John Shinn
By John Shinn
Transcript Sports Writer
Defense was supposed to be Oklahoma’s strength this season. And that preseason prediction appears to be finally coming to fruition.
The Sooners (5-2, 2-1 Big 12) put together a dominant performance in Saturday night’s 24-3 victory over Colorado. They held the Buffaloes to 113 total yards and allowed just five first downs.
After lackluster play the first three games, the unit has turned things around in a big way. Saturday’s performance was OU’s fourth straight game holding an opponent to less than 300 yards.
During the four-game stretch — Middle Tennessee, Texas, Iowa State and Colorado — OU’s defense has only allowed 31 points.
“I think we’re getting better every week,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “The last month we’ve gotten better and more consistent in all phases of the game.”
Since allowing 501 yards, which included two touchdowns in the final minutes Sept. 16 at Oregon, the Sooners have been downright stingy.
The blown assignments and missed tackles that had coaches fuming in September seem to have been swept away or at least under the carpet.
You can scour the Switzer Center for in-depth reasons for the turnaround. But the explanations you’ll get vary.
Some say it’s been the play of Marcus Walker and Lendy Holmes at the cornerback spots.
Their play has been a calming influence for a secondary that seemed to be in turmoil in September.
Others point toward the improvement of the defensive line. The gaping holes Alabama-Birmingham, Washington and Oregon exploited have shrunk. OU’s allowed just 3.2 yards a carry in conference play.
“You can say we’re putting it together,” linebacker Rufus Alexander said. “I’d just say everybody’s starting to do their jobs.”
That’s the point OU’s coaching staff has tried to hammer home. Most of the errors the Sooners committed came from trying to do more than the job required.
The defense is designed for 11 guys to do an exact job every snap. When it happens, you get the type of performance OU had against the Buffaloes.
Whatever it is, it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Sooners take on Big 12 North-leading Missouri (7-1, 3-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
It’s the first of four road games OU will play during the regular season’s final five weeks. They’re also against some of the conference’s best offenses.
There’s no doubt this will the roughest part of the schedule. Winning will be difficult without solid defense.
“You’re challenged as a team to go on the road and play in somebody else’s house, particularly on defense,” Venables said. “That toughness, from a mental standpoint, begins with defense.”
The only true road game OU has played thus far was at Oregon. It played well enough to win that game, but it was still the low point of the season as far as the defense is concerned.
But the Sooners have a little more confidence as they prepare to head into hostile territory.
“I feel really good about it,” head coach Bob Stoops said. “I guess that’s a good way of putting it. Maybe it’s best to have it now as opposed to early in the year.”
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
