Jenni Carlson Chat: Talking OSU's chances at 10 wins, Joe Mixon, Frank Shannon and Steven Adams
Jenni Carlson 10:22 a.m. Greetings, sports fans! Can't wait to chat starting at 11 a.m., but you can send your questions in now. First in, first answered! Chat at you soon!
11:00 a.m. All right, folks. Here we go!
11:00 a.m. WhAts your line on OU-Tex this year?
11:00 a.m. Here's a line: OU should win by double digits. ...
11:01 a.m. Now, if you're looking for some sort of betting line, I have no earthly idea. I'd kind of like to see if Trevor Knight can go more than a game or two without being hurt. I'd like to see if David Ash can throw straight. I'd like to see if Charlie Strong has enough players to field a competitive team. ...
11:02 a.m. So, in other words, check back with me in about a month. We should have a lot clearer picture then of how that game might go down.
11:02 a.m. Hi Jenni! Glad you are around for another year of fun. FSU won last year with lots of youth. Word is Pokes are talented but young. Are a few big upsets and 10 wins impossible?
11:02 a.m. Billy Bob, I'm glad to be around, too. This will be the start of my 16th football season in Oklahoma. I don't know where the time has gone, but these years have been fun. :) ...
11:04 a.m. Are 10 wins possible for OSU? Sure. Anything is possible. I just don't think it's probable. That's because OSU is going to face several other teams, particularly the four at the end of its regular-season schedule, who have as much or more talent and are more experienced. ...
11:05 a.m. OSU is in good shape as a program. Lots of young talent. Good coaches. Etc. But I could see this being a bit of a rough year because of the inexperience. The defensive secondary. The linebackers are EXTREMELY thin. And the offensive line? Well, that could be the area where the Cowboys have their biggest struggles. It is inexperienced and thin. Could be dicey.
11:05 a.m. no big Monday games for OSU? Seems like the national folks are tired of the dog and pony show of Ford and osu
11:06 a.m. Oh, I don't know about that. Teams are selected for Big Monday because ESPN thinks they're going to be good or going to be in a good matchup. There are a lot of questions about how good OSU will be. Bottom line. ....
11:07 a.m. Now, personally, I think OSU basketball is going to be better than most folks expect. The Cowboys won't have the star power of the past couple years, but they'll be hungry and more talented than people probably expect. ...
11:07 a.m. OSU doesn't need to be on Big Monday to get attention nationally. Win a bunch of games, regardless of what day they're played, and the attention will come.
11:08 a.m. will osu have a sellout in football this year?
11:09 a.m. Hmmm, interesting question. I will say no. The home slate isn't all that sexy. Missouri State. UTSA. Texas Tech. Iowa State. West Virginia. Texas. ...
11:09 a.m. If Texas ends up being better than it looks right now, there's a chance that game could sell out. But other than that one, none of those matchups are super exciting. ...
11:10 a.m. The other possibility would be homecoming. Is that the Iowa State game? That might sell out just because homecoming is so grand at OSU.
11:10 a.m. Taking Tyreek Hill out of the discussion. Who are two OSU football players you see breaking out this year? 1 on offense and 1 on defense.
11:10 a.m. Hmm, another good question. You guys are comin' strong today! ...
11:11 a.m. If we're talking breakouts in the more national sense, I could see Kevin Peterson being the guy on defense who breaks out. People around here know him, obviously, but he is extremely talented but was completely overshadowed last season by Justin Gilbert. No Gilbert will give Peterson a chance to shine. ...
11:13 a.m. On offense? My gut says that the wide receivers have the most talent and highest possibility to break out. But I'm just not sure how good the passing game is going to be. Inexperienced offensive line. J.W. Walsh still needs to show he can throw consistently. So, will those receivers get enough catches to really break out? ...
11:14 a.m. Eh, I guess despite that, I'm going to go with Jhajuan Seales. Marcell Ateman strikes me as the better athlete, but he seems to have struggled with having that all-the-time intensity that you need in college football. So, I like Seales to become more of a household name.
