By John Shinn
Transcript Sports Writer
It’s been six years since Oklahoma returned home after a loss to Texas. That’s what the Sooners’ did Saturday night after falling 45-12 to the second-ranked Longhorns inside the Cotton Bowl.
A day later, the mood at the Switzer Center hadn’t changed much. The coaching staff just wants to put the loss behind them and move on.
“It never sits very good, but you do the best you can and you move forward,” OU coach Bob Stoops said Sunday. “I’m not one that ever sat around and gloated on one. I’m not going to sit here and kill myself over one. We’re just fighting to get better.”
OU fell to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12 Conference.
The Sooners find themselves struggling to keep their head above water while still learning how to swim.
They were dominated in just about every phase by the Longhorns. Texas outgained OU 444 to 171 yards and had the game all but put away by the end of the first half.
How it all happened is what the Sooners must figure out. It shouldn’t be too hard. OU’s struggles are becoming familiar.
The Sooners struggled to run the ball, putting too much pressure on quarterback Rhett Bomar.
“We got behind and had to come from behind,” offensive coordinator Chuck Long said. “When they get you one dimensional with a young quarterback you’re going to see a number of different things, which we did.”
Bomar threw for just 94 yards and completed 12-of-33 passes with a touchdown and an interception. He didn’t get much help, either.
Bomar was erratic early but appeared to settle down over time. It didn’t help that OU was plagued by dropped passes or that Bomar was sacked three times and hurried six others.
“All that together results in some very inconsistent and poor passing,” Stoops said. “Running wise, it’s gets more difficult to run when everybody is sitting in there waiting for it. They go hand in hand.”
Defensively, OU gave up a lot of yards, but that wasn’t the unit’s downfall. Missed tackles and blown assignments that spurred average gains into touchdowns were.
“Some of the things that happened out there were self-inflicted,” defensive coordinator Venables said. “You don’t want to take anything way from Texas, their players and their performance. They’ve got a very good team. What you have to get over is the things you do to put yourself behind the eight-ball. That’s what we’re working hard on doing.”
But when will the hard work finally start paying off? For the third time this season, OU heads into a game trying to erase the mistakes that prevented a win the week before.
“You want and demand perfection,” Venables said. “When you don’t have it, it gets frustrating. You need to drive and push forward. That’s all you can do, play as well as you’re capable of playing.
“When you do, maybe your satisfied. Until you do, you’re not.”
OU faces Kansas (3-2, 0-2) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Baylor, Nebraska, Texas A&M;, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State remain on the schedule.
There’s still time to stitch together a successful season, yet there’s no question the Sooners must get better and fast.
“We have to press ourselves mentally and players have to step up and say we have six games left and take them one at a time,” Stoops said. “We’ll have a chance to win each one but so will they. We’ve got to keep making improvement and show some character to do it.”
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
Trying to move on
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