Forgive me if this has already appeared on BON.  I've been watching the second half of the RRS, and I saw something that I completely missed on Saturday.  My father alerted me to one of the many fascinating features of the victory over OU.

It appears Colt McCoy and his receivers have been taking some improv classes.  Or maybe they've been studying film on baseball coaches.  With a three point lead in the fourth quarter, 1 and 10 at the Texas 36, 4:46 on the clock, Chris Ogbonnaya took what appeared to be a fairly standard handoff (possibly zone read?) to the right and hauled down the field for 62 yards.  It was a great run, springboarded by fantastic blocking.  Two linemen released and led the way, and the Sooner defenders were caught off guard, so to speak.  It was a nice play all around, and it led to the final touchdown of the day.

Now, if you have DVR, watch this play again.  Rewind to pre-snap and watch Colt McCoy.  Before the snap, Colt stepped forward, looked to his left and seemed to adjust the play call.  Colt got the attention of Shipley and made a twirling motion with his arm -- something along the lines of "spinning wheel" or "move it forward" or "let's keep it going".  He motioned deliberately, as if he wanted someone other than Shipley to see.  Shipley, upon receiving the signal, then turned to his left and made the same signal to Quan Cosby.  This signaling from QB to WR to WR clearly caught the attention of at least three OU defenders. 

I have concluded that this was an act of deception.  It was an inside joke that carried a special message: "They have no clue what's about to hit them."  Sure enough, some OU defenders flinched (perhaps suspecting a pass to the left), Texas executed, and #3 busted a big run.  I'm not suggesting that Colt's hollow signal to the WRs was the direct cause of the success of the play, but it seemed to, at very least, create a moment of hesitation among some on the OU defense.

Maybe this kind of stuff happens a lot during the game, and I just miss it all because I'm not seasoned enough as a football viewer/critic.  Aside from that, this moment of improvisation is yet another indication of Colt McCoy's comfort and sense of ownership within this offense.  A QB who thinks his way through every play doesn't have time to perform mind tricks on opposing linemen.  A QB for whom the offense is second nature can find the time to sprinkle that kind of creativity into a gameplan.  It gave me one more reason to trust this QB and this offense.  Stay tuned for more improv with Colt McCoy.

Hook 'em