11:15 a.m. Jenni....as long as Texas is around, it would probably be impossible to lure Nebraska back to the Big 12, but what might be the odds of getting Colorado or Missouri to come back plus adding the Iowa Hawkeyes, get the conference back up to 12 teams. Who is Iowa's main rival in the Big 10?
11:15 a.m. First of all, you're assuming the Big 12 WANTS to add schools. From everything we've been told, there is currently zero interest in adding schools. None. Nada. So, the chance of expansion right now, I would say, is currently zero. ...
11:16 a.m. As for bringing back any of those schools, it's likely not going to happen. Nebraska is geographically better suited for the Big Ten. Ditto for Colorado in the Pac-12. Missouri isn't a geographic fit with the SEC, but the SEC money is significant, so Missouri has no incentive to leave. ...
11:18 a.m. Iowa is a possibility, I guess, because of geography. But really, conference expansion nowadays is about TV sets. How many eyeballs can you get watching your games, particularly your football games? That's why schools like Louisville have been on the radar. Not great with viewership, but in football, a pretty decent draw.
11:18 a.m. When will OSU release the 2014 non-conference basketball schedule?
11:19 a.m. I am at our office, and I just asked if anyone knew an answer to this question. All I got was crickets. ...
11:19 a.m. I'd think we'd be close to hearing that info, but as to when, we haven't heard anything definitive.
11:19 a.m. The fact the university suspended Shannon 1 year indicates they believe he is guilty of sexual assault. How can Bob Stoops allow him on the playing field? Does Bob not have daughters? Regardless, winning games is not as important as protecting a woman that was raped. Shannon should be kicked out of the university for good if they believe he is guilty.
11:21 a.m. Lots of questions to chew on here. First of all, the school's decision to punish him does not equate to guilt in a court of law. As I wrote today, the standard for guilt in court is "beyond a reasonable doubt". In other words, the standard is high. With Title IX investigations, the school only has to be 50.1 percent sure. It has to basically be more sure that a sexual assault occurred than sure one didn't. Big difference there. ...
11:22 a.m. Still, the school has obviously taken a position on this case. One year suspension. And like you, Richard, I can't believe Bob Stoops would play Shannon even if the courts say that Shannon should be allowed to continue. I assume David Boren, Joe Castiglione and Bob have had conversations about this very thing, but even at that, it puts the coaches in a very awkward situation. ...
11:23 a.m. Say, for example, that Jordan Evans gets hurt. The depth behind him at that spot is extremely thin. And there stands Frank Shannon on the sideline. What do the coaches do? I don't know. ...
11:24 a.m. And yes, Bob does have a daughter. High school age, I believe. Actually, now that I think about it, she might already be in college. Interesting irony there.
11:24 a.m. You think Steven Adams battles his way into the starting line up sometime this season?
11:24 a.m. I do. I've said for awhile that I suspect Perk will start the opener, but I have a hard time believing that Adams won't play his way into the starting lineup at some point. ...
11:25 a.m. The evolution and improvement that we saw in Adams just in the playoffs last season was impressive enough to make me think he'll be ready to start at some point this season. Quite a testament to the work he's put in and the teaching that he's gotten from the coaches.
11:25 a.m. more likely to happen, OSU wins or osu looses by 28 points against FSU?
11:26 a.m. I'd say more likely that OSU loses by four touchdowns. I hate to say that. I want to be optimistic at this time in the preseason, but there are just too many questions about OSU for me to think it's more likely it wins than getting beat by 28. I hope I'm wrong. I really do.
11:27 a.m. I see the FSU game being a win-win for OKState. Big publicity coming into the season. Lose handily, it's what everyone expected, keep it close and we are better than people initially thought, win and suddenly we jump into the spotlight. Lots of similarities to OU-Alabama last year. Your thoughts?
11:28 a.m. Could be. To me, the only lose would be a serious injury to an important player. Like if Ryan Simmons gets hurt. Ooff. There'd be no win-win in that scenario. ...
