Insight Bowl 2011: Grading Oklahoma's Win over Iowa

Head coach Bob Stoops led his No. 14 Oklahoma Sooners into Tempe, Ariz. to face his alma mater Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2011 Insight Bowl.

The Sooners had redemption on their minds coming off a disappointing season that saw them begin as BCS title favorites and end with a fourth-place finish in the Big 12 conference.

The 31-14 victory will not erase all the pain from a historic collapse in 2011, but it will provide much-needed momentum going into the offseason.

Let's take a look at how the Sooners graded in their third consecutive bowl victory.

Offense

As with many games this season, the offense was a tale of two halves with the first being hard to watch.

They were unable to put together a drive of more than three plays until the second quarter, when quarterback Landry Jones, after being seen trying to pump up his offense before the drive, led a 13-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that ended in the Bell-Dozer package.

Landry Jones (16-of-25, 161 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT) was his usual inconsistent self throwing four or five bad balls for every solid throw. Freshman receiver Kameel Jackson was forced to show off his hands on his first two catches, making up for off-the-mark throws from Jones.

Midway through the second quarter, Landry made the announcers look silly when he threw three consecutive incompletions as they touted his "unquestioned NFL-ready talent." Landry's worst throw of the night, a third-quarter interception in the red zone, could have been intercepted by three different Iowa defenders all in the flight path of his throw.

While we finally saw signs of life from sophomore Brennan Clay, averaging 5.9 YPC galloping through gaping holes, the overall running game never really got going. Roy Finch, dinged up early in the game (I assume), only took four carries.

Despite the early woes and general inconsistency, the Sooners were still able to string together three long scoring drives while taking advantage of good field position on two more en route to a big win.

Give some credit to the Iowa defense, who played better than the scoreboard would indicate.

Final Grade: B-

Defense

The OU defense was on the field for 82 plays Friday night—19 more than their opposition. Iowa, relying on gashing runs up the middle and an effective play-action game, were able to put together several long, taxing drives on the Sooner defense.

The secondary, with Aaron Colvin and Tony Jefferson at safety, had open receivers running through it all night. Luckily for them, Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg couldn't hit any of them in the first half, going 9-of-20.

Vandenberg caught fire in the third quarter, however, and was able to lead the Hawkeyes to two touchdown drives totaling 28 plays and 153 yards. 

The front six made enough plays to keep the conservative Iowa offense from posing any real threat, but the back five (including the hybrid DB/LB spot played by Joseph Ibiloye and Corey Nelson) really just had to wait for a bad throw, mistake or penalty from Iowa to kill a drive. 

An exception to this generalization was cornerback Jamell Fleming who was named Player of the Game with seven tackles, three passes defended and an interception. The senior stud will be sorely missed next season.

Other good individual efforts came from Tom Wort and R.J. Washington, but the entire unit looked overmatched by an offensively inept team who stopped itself more than OU did.

Former OU defensive coordinator Mike Stoops was seen roaming the sidelines and coaching box, possibly a sign that the brother of Bob Stoops could make a return trip to Norman.

Final Grade: C+

Special Teams

The Sooners shined in all facets of special teams Friday night. Punter Tress Way, my personal pick for Player of the Game, averaged a whopping 50.3 yards on six punts. This included a clutch 67-yard bomb out of his own end zone and another crucial 57-yarder later in the game.

The return game showed signs of life as well, consistently putting the Sooners offense in good field position. Trey Franks returned the second-half kickoff to the Iowa 43-yard line, limping the entire way. Brennan Clay and Kenny Stills both had impressive returns as well.

Finally, freshman kicker Michael Hunnicutt improved his own school record for field goals by a freshman, increasing his total to 21 on 24 attempts this season.

In a back-and-forth game with struggling offenses, the winner is usually decided by special teams. OU decisively won this battle, which eventually helped them win the war.

Final Grade: A

Coaching

Given the injury and transfer situation, the OU coaches called a pretty good game. The depleted stable of skill position players limits your possibilities calling plays, but the Sooners made key halftime adjustments that opened up the offense and led to a victory.

Defensive coordinator Brent Venables kept heavy pressure on the Iowa offense all game, forcing bad throws, mistakes and turnovers. He never sent the same guy twice in a row, keeping the Iowa offensive line guessing.

The only questionable decisions I noticed came in a sequence at the end of the second half. On 3rd-and-short at midfield, OU called the exact same play out of the Bell-Dozer that the defense had seen just six minutes earlier on Blake Bell's first TD run of the night. It was snuffed out.

That stop led to a 4th-and-1 with 1:30 remaining and with the Bell-Package on the field, Stoops decided to punt. The Sooners could have quickly lined up and gotten the yard, but they were up 14 points and knew there was no danger of Iowa going the length of the field, so I can understand the safe call.

Other than those nit-picks, the coaching staff had a good game.

Final Grade: B+

Overall

The Sooners played exactly like we all thought they would. The offense struggled in the face of numerous injuries and inconsistent quarterback play. The defense made just enough plays to cover up for a mediocre performance from the secondary. They stumbled across the finish line of the 2011 season and now have a chance to regroup on a high note.

Oklahoma did what they had to do to get the victory by forcing costly Iowa mistakes and winning the field position battle. In the end, they earned their victory.

Overall Grade: B