Okla-homey
10/22/2006, 12:30 PM
I know this guy was up in the box in climate-conditioned comfort while I freezed by kiester off, but seriously, the mood of fans around me was pretty danged upbeat. I did NOT sense a lot of gloominess as he asserts.
Sure, it would be great if AD were healthy, but crap happens and OUr kids went out there in the first cold-weather game of the year and executed. I saw a team that is still capable of finishing 9-2.
Sooners smother Buffaloes
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
10/22/2006
NORMAN -- If Saturday's first half was any indication of Oklahoma football A.A.D. -- After A.D. -- then the Sooners may be facing a significant rebuild on offense.
No. 20-ranked OU, playing its first game without rushing star Adrian "All Day" Peterson, scored a touchdown on its first possession, then slogged through the rest of the first half and, in fact, much of the rest of the game.
That, though, and a suffocating :D Sooner defense, was enough to withstand Colorado.
The Sooners were 24-3 winners, sending home a chilled Memorial Stadium crowd of 84,443 maybe slightly less than satisfied and perhaps longing for Peterson, who missed his first game after a broken collarbone suffered last week against Iowa State.
"Offensively, I thought we really managed the game," said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, citing no turnovers and three sustained drives. [my sentiments precisely]
Oklahoma improved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 Conference play. Colorado fell to 1-7 and 1-3.
It was hard to tell whether the Sooner offense was hurt more by the loss of college football's most dynamic running back, by a stiff Colorado defense, by the 40-degree wind chill
or just by untimely dropped passes and drive-killing penalties.
"Our defense played great," said CU coach Dan Hawkins. "They played with a lot of heart and made some plays."
Oklahoma's running game eventually gained steam, and its passing game connected on a handful of important completions. But the Sooners finished with a season-low 271 total yards. [playing against the ninth ranked D in the country I might add] Their previous low was 333 against Texas.
Quarterback Paul Thompson completed 17-of-26 passes, but gained just 105 yards. Running back Allen Patrick, filling in for Peterson, rushed for 110 yards but needed 35 carries (3.1 yards per carry). Big-play threat Malcolm Kelly caught a season-high seven passes, but gained just 64 yards. OU was hamstrung by three more false-start penalties (now up to 17 on the season) and four dropped passes. [That is going to happen in cold weather]
"We've got to be able to stop" the presnap penalties, Stoops said. "The conditions weren't the best. I thought that contributed to a lot of the drops." But, he added, "we need to catch it better."
Adding to the Sooners' troubles, starting left tackle Branndon Braxton left the game in the third quarter with a broken left leg.
Still, OU put up plenty of offense -- including 9-of-18 third-down conversions and a 13 1/2 minute edge in time of possession -- for a rejuvenated Sooner defense going against an overmatched Colorado offense.
"We had a good game plan, and we went out and executed it," said linebacker Rufus Alexander, who had a season-high 11 tackles. [That guy is a stone-cold stud]
The Buffaloes came in averaging 285 yards per game -- last in the Big 12 and 103rd in the nation -- but had scored 61 points in their last two games. Against the Sooners, CU managed a season-low 113 total yards, 51 of which came on the Buffs' only scoring drive, and tied a season low for points. Eleven CU plays were knocked for a loss by the Oklahoma defense.
"Defensively, we tackled, and our positioning on the ball was excellent," Stoops said.
Buffs quarterback Bernard Jackson broke free for 54 yards rushing, but completed just 3-of-14 passes for 39 yards, was repeatedly chased and eventually threw an interception to linebacker Zach Latimer.
"We got dominated on offense," Hawkins said. "OU is talented on defense and they do a very good job."
The Sooners had little trouble on their first drive, going 61 yards in 12 plays. Thompson was 3-of-5 on the march, including two third-down conversions that were perfect throws -- the second a slick, 3-yard touchdown to Manuel Johnson. And Patrick ran seven times for 36 yards, including a pair of nifty 12-yard dashes.
But against the ninth-ranked rushing defense in NCAA Division I-A, Patrick found little room to run the rest of the first half. Patrick's season totals as Peterson's backup were meager: 18 rushing attempts, 62 yards. Saturday, he showed inexperience and indecision at times but also showed good acceleration and ball security.
Patrick finished strong in the second half, fighting off leg cramps to put up workhorse numbers.
"I'm a little sore," Patrick said. "I'll work on that."
"It's impressive," Stoops said. "But Allen's a tough guy. He's a competitor as well. I always love his attitude."
The Sooners tacked on a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, one on a 2-yard dive by Patrick, the other on a 4-yard run by freshman Chris Brown in his first action of the season. OU netted 166 yards on the ground, including 26 by Thompson, 18 by Jacob Gutierrez and 12 by Brown.
"Our running backs really ran hard and took care of the football," Stoops said. "That's a defense that's played well against everybody."
After the opening drive, The Sooners didn't come near the end zone again until a 12-play, 54-yard drive early in the fourth quarter that gave Oklahoma a 17-0 cushion on Patrick's first TD.
"My teammates know I can go out there and get the job done. But a lot of fans probably didn't think so," Patrick said. "But I came out there and made my point."[You go Patrick, bring it!]
Only a late field goal by Mason Crosby kept the Buffaloes from being shut out for the first time in 18 years. Colorado has now scored in 218 consecutive games, the sixth-longest active streak in the nation and the 12th-best all-time.