11:28 a.m. But if there are no major injuries, maybe the benefits outweigh the negatives regardless of the outcome.
11:28 a.m. did osu add too many seats during their stadium renovation? There's always a few empty sections...
11:29 a.m. I don't think so. It seems to me that the areas that are most often sparse are the club levels. Those are more expensive seats, so they aren't always completely filled up. But other than that, I think the number is a good one for OSU.
11:29 a.m. Do you think Oklahoma can win the Big 12 in Football and Basketball this year?
11:29 a.m. Can OU? Sure. Will the Sooners? I'll say no. ...
11:32 a.m. I've picked OU as my preseason football favorite, but in basketball, wouldn't we all be foolish to pick against Kansas? All that the Jayhawks seem to do is win the league in basketball every year. Until that trend is broken, I'm likely to pick Kansas every year.
11:32 a.m. I don't see the big12 expanding. I think they are kind of playing chicken with the other conferences daring them to make a jump to 16(which may not work) and 10 may be the perfect size for a conference going forward. My question though is about Frank Shannon, did the District Court only rule that an appeal would be heard? Therefore Boren asked the State Supreme Court to get involved? How do you see this situation playing out? I believe the title 9 group over-reached here.
11:33 a.m. The district judge issued a stay in the case, allowing Shannon to continue to be enrolled and to do football activities while the appeal makes its way through the system. A hearing was supposed to happen Monday, but Shannon's attorney didn't show, and the hearing was pushed back to, like, nine days before OU's opener. ...
11:34 a.m. When that attorney didn't show, my suspicion is that OU was miffed. That's why they filed a petition with the supreme court to expedite things. They want a decision made, and the district court wasn't moving fast enough for them. Hence, the petition to the supreme court. ...
11:36 a.m. I have no idea how this is all going to end. I'm not sure what you mean by overreach by the Title IX investigation, but it looks to me like the investigation did what it was supposed to. It determined that Shannon needed to be punished. That was the end of its duties. What is happening now is being done by the school in an attempt to enforce the investigation's findings and punishments.
11:36 a.m. is the victim in the Mixon case really ignoring investigators requests for an interview? heard this on a local station last night but haven't heard much else since.
11:36 a.m. I haven't heard anything new. We reported last week that the investigation would at least go into this week. These things take time. Everyone needs to remember that.
11:36 a.m. Jenni......will ESPN go out of business, off the air, if/when Alabama has it's first losing record in football in X number of years?
11:36 a.m. I assume not.
11:36 a.m. Any news on B Mayfield's chances of playing this year??
11:37 a.m. Nothing new. Again, it's something that takes time. Everyone wants quick decisions in these cases, but what we all have to remember is that this isn't the only case that the NCAA is looking at. It has lots of these things to take care of.
11:37 a.m. Can we please stop talking about the sec and take care of big 12 BUSSINESS
11:38 a.m. Can you stop talking about the SEC? I assume you will. Are we going to stop talking about the SEC? Likely not. That's the powerhouse conference in college football. No getting around that.
11:38 a.m. How in the world can OU justify allowing seeking a waiver for DGB and yet on the other hand punish Shannon for a similar situation? Seems like a double standard to me.
11:39 a.m. Different situations. Shannon's case involves a sexual assault. Green-Beckham was an assault. Sexual assault is grounds for a Title IX investigation. Assault is not, even if that assault is male-on-female violence. ...
11:40 a.m. It's the same deal with the Mixon case. It's assault, not sexual assault. So, OU will not have a Title IX investigation into the Mixon case, as near as I understand things.
11:41 a.m. OK, folks, I've got to get a couple things done yet this morning. Thanks for all your questions. Really good stuff! And be sure to join OU beat writer Jason Kersey for tomorrow's Power Lunch live chat.
Jenni Carlson
Jenni Carlson, a sports columnist at The Oklahoman since 1999, came by her love of sports honestly. She grew up in a sports-loving family in Kansas. Her dad coached baseball and did color commentary on the radio for the high school football... Read more ›