By John Shinn
All of Oklahoma’s players were born well into the 1980s. The famous line from a movie in the 1970s doesn’t resonate with them. But just like the character of Howard Beale in “Network,” Sooner defenders are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.
Those exact words weren’t mouthed by any of the players this week as the fourth-ranked Sooners (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) prepared to face Nebraska (5-3, 2-2) at 7 tonight at Owen Field. But it sums up they way they’re feeling after the last two games.
The Sooner defense has been under siege since giving up over 30 points in the last three games.
“We have to step and make some plays,” defensive end Jeremy Beal said.
Clearly some guys have.
Despite giving up a very uncharacteristic amount of points, the Sooners have had the Big 12’s defensive player of the week three of the last four weeks. Linebacker Keenan Clayton got the award for his performance against Baylor. Safety Lendy Holmes took the honor two weeks ago and linebacker Travis Lewis claimed it following the Kansas State game.
Individuals playing well is one thing, but the Sooners haven’t appeared to have 11 all on the same page over the last three games.
Each player talks about a standard that isn’t being met.
“For us, it’s flat-out embarrassing,” middle linebacker Austin Box said. “We’re not used to giving up those kinds of yards as a defense.”
Defensive coordinator Brent Venables points out the things OU is doing right. It’s only allowing 28.8 percent of opponents’ third-down conversions. It’s tied for the league lead in sacks. It still ranks second in the conference in total defense, even while it allows at 345 yards a game.
Still, the players say none of that matters when one thing is going wrong.
“The standard that hasn’t been lived up to in the last couple of games is the big plays. That’s a backbreaker for anybody,” Venables said. “For anybody that plays defense, one of the top three goals is always don’t give up the big play. Whatever you do, don’t give up the big play. There’s always other things that go along with that, but those are backbreakers. That’s the issue right now.
“When you look at it, is it an abomination of defense or just an area that you’ve broken down. We’ve been great on third down. We’ve been great pressuring the quarterback. We’ve been great on yards-per-carry in defending the run. We’ve been great at yards per play. We could be outstanding if we could get this area of big plays corrected.”
Tonight figures to be a chance to do that.
It isn’t that Nebraska doesn’t have big-play potential. Quarterback Joe Ganz fits right in the long line of very good conference quarterbacks. The Huskers have shown they can score points. And they’ll take their time doing it. The Huskers are second in the conference in time of possession. Nebraska is one of the few teams that still huddles, works the clock and tries to shorten the game.
Make the Huskers work for every yard and the perception of the Sooners’ defense could change drastically. The performances against Texas, Kansas and Kansas State will look more like aberrations. Give up two or three 50-yard plays and they will look more par for the course.
OU’s tradition says it’s a better defense than the one it’s been lately. The standard it talks about comes from that pride.
The Sooners has been wounded.
“One or two big plays kind of nullifies everything else you do,” defensive end Auston English said. “They allow teams to get back in games and change momentum. We can’t have anymore of it. It has to stop.”
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
