subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Tue, Feb 09 2010 

Resources

print this story   Print this story
  Post to del.icio.us

Published September 14, 2009 12:15 am - Oklahoma got back on the winning track Saturday night against Idaho State. It received the dominant performance it needed after starting the season with an unexpected loss.
The score, however, wasn't where the confidence was built.


Sooners still have lots to prove


By John Shinn

Oklahoma got back on the winning track Saturday night against Idaho State. It received the dominant performance it needed after starting the season with an unexpected loss.

The score, however, wasn't where the confidence was built.

"I understand we are going to see more difficult and tougher opponents moving forward, but I still was pleased with our basic, disciplined fundamentals and not having penalties," OU coach Bob Stoops said after the 64-0 victory. "It was a difficult night managing the rain and the wet and the bad weather and we still took care of the football most of the night.

"I thought our special teams, our kickers, really (played) well. Just overall fundamental play, I thought we needed to improve on that and regardless of who we were playing, I thought we improved on some of those areas tonight."

The Sooners, who moved up to No. 12 in the latest Associated Press Top 25, sliced their penalties down from 12 in the season opener to five Saturday. They also trimmed their turnovers from two costly fumbles against BYU to one fourth-down interception.

Those were the little things that often go unnoticed until they cost a team victory. There were also the major issues being addressed in the week leading up to Saturday.

Coaches came close to implementing a zero-tolerance policy toward mental mistakes for the Idaho State game. Don't expect the policy to change.

"We just wanted to come out and show that we can still run our offense, we can still catch balls and we can still make plays," wide receiver Brandon Caleb said. "We just focused ... and just played our game."

What remains to be seen is if the Sooners can do it against dramatically better competition, because it's on the way.

OU's next two non-conference opponents (Tulsa at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Owen Field and at No. 20 Miami Oct. 3) are a combined 4-0 and will offer a lot more resistance than the Bengals.

Quarterback Landry Jones passed his first test against Idaho State, throwing for three touchdowns and 286 yards. Also, he was able to hit those totals by running the Sooners' regular offense. OU still used the no-huddle effectively and OU got its running game going, piling up 290 yards.

"Landry is a great player, we all had confidence in him and he had confidence in himself," said Ryan Broyles, who caught three touchdown passes. "Whatever was called, we had confidence in what he could do."

But through two games OU still hasn't identified more than one go-to receiver. Outside of Broyles, the receiving corps had another lackluster night. None of the group other than Broyles had a reception longer than 15 yards. The running backs played a bigger role in the passing game than did other receivers.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson was willing to write off some of the receiver struggles to the weather. Saturday night's game was played in constant rain.

"Those guys could catch it cleaner but we'll hold judgment based on the circumstances, it was pretty sloppy and we'll see if those guys can step up from there," he said.



print this story    email this story   






autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide

Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!

Premium Jobs

Customer Service Rep
New Starting Pay!
Now Hiring for
February/March classes

We offer Benefits, Set Schedules, Bonus Op
...>MORE

Director Of Music Ministries
Progressive United Methodist Church seeks
Director Of Music Ministries
15 Hrs per Wk.
Please E-mail Res
...>MORE

Donation Attendant
Donation Attendant
Oklahoma Goodwill Industries, Inc.
Location: Norman

Accepts and processes dona
...>MORE

Traditions Spirits has
immediate job openings for
Beverage Servers, Bartenders and Barbacks at
Riverwind Casino; and Front Desk, Hous
...>MORE

5 Temporary Workers
Flying V Ranch, PO BOX523
Iraan, Texas 79744, Duties: Farm workers Farm & Ranch Animals
3/15/2010 -12/15/2010<
...>MORE

FT • MA / LPN
Needed for Family Practice,
Salary Plus Benefits.
Please Fax Resume to:
405 360-0238
...>MORE

Northstar Property Management
Apt. Leasing Consultant/Asst.
Manager wanted, to fill full-time
position. Leasing or managerial
experienc
...>MORE

Would you like to join
professionals in a small full
service salon.
Call us today. 360-5201
...>MORE

Store Manager
Store Manager
Oklahoma Goodwill Industries, Inc.

Non-profit seeks FT Store
Manager. At least 2 yrs
...>MORE

Broadway Living Center
Positions Available
Now Hiring A Fulltime LPN
Experienced Cook
Weekends (double shift)
To Join a Gre
...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Homes

NEW 2005 w/ Furniture!
16 x 80 3 Bed, 2 Bath
$1,800 DN, $352 a Mo. WAC
We Buy Used Homes!
www.midstatehousing.com
(405)527-
...>MORE

34 Clear Creek
• Lot 22 Hollow Oaks
Mobile Homes Allowed

• 1 acre(m/l) restricted to houses
only Ceda
...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Extras

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index