By John Shinn
Oklahoma’s season-opening loss to TCU left plenty of blame to go around. From poor play on the offensive line to busted assignments by the defense, everyone shouldered some share of the burden.
That’s why there was no finger pointing Tuesday at OU’s media luncheon. OU coach Bob Stoops boiled it all down to one thing.
“We’ve got to do a better job as coaches and players in the way we compete on the field,” he said.
The main issue that arose following the TCU game was the notion the Sooners had gone soft. Stoops believed his team didn’t show the desire to win his other teams have expressed.
The players received the message loud and clear.
“Our coaches are the top in the country and they know what they are doing,” fullback J.D. Runnels said. “I completely trust all of them and we’ve won a lot of games with them … Effort is the key in football and that is one of the things we probably slacked off in.”
The Sooners have been trying to rectify the situation.
It started with a players-only meeting following Monday’s practice and continued Tuesday.
“We just need to go out there and be more physical and play OU football, because Saturday we looked like a bunch of Pop Warners out there just playing, thinking we were going to roll out there and (win) just because we had the Sooner jersey on,” middle linebacker Zach Latimer said. “The guys that haven’t played need to look at the guys that have played before us and look how hard they worked to get it done. We need to work just as hard if not harder to go out there and win.”
The 17-10 loss to the unranked Horned Frogs has left OU facing some harsh realities. The Sooners fell to 0-1 for the first time since 1997 and also plummeted in the polls, falling to No. 18 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 16 in the USA Today coaches poll. They started the season ranked No. 7 by AP and No. 5 by the coaches.
Every Sooner team since 2000 has yearned to win a national championship, and every team in that span has remained a contender deep into the season. This one has a steep hill to climb to maneuver its way back into the title hunt.
Rankings, however, are out of the Sooners’ control. What they can change is the way they play.
“I know a lot of guys who are anxious to get back on the field to really prove themselves,” Runnels said. “After ending last year the way we did, with a loss, a lot of guys had to wait six to seven months to get back on the field. Now guys have to wait six to seven days to get back on the field. I know a lot of guys are anxious to get back on the field.”
It starts with Tulsa coming to Owen Field at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
A week ago, the showdown with the Golden Hurricane looked like a chance to remain undefeated without too much trouble before heading to UCLA.
Not any more.
“The last game doesn’t matter now,” defensive tackle Carl Pendleton said. “We’re getting ready for Tulsa this week and we need to worry about it. Everyone is working hard getting ready for our next opponent. We have 11 more games and we have to focus on this next one.”
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
