2011 Insight Bowl, Oklahoma Vs. Iowa: Sooners, SkyCam Beat Hawkeyes, 31-14

That’s all that remains of what was evidently quite a rant by Jeremy Miller, Dejaun Miller’s father, after last night’s Insight Bowl. Oklahoma lost two of their top three receivers, then briefly lost two more, but that did not result in opportunities for Miller; the senior was glued to the bench instead. Having watched his son’s final game go by with little opportunity, the elder Miller took to Twitter.

The evidence has been deleted, but they include the following posts:

This alien item looks even more strange in Bob Stoops’ hands. No matter what you say you’ll never convince me he was actually just about to start smiling here. I’m assured he’s making genuine Stoops face at the sight of this thing.

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Oklahoma currently sits at 20 commitments. Jordan expects this class to get much better:

And Jordan has noticed a pattern about this Oklahoma class:

On paper, the Insight Bowl was supposed to be one of the more lopsided bowls of the season. And though the Sooners did come away with a 17-point win, thanks to a 21-yard touchdown run by Blake Bell on fourth and one with under a minute to go, Iowa did make things interesting.

The Hawkeyes offense was all but dead for much of the game, until it sprung to life for two lengthy touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. Through the first three quarters, Oklahoma was anything but dominant, yet still held a 21-0 lead. But back-to-back touchdown drives -- both of which were over 70 yards and double-digit plays -- brought the Hawkeyes right back into the game as Oklahoma clung to a 21-14 lead.

I assumed the Insight Bowl would end with a whimper. Oklahoma had just kicked a field goal to take a 10-point lead with just over two minutes to go, and it seemed like the game was all wrapped up and ready to be put to bed. But ESPN’s SkyCam -- that giant camera attached to four wires above the field -- had other ideas, and we’re all better for it.

For whatever reason, the SkyCam came crashing back to Earth. Call it gravity, call it a technical failure, call it a Buffalo Wild Wings incident: Whatever the reason, that camera’s life-span was over. And it didn’t just go quietly, either: The camera took aim at one of Iowa’s best players.

Terrible for three quarters, suddenly alive in the fourth. This story seems familiar, like we’ve seen it in the NFL this season. For 45-plus minutes, the Iowa offense bordered on inept, struggling to move the ball with any kind of consistency as Oklahoma took a 21-0 lead. But the fourth quarter has been a different story.

After a 16-play, 75-yard drive that chewed up eight minutes of clock and resulted in a touchdown, Iowa made a stop and got right back to work, covering 78 yards in 12 plays, only taking about three and a half minutes of clock, and scoring a second touchdown on a James Vandenberg pass to wee little Jordan Canzeri. Suddenly, the lead Oklahoma built over the first three quarters isn’t looking so solid.

It’s difficult to fault the Iowa defense for what’s going on in the Insight Bowl. After all, this is the same defense that held Oklahoma to 11 yards on its first 11 plays, and has held up admirably throughout the night. Yes, Oklahoma scored the first 21 points of the game, but it wasn’t that bad.

The offense, on the other hand, has been a complete tire fire -- almost unwatchable. Down to a fullback and a miniature running back -- Jordan Canzeri is 5-foot-9, 172 pounds -- Iowa’s ability to conjure up yards has been lacking throughout, and when the Hawkeyes did make some headway it was typically followed by a bout with the derpsies.

I wasn’t kidding when I said it was flagged some five times. Look at all the flags come flying in from every direction and what seemed like every official.

Via ParadigmShift35

For more on the Sooners, be sure to check out the SB Nation blog Crimson And Cream Machine. Head over to Black Heart Gold Pants for everything Hawkeyes. For more college football, stay tuned to SB Nation’s college football news coverage.

NOTE: Confused? See the quick glossary at the bottom.

If Iowa and Oklahoma each play their normal game, with normal chemistry and effort, Oklahoma wins, probably by double digits. But the odds of “normal” are low. Oklahoma hasn’t played a “normal” game in quite a while -- their defense was torched by Baylor, their offense disappeared against Iowa State (granted, in gale-force winds), and then both made only fleeting appearances against Oklahoma State. Injuries have wrecked the Sooners, there are rumors of chemistry issues, and they only twice played at an extremely high level over the last half of the regular season. Iowa, meanwhile, came and went all year but likely has an extra source of motivation: longtime defensive coordinator Norm Parker is coaching his final game Friday night. Circumstance seems to give Iowa a pretty decent chance, even if the statistics disagree.

Game date, time: 10:00 p.m. ET, Friday, December 30

Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ

Broyles led the Sooners with 83 receptions, 1,157 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Reynolds was third on the team with 41 catches for 715 yards and five touchdowns. Though 124 receptions, 1,872 yards and 15 touchdowns will be in street clothes, head coach Bob Stoops is not concerned, John Hoover of Tulsa World reports.

To offset the lack of wide receivers, the Sooners are expected to use more tight ends against the Hawkeyes.

Sooners coach Bob Stoops seems well aware of the lack of depth in his backfield in comments he made to the Washington Post:

For the latest updates on the Insight Bowl, follow this StoryStream. For more of a local angle, check out Oklahoma blog Crimson and Cream Machine and Iowa blog Black Heart Gold Pants.

From the AP:

The Hawkeyes (7-5) already had their work cut out for them against the Sooners (9-3) who were the preseason’s top-ranked team. Their game is predicated on controlling the ball and Coker was the lone back tasked with that responsibility. No other Hawkeye runner even had 100 yards rushing on the season.

He’s been expected to declare for the NFL Draft soon, and projects as a second-round, pass-rushing tweener in the NFL.

Lewis’ exit means OU will be without their second-leading sacker and fifth-leading tackler against Iowa, and those standings are despite time missed due to injury.

Williams wasn’t able to get on the field all that often for the Sooners, gathering 46 touches for 219 yards in his first year. Still, that’s hardly a scant workload for a freshman, especially on a talented, pass-first offense like OU’s.

For more on the parties involved, visit Oklahoma blog Crimson and Cream Machine and Texas A&M blog I Am the 12th Man.

Black Heart Gold Pants summons an assortment of Christmas wisdom for head coach Kirk Ferentz.

The Insight Bowl is played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ. Of course there was the brief Insight.com Bowl era but let’s forget about that.

The 2011 addition will be played Friday, December 30th at 10:00 p.m. and televised on ESPN where Sean McDonough, Matt Millen & Heather Cox will announce.