By John Shinn
There’s no doubt Oklahoma has become a better team over the last month. Saturday’s 26-10 victory at Missouri and a three-game winning streak is fairly good proof.
The Sooners, who rose one spot to No. 18 in the latest Associated Press Top 25, seem to have solved the turnover and defensive problems that plagued them in the season’s early going.
“We’ve gotten stronger and more consistent in virtually every way,” OU coach Bob Stoops said.
That’s not surprising. Just about all teams are a more polished product at the end of October than mid-September.
How else to explain OU losing Heisman Trophy candidate Adrian Peterson and still rolling to its first road win over a ranked team in two seasons?
Allen Patrick’s statistics were amended Sunday due to a Jacob Gutierrez carry that was credited to him, so Patrick actually finished the game with 35 carries for 157 yards.
Since stepping in for Peterson prior to the Colorado game, he’s rushed 267 yards and carried the ball 70 times. He’s been a workhorse since being thrust into the starting lineup.
“Coaches have faith in me,” Patrick said. “They gave me the ball and I try to take it the distance.”
But offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson believes more pistons must fire for the Sooners to reach their zenith.
They haven’t experienced the rushing drop off most expected after Peterson went down. But OU’s passing numbers have dipped over the last two games.
Quarterback Paul Thompson threw for just 127 yards Saturday. And that came on the heels of a 105-yard night against the Buffaloes.
“We need to be a little more efficient in the passing game than we have been,” Wilson said. “We haven’t been bad. We’re not making critical plays, but we’re missing some things.”
Of course, there have been some mitigating factors in those two games. There were high winds when Colorado visited Owen Field and it wasn’t exactly calm at Faurot Field.
Thompson still managed to three touchdown passes in those games, including two against the Tigers.
When Wilson mentions “critical plays” he means throwing interceptions. Thompson hasn’t thrown one in three games. But OU can’t afford to become one dimensional as they head into the final month of the regular season.
The Sooners rank 10th in the Big 12 in passing offense at 197.6 yards per game. Wilson believes those numbers have to rise.
“We have to get that going,” he said. “It’s not that we want to come out and just bombs away, but we’re missing a big play or two in the passing game. And we need to get more efficient going down the stretch.”
Big plays will certainly be welcome when the Sooners (6-2, 3-1 Big 12) face No. 21 Texas A&M; (8-1, 4-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Kyle Field. The Aggies are still in position to win the Big 12 South and are coming off a 31-21 victory over Baylor.
The Sooners have won two of their last three games at Kyle Field, but all three have come down to the very end. It wouldn’t hurt to have Thompson and his receivers hitting on all cylinders.
There’s still room for improvement.
“We have a lot we can build on, but we still need to keep striving to be as good as it can be,” Wilson said. “We’re a long way away from where it can be.”
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
