece Hall whose averaging 6.1 yards per carry while racking up 1,357 yards rushing.
And as good as Purdy and Hall have been they aren’t even the best weapons Iowa State has in its arsenal.
That would be the Cyclones Tight Ends.
Charlie Kolar, Dylan Soehner and Chase Hall are playing beast-mode this season.
This three-headed monster creates all kind of mismatches for opposing defenses. Because they are versatile enough to not only line up outside the Tackle in the traditional Tight End formation but they can also split out as wide receivers and create mismatches against smaller Corners and Safeties. Then, they can also all three show up in short yardage situations as additional run-blockers.
Kolar and Allen were the difference last October in the Sooners loss in Ames:
Charlie Kolar
6’ 6” 257 lbs.
4 catches, 66 yards
Chase Allen
6’ 7” 240 lbs.
3 catches 48 yards
Dylan Soehner, at 6’7” 272 pounds, didn’t even play against Oklahoma. And he's the best run-blocking Tight End the Cyclones have among the three players. According to a USA TODAY article on November 18, Soehner is the highest-rated run blocking Tight End in the country according to Pro Football Focus.
I know the stats of Kolar and Allen don't suggest they dominated the Sooners. But when you factor in Purdy's efficiency throwing,12-24 for 254 yards and one touchdown, and Hall's pounding the rock, 28 carries for 139 yards and two touchdowns, it's easy to see why the Iowa State tight ends are difference-makers.
Kolar and Allen's 7 receptions for 114 yards were not only a big chunk of Purdy's passing totals but they also contributed to other areas of the passing game, too.
Because just when you bring down your safeties to stop Hall, Purdy finds one of these 6'6" or 6'7" beasts open over the middle.
And, just when you double one of these guys, that leaves Cyclones leading receiver Xavier Hutchinson open for a 65-yard touchdown which is exactly what happened last October in Ames.
That 65-yard touchdown is the Cyclones longest play of the season.
The Sooners tried to utilize 5' 9", 189 pound nickel safety Bookie Radley-Hiles to stop Kolar and Allen.
And that didn't work out very well did it?
So what does Sooner Defensive Coordinator Alex Grinch do Saturday when his Speed D group is gonna face all three Cyclones Tight Ends?
In today's Daily Oklahoman, Ryan Aber said Grinch will keep converted linebacker Robert Barnes at Safety. Barnes was moved there last game against Baylor due to the slew of COVID-19 cases that decimated the Oklahoma defense for the Baylor game on December 5.
Before the OSU game, Barnes last started at Safety last year in the Peach Bowl against LSU when the starter Delarrin Turner-Yell was injured.
That didn't work out too well because LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and company shredded the weakened Sooner secondary 63-28 on the way to winning the national championship.
But Barnes at 6'2" 232 pounds is a bigger defender than the 5'9", 189 pounds Bookie Radley-Hiles.
So for now, Barnes will work at Safety Saturday in some form or fashion to help the Sooners match up better against the Iowa State beasts at Tight End.
I would also expect converted corner Tre Norwood, 6' 0", 189 pounds, to work in at Nickel to help better match up with the Cyclones Tight Ends.
And, Grinch will hope to rely on the added presence of Perkins to increase pressure on Purdy and force him into bad decisions or throws. Isaiah Thomas has also come on since that October game in Ames and leads the Sooners with 7.5 sacks.
As for Radley-Hiles, Riley gave him a vote of confidence after he was given a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting an OSU receiver that gave the Cowboys a first down on their way to their only first half touchdown.
It's these type of bone-headed plays that has rankled Sooner fans over the past three years.
As much of an advantage Radley-Hiles gives the Sooner defense with his brains calling coverages, his lapses of judgment are game-killers.
His targeting call on a defenseless LSU player in the Peach Bowl cost him an early first half ejection and further depleted the Oklahoma secondary.
And he is definitely at a huge size mismatch against Kolar, Allen and Soehner.
So how does this rematch Saturday play out for the Sooners who are going for their sixth straight Big XII Championship, and 4th straight College Football Championship appearance, against the Cyclones who are making their first appearance in JerryWorld?
Easy.
Just watch how they cover the Iowa State Tight Ends.
Because if the Sooners can't cover Charlie Kolar, Chase Allen and Dylan Soehner, it's gonna be a long day at JerryWorld.
#Boomer
