By John Shinn

Transcript Sports Writer

Defense was supposed to be Oklahoma’s strength this season. And that preseason prediction appears to be finally coming to fruition.

The Sooners (5-2, 2-1 Big 12) put together a dominant performance in Saturday night’s 24-3 victory over Colorado. They held the Buffaloes to 113 total yards and allowed just five first downs.

After lackluster play the first three games, the unit has turned things around in a big way. Saturday’s performance was OU’s fourth straight game holding an opponent to less than 300 yards.

During the four-game stretch — Middle Tennessee, Texas, Iowa State and Colorado — OU’s defense has only allowed 31 points.

“I think we’re getting better every week,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “The last month we’ve gotten better and more consistent in all phases of the game.”

Since allowing 501 yards, which included two touchdowns in the final minutes Sept. 16 at Oregon, the Sooners have been downright stingy.

The blown assignments and missed tackles that had coaches fuming in September seem to have been swept away or at least under the carpet.

You can scour the Switzer Center for in-depth reasons for the turnaround. But the explanations you’ll get vary.

Some say it’s been the play of Marcus Walker and Lendy Holmes at the cornerback spots.

Their play has been a calming influence for a secondary that seemed to be in turmoil in September.

Others point toward the improvement of the defensive line. The gaping holes Alabama-Birmingham, Washington and Oregon exploited have shrunk. OU’s allowed just 3.2 yards a carry in conference play.

“You can say we’re putting it together,” linebacker Rufus Alexander said. “I’d just say everybody’s starting to do their jobs.”

That’s the point OU’s coaching staff has tried to hammer home. Most of the errors the Sooners committed came from trying to do more than the job required.