Prescribed burn Thursday, October 14, 2021
OSU Extension specialist talks wildfire conservation Stephen Stumpf Staff Reporter
Stillwater and the rest of the state had recently experienced a severe drought in September, the lack of rainfall combined with strong winds can create a breeding ground for wildfires to begin. In April 2018, the Rhea fire spread throughout the state and burned more than 286,000 acres of western Oklahoma. It’s been more than three years since Oklahoma has seen a wildfire of this magnitude of devastation. Oklahoma’s 17th warmest and driest
month on record since 1895 was September. John Weir, an Oklahoma State Extension Specialist for Fire Ecology, said the adverse effects of wildfires are not limited to the fire itself. “The threat of wildfire doesn’t just impact the people at the location where the fire is actually at,” Weir said. “It has other implications, the biggest being the threat of smoke. The problem with wildfire smoke issues is we have no control over where that smoke goes.”
See Burn on 3
September was the 17th hottest month on record in Oklahoma.
Courtesy of Tribune News Service
Strengths and weaknesses Texas’ high-powered offense limited by inconsistent offensive line
Kaleb Tadpole Staff Reporter
locker room at halftime. The second half was a different story and a different O-line. Virtually every play it seemed as if Thompson was either hurried or hit. Having no time in the pocket resulted in very little points in the second half which ultimately led to a 21-point blown lead. Texas has the ability to play at a very high level on offense, but it all comes back to how the O-line plays. If Thompson is getting hit more often then not, and Robinson is getting hit behind the line every play, the offense cannot move the ball. OSU also has a defensive line that has been very good this year, the Texas O-line will have a big task against the Cowboys. Weakness: Tackling Texas had a problem when it came to tackling against OU. In the second half, Texas’ defense seemed to be bouncing off of OU’s junior running back Kennedy Brooks. Every time he touched the ball the Texas defenders could not bring him down, hitting him and sliding right off. With a running back like senior Jaylen Warren, if the Texas defense performs like they did in the second half of last week’s game, Warren could be in for a huge night. Strength: Creating big plays One thing Texas has excelled at this season is making the big plays, but on both sides of the ball. On the opening play of the game, Thompson connected with Worthy on a screen pass, with Worthy juking his way 75 yards for a touchdown. Robinson has been making big plays all year, like the 50-yard run in the second quarter last week. The Longhorn defense also has made big plays this season. In the game against Texas Tech, Senior defensive back Josh Thompson jumped the route, intercepted the ball and took it 27-yards for a touchdown.
OSU will resume conference play following a bye this past week at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. The Cowboys will look to remain undefeated on the season as the Longhorns are coming off a close loss to Oklahoma last week where they led by 21 points but could not hang on to beat the Sooners. Strength: High-powered offense The Longhorn offense has been electric so far this season. They have not had a game this season where Texas has scored under 30 points. In this past game against OU, the Longhorns scored 48 points, including a 28-7 lead early in the game. Freshman wide receiver Xavier Worthy has been exceptional so far this season with 514 yards receiving and six touchdowns. Last week, Worthy had 261 yards on just nine receptions and two touchdowns. The offense does not stop there, sophomore running back Bijan Robinson has put up exceptional numbers rushing, with 789 yards and eight touchdowns so far this season. Robinson has been a nightmare for opposing defenses this season and it will be interesting to see how the Cowboys defense handles both Robinson and Worthy this Saturday. Weakness: Offensive line The Texas offensive line this season has been one thing, inconsistent. Against OU, the O-line was having their way early in the game. The Longhorns scored on the first play of the game and quickly jumped out to a 21-point lead. Junior quarterback Casey Thompson had all the time in the pocket he needed to lead the Longhorns to a 38-20 lead heading into the sports.ed@ocolly.com
Courtesy of OSU Athletics