Oklahoma is in the middle of its first bye week and it couldn’t come at a better time. Nagging injuries need time to heal and there’s also the matter of OU’s next opponent: Texas.
The extra week of preparation hasn’t been lost on anyone in the Sooner camp.
“Going into the first game against the Big 12 and going against a team like Texas, you want to make sure you’re as rested as you can be and as prepared as you can be,” quarterback Paul Thompson said. “Being rested will be a big factor for this next game.”
There’s no doubt about that. Last season, Adrian Peterson was nursing an injured ankle and was a non-factor in the Red River Shootout.
This year, however, the Sooners have no major injuries. Center Jon Cooper and fullback Matt Clapp were both held out of last week’s victory over Middle Tennessee to give ankle injures more time to heal.
OU coach Bob Stoops said both returned to practice this week.
So, what will OU do with the extra time?
Apparently, nothing major.
Stoops plans to hold practice Tuesday through Thursday before giving his players time off until Sunday night. He expects many will use the free time to go home for the weekend.
Although Thompson, from Leander, Texas, a suburb of Austin, said he’ll stay close to Norman.
“I need to stay away from Austin a little bit,” he said. “I’m definitely going to relax. Coach knows that there’s a lot that I need to learn, but he tells me when I get a chance, to just get away from it. You can get bogged down with it at times. I’m going to stick around Norman but definitely relax and just watch some other football.”
This is the first time OU has had an extra week to prepare for the Longhorns under Stoops. During his regime, the bye weeks have always fallen in September or later in the season. Still, the coach insists the extra time won’t turn into a two-week-long Texas cram session.
“It works out and gives you extra time to really prepare, look at them and to work your plan,” he said. “I like the fact that we can hopefully continue to polish and work techniques and fundamentals and get better here this week.”
And for the first time this season, OU looks like a team that needs to polish rather than retool. It held Middle Tennessee to 95 total yards in last Saturday’s 59-0 victory.
The defense played solid for four quarters. After entering the game ranked 97th in total defense, the Sooners moved all the way up to No. 60
Most of the improvement was attributed to better tackling and a lack of mental lapses in the secondary.
“Regardless of who you’re playing, sometimes our problems have been self-inflicted and we didn’t have any of that the other night,” Stoops said. “We really played in a very solid and fundamentally good way.”
OU is still 11th in the Big 12 in total defense, giving up 321 yards per game. The Sooners must still improve if they hope to contend for a conference title.
The Red River Shootout is always a pretty big factor in determining the conference champion. The Sooners have until 2:30 p.m. Oct. 7 to get ready.
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
Good time to have the week off
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