Published September 06, 2006 12:05 am -
Sooners drop
John Shinn's Oklahoma Football Notepad
The Norman Transcript
Despite winning its season-opener, Oklahoma dropped five spots in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today coaches polls. The Sooners fell from No. 10 to No. 15 in the media poll. They went from No. 5 to No. 10 in the coaches’ version.
No other winning team in the polls fell more than one spot.
OU coach Bob Stoops said his team’s position in the polls didn’t matter.
Quarterback Paul Thompson cautioned against those who believe the Sooners’ seven-point victory over Alabama-Birmingham is a sign of tough times to come.
“I can see that people outside of this organization are concerned, but a win is a win,” Thompson said. “It was the first game of the year. I feel real confident and the team feels real confident coming out of this game and it’s something to build on.
“There were some mistakes, but at the same time there were some real effective plays which is something we can build on. From the outside looking in, everyone outside the organization might be worried about us, but we feel real comfortable about what we can do right now and comfortable with this organization.”
Isolated incidents
Junior cornerback D.J. Wolfe was beaten twice for plays of over 20 yards in the UAB game. Stoops said Wolfe needs to improve or Lendy Holmes would play more at the cornerback spot.
Wolfe admitted his play has to get better, but believed his mistakes were isolated incidents.
“There are some little things hear and there that need to improve,” Wolfe said. “I think this week will be a better performance.”
However, secondary coach Bobby Jack Wright said it’s way too early to cast Wolfe aside. Defensive backs aren’t going to make every play.
“A guy gets beat, he gets beat,” Wright said. “That’s going to happen. If it’s something that happens every week, then it’s something I’d worry about.”