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September 13, 2006

Sooners eager to handle adversity of the road

By John Shinn

There will be a lot of screaming Saturday at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., but little will be heard.

That’s what it’s like for the visitors when they play at Oregon. All the noise combines into one big wall of sound.

Oklahoma has to figure out a way to communicate in those circumstances. Add in a very good opponent like the 18th-ranked Ducks and the task is a daunting one.

OU wide receiver Malcolm Kelly has already been well versed in what to expect. The coaching staff has left little to the imagination.

“They said that Oregon is a totally different team when they are playing at home,” Kelly said Tuesday at the Sooners’ weekly media luncheon. “They told us to get ready for people yelling and saying all kinds of stuff.”

Quarterbacks scream plays at the top of their lungs, but offensive linemen and receivers can’t hear a word. There’s no sense yelling out a snap count.

Some teams don’t handle the pressure well. It can be a rattling experience for any visiting team.

Perhaps that’s why Oregon has won 24 of its last 25 non-conference home games over the last dozen seasons.

The Sooners don’t want to be another statistic. The best way to do that is to focus on what’s going on between the lines, not on the racket outside them.

“That’s what really matters,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “The 11 guys that are on the field are all that you have to compete with, so that’s what we focus on.”

Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson had his unit practicing with ear plugs this week. The whole idea was to make sure everyone understands that hearing quarterback Paul Thompson will be very difficult Saturday. Understanding him will require focus.

“We’re just trying to make sure guys are focusing in on me, listening to what I have to say and blocking everything else out,” Thompson said.

It’s something OU will have to do four more times this season and five if you count the time the Sooners have the ball on Texas’ end of the Cotton Bowl.

Learning to deal with crowd noise is a part of college football that can’t be overlooked. It will be deafening Saturday, but won’t be any different at some of the other venues OU will visit.

It can get very loud at Texas A&M;’s Kyle Field or Oklahoma State’s Boone Pickens Stadium. OU plays in both stadiums in November.

However, Saturday’s game will be OU’s first on the road. Stoops downplayed the significance Tuesday.

“Our seasons are always built progressing through the year trying to get better as we go, and that’s what we’re doing this year,” he said. “It’s no different than any other.”

But players sense something different. They know the difference between good and great teams is the way they handle the pressure of playing in hostile environments.

Saturday is their first chance to prove they can handle such adversity.

“I’m excited to see what this team is going to do,” Thompson said “… One of our goals that we set was going on the road in our first road game and coming away with a win.

“That was something that we had predetermined in our minds that would be a big stepping stone to get over. It’s definitely not just another game, but one that we feel that if we can close on this, it will be a big boost going into our last game out of the conference (season).”

John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com

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