By John Shinn
Oklahoma built a well-deserved reputation for making big defensive plays in big games. They were the ones that made highlight reels and remain etched in fans memories.
But through five games, the big plays have been almost non-existent for the 23rd-ranked Sooners.
Last Saturday’s 28-10 loss to Texas was a perfect example. OU only allowed 232 yards, but couldn’t close the deal. There’s no doubt five offensive turnovers had plenty to do with the outcome, but there was something missing.
“It’s hard to put your finger on it in, that we’re doing a lot of things that we’ve done here traditionally for eight years, and we haven’t been able to come up with that big play whether it be a deflection for an interception, a sack that rips the ball out,” OU coach Bob Stoops said Tuesday.
When OU won four out of five Big 12 South titles from 2000-2004, those plays came in bunches. Sacks always seemed to come at critical times and when someone had the chance to intercept a pass, he did.
But through five games, that hasn’t been the case.
Defensive ends C.J. Ah You and Calvin Thibodeaux have zero sacks. They combined for 17 last season.
Larry Birdine, whose return from a biceps injury was expected to give the Sooners one of the best pass rushes in college football, has one sack.
OU has intercepted four passes. Safety Nic Harris has all but one.
Stoops isn’t calling his players out for their failure to make those game-changing plays. He finds it hard to fault a group that just held one of the best teams in college football to less than 300 yards.
“It’s hard to rip them when they did do a lot of really good things,” he said. “But we do want and expect big plays. We always want turnovers, and push for them, and we’re going to keep doing that.”
But it’s also something players know without being told.
“We set the bar high here,” linebacker Rufus Alexander said. “We expect a lot from ourselves and we expect to go out there and make great plays.”
Alexander leads the team in tackles with 41, but all but one of his tackles for losses came against Middle Tennessee. Against Texas, he only had four tackles and none were behind the line of scrimmage.
Birdine was very critical of his play through the first five games.
“At this time, I figured I’d be amongst the leaders in sacks and tackles at my position,” he said. “So far through the year, I’ve just been average. I’ve just been a regular player.”
There’s no doubt the Sooners (3-2, 0-1 Big 12) are feeling the heat. They’re not happy heading into Saturday’s game against Iowa State (3-2, 0-2) in search of their first conference win.
Perhaps that will changes in the second half of the season. Big plays aren’t something that are drawn up in the game plan. It’s a matter of pouncing on opportunities when they arise.
Seven games remain. Perhaps that bodes well for the second-half of the season. Stoops doesn’t believe anything has changed in the program’s makeup to prevent the big plays from coming.
“You practice, you do the things we’ve done for a long time,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of big plays here, so we’re practicing the ways we always have. We believe in them and I believe as we go we’ll get them.”
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
