If it hadn't been for Garrett Hartley, I would have nailed the OU-Missouri score, having predicted a 45-31 outcome just days before.

Oklahoma's 10-point win did not surprise me in the least. However, I've got some observations from a big Sooners win that leaves even more questions about how good this team is but none about how good they can be.

Bob Stoops' Sooners are still a national title contender.

However, the first-half pass defense blew. Props to Brent Venables and his crew for strapping it on in the second half and getting some pressure on Chase Daniel. However, a smart coach (not Gary Pinkel) will keep going to his top gun until his ears bleed, like Missouri should have done with redshirt freshman Jeremy Maclin.

Instead, Pinkel got cute and decided Maclin should throw the ball, a pass that fell into Reggie Smith's hands.

Speaking of Reggie Smith, am I the only one who thinks this cat is completely, utterly overrated? He reminds me of guys I used to play ball with, particularly when we played 21. They wouldn't hit it hard up near the goal; they'd just lay back for the rebound, try to do too much and not score.

So, while all you OU fans see Reggie picking the ball off and running backwards for a loss of 25 yards before gaining 27 for a net of 2, I see a guy who is failing to live up to Roy Williams' legacy as a hitter. Where are the blitzes? Where are the big hits? Where are the strips? I honestly think this guy is soft and that he'd be happier in an offensive role.

But while I'm being critical, let me tell you what makes me nuts. When he caught that punt at the 3 and tried to return it late in the game on Saturday, particularly given his ability to muff punts (remember Colorado?), did any of the rest of you think Reggie's days as a kick returner should be done.

Well, I do. Give me Dominique Franks, or better yet -- give me DeMarco Murray. Again this week, I question why Murray wasn't in this game more in the second half, giving way to Chris Brown, a player whose running style is even less aesthetically pleasing than Kejuan Jones', although I always loved Jones' spirit and enthusiasm.

Sure, one can't be too unhappy after a 41-31 win over a No. 11 Missouri team, but it's clear to even the most novice of us that there are some glaring issues with this team. Garrett Hartley himself might be the most disappointing among them, and I would have no heartburn if they chose to give another kicker a try. He's killin' us, and if it's the holder's fault, then so be it. Get a new one.

On the upside, I can't say enough about Auston English. He is the defensive MVP of this team by a freaking mile in my book. Again, he was a second-half monster, and he tipped the pass that got picked off late.

I'm also quite high on Curtis Lofton, an Oklahoma boy whose fumble return for a score in the second-half was a momentum winner. And while I haven't completely soured on Smith, D.J. Wolfe, Nic Harris, Marcus Walker, etc., I'm just not impressed.

Fact is, we have a gimme game this week against Iowa State in Ames. There is no way we lose this game, and we might win by 50. So, we might not want to do too much lest somebody get injured, which would really foul us up.

But I would absolutely spend some time shoring up our pass rush and pass coverage because at this moment, I guarantee you that Texas Tech will beat us in Lubbock. That is a promise. They will end any hope we have of a national championship the way we've been playing, and -- guess what -- that loss would end our Big 12 championship hopes, too.

So, LSU and Cal lost. That's great. We're No. 5 in the BCS poll, and South Florida and Boston College are ahead of us, two teams I am pretty sure will lose by the end of the season. Ohio State still has Penn State and Michigan. LSU still plays in the SEC.

Oklahoma has a cake schedule, with the exception of Tech, and a rare, rare opportunity. Whether they can seize it truly depends on their willingness to meet some of their weaknesses eye to eye and deal with them, even if it means some hurt feelings.