Most eyes were fixated on Oklahoma’s offense Saturday night against Alabama-Birmingham. Paul Thompson’s return to quarterback and the young offensive line were the biggest question marks of the preseason.
They seemed to pass their first tests in the 24-17 victory over the Blazers. Thompson threw for 227 yards and the line helped OU churn up 370 yards and only allowed one sack.
But the play of the defense was surprising. And that isn’t a good thing.
“We need to be better. There’s no question,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “The defense has gotten a lot of attention nationally. They’ve been bragged on, and they weren’t nearly as good as they were billed to be.”
The unit certainly didn’t look like it belonged in an elite class Saturday. OU struggled against UAB’s option attack, giving up two touchdown drives of over 70 yards.
Poor tackling and missed assignments were the main culprits.
Defensive coordinator Brent Venables said 115 of the Blazers’ 304 total yards came after missed tackles.
UAB’s offensive style forces defenses to play assignment football, particularly in the defensive line and at linebacker. Being overaggressive can result in major mistakes.
The Sooners found that out Saturday.
“We were over pursuing and it took us a while to get a bead on what they were doing,” linebacker Rufus Alexander said. “(UAB) had a great scheme.”
The Blazers were unorthodox because they used three running backs on many occasions and very rarely used more than two wide receivers.
However, the option game they employed was nothing OU hadn’t seen many times before.
“It’s as elementary as it gets,” Venables said. “We’ve done that 1,000 times since the start of camp. They know it and knew it out there on the field. A couple guys took their turns at making that mistake.”
The defensive ends — C.J. Ah You, Calvin Thibodeaux and Larry Birdine — did a poor job of containing the quarterback, and OU was also hit for four pass plays of more than 24 yards. Several of those were completed over cornerback D.J. Wolfe.
Stoops said Wolfe needs to improve or sophomore Lendy Holmes could take the starting job.
“He didn’t play very well,” Stoops said of Wolfe. “Once they got him on something they probably went after him again. When you’re up there pressing people, they’re going to go after your corners. In the end, he needs to play better or we’re going to have to work Lendy more.”
But it isn’t all doom and gloom in the Sooner camp. Unlike last year, OU will be trying to correct mistakes after a season-opening win.
“It’s discouraging and it’s disappointing,” Venables said. “At the same time, I think some of our aggressiveness hurt us. One thing that jumped off the screen to all of us as a staff as we watched was how hard we played from the first snap till the very end.”
The 10th-ranked Sooners (1-0) face Washington (1-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Owen Field.
OU believes the mistakes that plagued the season opener can be corrected. The expectations for the defense haven’t changed. It’s up to the unit to live up to the billing.
“I do believe we can be better than that but I want to see it,” Stoops said. “Again, I get tired of what guys are supposed to be. They need to do it.”
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
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