If it hadn't been for his 71-yard punt return TD in the second half, the sophomore would have earned a failing grade for his punt return decision-making. He tried to field a rolling punt in traffic that could have easily been a turnover and fielded another running backward at his own 15-yard line.
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Quarterback Zac Robinson: C
An up-and-down night for the junior quarterback included two interceptions and a fumbled exchange — all in the first half. He rebounded after halftime to keep the offense moving, finishing with 699 total yards.
Offensive line: A+
Kendall Hunter benefited most from the offensive line's dominant performance, but it didn't really matter who was running the ball. The Cowboys controlled the line of scrimmage all night long.
Defensive tackle Swanson Miller: A+
Miller's stats weren't daunting — two tackles and one forced fumble — but the 6-foot-4, 300-pound junior-college transfer made them count. The fumble he caused swung momentum back toward OSU when Houston was driving in the second half.
Pass defense: C-
The two biggest weaknesses of the defense Saturday night were pass rush and pass coverage. Houston QB Casey Keenum was given plenty of time to throw when he needed it, and when he didn't, there always seemed to be an open man, leading to the Cougars' 387 passing yards.
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I watched OU's game on TV. I attended the OSU game. Two different reporters graded OU and OSU which makes the grading system bogus to begin with. Wright feels Zac's two interceptions worthy of an average performance despite directing the offense to 699 total yards. Tramel felt Bradford was on his "A" game in spite of two interceptions. Tramel did not address special teams, exept the kicker who completed all PATs and a FG. Bailey successfully made all PATs. Tramel addressed cleanliness, Wright did not. Dez got a "C" on punt returns, Wright stated it would have been an "F" if not for the return for the touchdown. The only reason I am replying to this is that I want OSU to keep this in perspective. Their grading system is what it is. Tramel or Wright's grades will have nothing to do with the success or failure of the OU or OSU football season. OU and OSU are not even graded in the same categories. Tramel graded OU on "cleanliness" and "replays". Wright chose to personalize 3 of 5 evaluations to specific OSU players. I choose to use these articles as entertainment at Sunday morning brunch.
When OSU has a C on punt returns .....here's some comments about ou's Tramel, given this article and others you have posted, I am not sure you actually watched the game. Special teams were awful...250+ return yards. At times Stoops' teams seem completely confused as evidenced by bone headed plays, penalties etc. The team I saw on Saturday could, at times, play with anyone and at other times get beat by anyone. We've a long way to goAgree with Jeff. Berry, how can you do a report card and not rip the special teams units? Iglesias takes a kickoff deep in the end zone and returns it to the 12? The only bright spot all day was the punt return team's foiling of the fake punt. Moreland was weak at best. On the KO return TD, we were kicking with the wind. When we'reJeff, Richmond - Sep 7, 2008 9:46 AM kicking with a brisk wind, the ball needs to be ten rows up How about C- for special teams and kick-off unit? I'd like to see the opposing team's offense start out behind the 42 yard line most of the time. (somewhere along the 15-20 would be nice).
Jeff, Norman - Sep 7, 2008 8:52 KA, Dallas - Sep 7, 2008 9:27 AM
Sorry Mark, but I have to agree with Zac's grade. If he would have made those mistakes in the first half of any Big 12 conference game the final results may not have been so good. He can't throw horrible passes into coverage like that and he should know better.-----Damien Davis gets my 'play of the game' for those 2 blocks in the same play. I have NEVER seen an effort like that. It was simply incredible.
So, when you average 25 yards/completion, complete 2/3 of your throws, and have a 300-yard day, you're just average? The two picks were bad, but not bad enough to earn a C.
And when Dez picked up the "rolling punt", he saved at least 20 yards of field position. His over-the-shoulder snag is about as routine as it gets for him. And then he brings one back 70+ for a score. That has C+ written all over it.
The secondary didn't play poorly. They made a lot of plays on the ball and were typically in a good position. The linebackers were pretty weak in the cover 2 (especially Gent and Lemon attempting to cover the seams), but when the back 4 or 5 is forced to cover for 9 seconds because the defensive line can't make a tackle, it gets tough.
d. Completely agree with your comment. Scott, a lot of what a punt returner can accomplish is relagated to the type of punt, i.e. High, Low, Bounce and the defenders ability to cover.
The pass defense did have some struggles but in there defense Keenum threw the ball 61 times. Anytime a team throws the ball that much they are usually going to have high stats in the passing offense. Either way it was a good win for the Cowboys.
The pass defense had some struggles in the game but in there defense Keenum threw the ball 61 times. Anytime a team throws that much they are usually going to have high numbers in the passing offense. Either way a good win for the Cowboys.
C- is pretty good for the pass defense. It wasn't pretty tonight. However, I would give Damian Davis an A+, he threw two blocks on one play that led to Bryant's 74 yrd touchdown.
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Jeff, Norman - Sep 7, 2008 8:52 KA, Dallas - Sep 7, 2008 9:27 AM
And when Dez picked up the "rolling punt", he saved at least 20 yards of field position. His over-the-shoulder snag is about as routine as it gets for him. And then he brings one back 70+ for a score. That has C+ written all over it.
The secondary didn't play poorly. They made a lot of plays on the ball and were typically in a good position. The linebackers were pretty weak in the cover 2 (especially Gent and Lemon attempting to cover the seams), but when the back 4 or 5 is forced to cover for 9 seconds because the defensive line can't make a tackle, it gets tough.
The defense I would grade an F