Posts Tagged ‘2008’
Oklahoma finished the 2007 season at 11-3 as Big 12 champions. The Sooners averaged 6.4 yards per play on offense, the most for the team since 1987. The offense should continue to thrive, but the defense may be a bit of a question mark at this point in time.
Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford had one of the best freshman seasons in college football history. Bradford threw for 3,121 yards and 36 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. He led the nation in passing efficiency and his 36 touchdown passes stand as the NCAA freshman record. With a talented and experienced offensive line in front of him and an army of weapons at his disposal, Bradford should continue to improve in his sophomore season.
The Oklahoma offensive line is led by future NFL players Duke Robinson and Phil Loadholt. In fact, all five starters are back this season for an offensive line that ranks as one of the top units in the country.
The Sooners also welcome back wide receivers Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson. Iglesias led the team last season with 68 catches for 907 yards and five touchdowns. Junior Jermaine Gresham steps into the starting spot at tight end and appears to be someone to watch.
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Senior running back Allen Patrick is gone, but the cupboard is anything but bare. The tandem of DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown combined for 1,375 yards and 22 touchdowns last season. Murray is just a sophomore, but he possesses great speed and elusiveness. He could very well have a huge season.
The defense only returns six starters, but three of them are along the defensive line. Oklahoma will have to rely on the front four to control the line of scrimmage; at least until the back seven get settled. The front four were equally successful at stopping the run and the pass in 2007.
The linebacker corps returns only one starter, Ryan Reynolds, who has a history of injury problems. The success of this unit could depend on the development of redshirt freshmen Travis Lewis and Austin Box, as well as junior college transfers J.R. Bryant and Mike Balogun.
The secondary returns both safeties from last season, Nic Harris and Lendy Holmes. Both have all-star potential and they’ll need to show it because the team will have two new starting cornerbacks this season. The likely starters are junior Brian Jackson and sophomore Dominique Franks. Both played well in the spring, but it remains to be seen how that translates into the season.
Receivers Iglesias and Murray return for the top kickoff return unit in the nation last season. Mike Knall returns as one of the Big 12′s best punters, but Oklahoma needs someone to step up and win the kicker job.
The schedule is favorable for the Sooners to make a run at the national title. The one possible roadblock is October 11th when Oklahoma travels to Dallas to face Texas. Bradford should continue to impress with talent all around him. If the defense can hide its inexperience, the Sooners should prevail as Big 12 South champions and make a play for their eighth national championship.
http://www.articlesbase.com/football-articles/oklahoma-sooners-2008-college-football-team-preview-462036.html
The heavy outpouring of a large number of soccer fans can be seen every time a soccer match or tournament comes on the scene. This year is no different. The football season has just commenced with the new season as Premiership 2008, and a large number of football fans can be seen buzzing with excitement all over the world. The fans, for sure, have a reason to rejoice as they have been lucky enough to watch a number of exciting soccer matches on the onset of Premiership 2008 in the English Football League.
There are innumerable teams participating in the Premiership 2008, but one team which truly stands out is the English Football League. This is one team which seems to have a huge fan following as compared to the other teams participating in Premiership 2008. A large number of fans could be seen complaining that some of the finest football teams in the world, such as the Italian premier league, which are made up of some of the most top rated footballers, lack the support of their fans because their games are lackluster. No fan would relish the idea of watching a soccer match which could possibly bore them to death, no matter how capable the players are.
Fans tend to equate soccer with testosterone-enticing excitement and fun, and this is exactly what the English Football League provides its fans with. Most of the games played by the English Premier League can be described as extremely fast and furious, and are successfully able to retain the interest of the fans and viewers till the end of the game. Some of the exceptional gems of the English Football League, which is better known as Manchester United, are players such as Christiano Ronaldo, Rooney and Giggs.
One of the most recent soccer tournaments to take place i.e. UEFA Championship 2008, was also won by the numero uno, Manchester United. The English Football League seems to have hit a new high altogether. The premiership takes place every four years and has been dominated by the victory of the red devils belonging to English Football League. Although the English Team, Manchester United, made a slow start into the tournament, they lifted their performance by the end of the tournament and managed to bag the title against Wigan who lost the tournament to the English Football League at 2-0.
By emerging victorious at the recent Premiership 2008, the English Football League successfully proved to their competitors that their win against Chelsea FC was not by chance. English Football League has the required talent and skills to become what it takes to be the number one soccer team in the world. This is the only team in soccer history which has managed to bag victory titles in the Premiership, which has taken place only sixteen times in the entire history of soccer.