Two straight dominant performances have moved Oklahoma to the short list of national championship contenders. But few teams play to their potential every game. At some point there has to be a letdown, right?
If ever there was a game it could happen it’s at 2:30 p.m. today when the third-ranked Sooners (2-0) face Utah State (0-2).
Most good teams always have a game or two where the focus isn’t there or the intensity never arrives. Will this be the day it happens to OU?
There’s certainly a case for it. The Sooners are coming off a 51-13 victory over Miami. It was a game where virtually everything went right and the coaching staff said the week of practice leading up to the game might have been the best they’ve seen.
But they were saying the same things throughout training camp.
“I think more than anything, there’s just a pride factor,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “We’ve developed some really positive habits of going through the week, of how we compete and how we get ready.”
There’s a reason players and coaches aren’t concerned with an impending dip.
Loafing a couple plays might not cost a game, but it can cost somebody a job. There’s a very real sense of always looking over the shoulder amongst the Sooners. If you’re not getting better, you better believe someone else is.
“If you go out there during the week and lolly-gag around, you might not be starting that week and it doesn’t matter if you’ve been starting for the last three years,” wide receiver Malcolm Kelly said. “If you don’t get it done in practice, there’s guys in the two deep and even three deep that can make plays on Saturday. If you don’t get it done during the week, you won’t be out there.”
Kelly is entering his third season as a starter and he thinks about it every day. Imagine the thoughts racing through a first-year player’s mind.
The coaches don’t mind the paranoia.
“If a player isn’t kind of buying in and playing with the effort and the intensity, there’s someone else who will,” offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said.
Perhaps that wasn’t the case the last two seasons.
Youth and a lack of depth was something OU had battled in the seasons leading up to this one. When players are immature or unchallenged, problems arise.
If there was one thing the Sooners wanted to recapture this season, it was that sense of urgency. OU wanted to be a team that didn’t suffer letdowns. The great teams don’t let it happen.
Players have heard it like a steady drum beat for six months.
“It’s been a process which started back in the spring during two-a-days and everything like that and we have gotten used to it,” defensive end John Williams said. “We feel really good right now.”
And they’re playing that way.
Winning the first two games in blowouts was proof.
At some point, the blowouts will cease and the Sooners will be challenged for four quarters. That probably won’t be the case today. OU is a 45-point favorite for a reason.
But try bringing that about around the Switzer Center and all you’ll hear in return is that each game brings a different challenge.
Wilson said it best.
“I think they realize that you work real hard in our sport and those days are few and they’re priceless out here on this field,” he said. “These kids really work hard, and there’s a significant investment for very few opportunities. I think they’ve seen some opportunities slip out of their grasp, and I think this team seems to be well-grounded.”
If he’s right, there won’t be a letdown.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
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