OU answered that with a 12-play, 43-yard march that ended with Brown's TD.
John E. Hoover 581-8384
[email protected]
Sure, it would be great if AD were healthy, but crap happens and OUr kids went out there in the first cold-weather game of the year and executed. I saw a team that is still capable of finishing 9-2.
Sooners smother Buffaloes
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
10/22/2006
NORMAN -- If Saturday's first half was any indication of Oklahoma football A.A.D. -- After A.D. -- then the Sooners may be facing a significant rebuild on offense.
No. 20-ranked OU, playing its first game without rushing star Adrian "All Day" Peterson, scored a touchdown on its first possession, then slogged through the rest of the first half and, in fact, much of the rest of the game.
That, though, and a suffocating :D Sooner defense, was enough to withstand Colorado.
The Sooners were 24-3 winners, sending home a chilled Memorial Stadium crowd of 84,443 maybe slightly less than satisfied and perhaps longing for Peterson, who missed his first game after a broken collarbone suffered last week against Iowa State.
"Offensively, I thought we really managed the game," said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, citing no turnovers and three sustained drives. [my sentiments precisely]
Oklahoma improved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 Conference play. Colorado fell to 1-7 and 1-3.
It was hard to tell whether the Sooner offense was hurt more by the loss of college football's most dynamic running back, by a stiff Colorado defense, by the 40-degree wind chill
or just by untimely dropped passes and drive-killing penalties.
"Our defense played great," said CU coach Dan Hawkins. "They played with a lot of heart and made some plays."
Oklahoma's running game eventually gained steam, and its passing game connected on a handful of important completions. But the Sooners finished with a season-low 271 total yards. [playing against the ninth ranked D in the country I might add] Their previous low was 333 against Texas.
Quarterback Paul Thompson completed 17-of-26 passes, but gained just 105 yards. Running back Allen Patrick, filling in for Peterson, rushed for 110 yards but needed 35 carries (3.1 yards per carry). Big-play threat Malcolm Kelly caught a season-high seven passes, but gained just 64 yards. OU was hamstrung by three more false-start penalties (now up to 17 on the season) and four dropped passes. [That is going to happen in cold weather]
"We've got to be able to stop" the presnap penalties, Stoops said. "The conditions weren't the best. I thought that contributed to a lot of the drops." But, he added, "we need to catch it better."
Adding to the Sooners' troubles, starting left tackle Branndon Braxton left the game in the third quarter with a broken left leg.
Still, OU put up plenty of offense -- including 9-of-18 third-down conversions and a 13 1/2 minute edge in time of possession -- for a rejuvenated Sooner defense going against an overmatched Colorado offense.
"We had a good game plan, and we went out and executed it," said linebacker Rufus Alexander, who had a season-high 11 tackles. [That guy is a stone-cold stud]
The Buffaloes came in averaging 285 yards per game -- last in the Big 12 and 103rd in the nation -- but had scored 61 points in their last two games. Against the Sooners, CU managed a season-low 113 total yards, 51 of which came on the Buffs' only scoring drive, and tied a season low for points. Eleven CU plays were knocked for a loss by the Oklahoma defense.
"Defensively, we tackled, and our positioning on the ball was excellent," Stoops said.
Buffs quarterback Bernard Jackson broke free for 54 yards rushing, but completed just 3-of-14 passes for 39 yards, was repeatedly chased and eventually threw an interception to linebacker Zach Latimer.
"We got dominated on offense," Hawkins said. "OU is talented on defense and they do a very good job."
The Sooners had little trouble on their first drive, going 61 yards in 12 plays. Thompson was 3-of-5 on the march, including two third-down conversions that were perfect throws -- the second a slick, 3-yard touchdown to Manuel Johnson. And Patrick ran seven times for 36 yards, including a pair of nifty 12-yard dashes.
But against the ninth-ranked rushing defense in NCAA Division I-A, Patrick found little room to run the rest of the first half. Patrick's season totals as Peterson's backup were meager: 18 rushing attempts, 62 yards. Saturday, he showed inexperience and indecision at times but also showed good acceleration and ball security.
Patrick finished strong in the second half, fighting off leg cramps to put up workhorse numbers.
"I'm a little sore," Patrick said. "I'll work on that."
"It's impressive," Stoops said. "But Allen's a tough guy. He's a competitor as well. I always love his attitude."
The Sooners tacked on a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, one on a 2-yard dive by Patrick, the other on a 4-yard run by freshman Chris Brown in his first action of the season. OU netted 166 yards on the ground, including 26 by Thompson, 18 by Jacob Gutierrez and 12 by Brown.
"Our running backs really ran hard and took care of the football," Stoops said. "That's a defense that's played well against everybody."
After the opening drive, The Sooners didn't come near the end zone again until a 12-play, 54-yard drive early in the fourth quarter that gave Oklahoma a 17-0 cushion on Patrick's first TD.
"My teammates know I can go out there and get the job done. But a lot of fans probably didn't think so," Patrick said. "But I came out there and made my point."[You go Patrick, bring it!]
Only a late field goal by Mason Crosby kept the Buffaloes from being shut out for the first time in 18 years. Colorado has now scored in 218 consecutive games, the sixth-longest active streak in the nation and the 12th-best all-time.
OU answered that with a 12-play, 43-yard march that ended with Brown's TD.
John E. Hoover 581-8384
[email protected]