The Wednesday newsletter: Bedlam ended with a win but the questions continue to flow | OU Sports Extra

So without further ado …

Why did we only rush 3 on 4th-and-12 at the end of the Bedlam game? – @parcell24

This happened on Taylor Cornelius’ 24-yard touchdown throw to Tylan Wallace with 1:03 left to pull the Cowboys within 48-47.

I asked Lincoln Riley about the play after the game.

“The fourth-down play, we decided to play some loose zone there and the thought was we felt like we could get some pressure just with our rush. Our guys have been winning one-on-one. More than anything, if they were going to get one there, we didn’t want it to be a one-on-one shot to one of their guys. We wanted to make him make a tough throw in a window. Give the guy credit. They did.

“We came out of a zone a little bit more, I thought we could’ve squeezed it better, but they made a great play. They had a good route dialed up against what we had called, made an extremely good throw and a very competitive catch.”

Hi Eric, if you look at the 2-point play closely, it was OSU QB’s pass that was off by a fraction towards Tre Brown’s dive. Had the ball been on money, OSU would have had conversion. – Thomas D.

Thomas is referring to the final two-point conversion throw by Cornelius in Saturday’s 48-47 win. In previous copy, I wrote that Tre Brown had a pass breakup, which is correct according to the official statistics. I do agree with Thomas that a good throw would have completed the two-point conversion.

What is stopping OU from replacing the present defensive coordinator immediately to make sure that we win the remaining couple of games convincingly, sufficient to become a playoff team? What was good for the last DC can be good for the current DC too, right? – Peri. B

Peri’s question was prefaced by passionate thoughts including what would have happened if OSU didn’t miss a field goal, an extra point and the eventual two-point conversion. He added that he’s thankful for the OU offense and it was heartening that Kyler Murray was ready to drive down and score if OSU converted the two-point conversion.

The narrative about Oklahoma football has not changed – outstanding offense, shaky defense.

Will there be changes? I think Lincoln Riley will evaluate everything at the end of the season. With two regular-season games left, common sense dictates it’s impossible to do an overhaul plus Riley wants the right fit. It’s possible that the next defensive coordinator is currently at another school and that person would not leave his current job near the end of the year.

We have a lot to play for this year, but let me ask about QB next year. Who is it? Austin Kendall, Tanner Mordecai, Spencer Rattler? Assuming Kyler Murray is not coming back. – @FromtheJtotheR

My guess is it would be Austin Kendall. He would be a junior entering his fourth year in Lincoln Riley’s system. While he possesses a totally different skill set than Kyler Murray, Riley will put him in positions to be successful. 

Mordecai has looked good in limited action this season, and Rattler will be one to watch in the future, especially given his dual-threat ability.