John Shinn
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — In a 38-point road victory, it’s hard to imagine a measly 42-yard field goal being a big deal. But it was for Oklahoma in Saturday’s 66-28 victory over Texas A&M.;
The Sooners’ special teams, which have struggled mightily this season, were at their bottom-of-the-barrel point late in the second quarter. Jimmy Stevens had already missed from 30 yards early in the game. OU coach Bob Stoops went with Matt Moreland for a 42-yard attempt with about 9 minutes left before halftime. Moreland sent it wide left.
To make matters worse, the glaring problems with kickoff coverage flared up like a black eye in a wedding photo when Cyrus Gray returned one 67 yards to set up the Aggies’ first touchdown.
To say there was a crisis of confidence is an understatement.
Stevens knew what little faith Stoops had in him was just about gone when he sent him out there for a 42-yard attempt with 3 seconds left in the first half.
“I knew if I made this I could still keep my season alive. If I don’t make it, I might lose my job,” Stevens said.
He hit one of his best kicks of the season — long and right through the uprights to give the Sooners a 38-14 halftime lead.
Teammates poured out on the field to congratulate him. Their handshakes and pats on the head were a relief to a redshirt freshman who minutes earlier had been in a heated discussion with backup defensive tackle Cordero Moore after his first kick.
“We talked about it. We’re cool,” Stevens said of the confrontation with Moore.
Stoops evened seem cooler afterwards. No telling what he would have done if Stevens’ second attempt missed. He was just 3-for-5 on the season. OU has true freshman Tress Way redshirting, and Stoops has shown he’s willing to wave a kicker’s redshirt late in the year. He did it when he benched Trey DiCarlo for Garrett Hartley with one regular-season game left in 2004.
The Sooner coach still thinks that won’t happen this year.
“It was big. I think it gave him a boost,” Stoop said of Stevens’ make. “I just think there’s more in there. Jimmy shows it in practice consistently. Hopefully, he’ll settle down and be more comfortable in games.”
Perhaps he will. Or at least he knows he isn’t OU’s only special teams problem.
Gray’s kickoff return for a touchdown was topped by a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown midway through the third quarter. It was the third kickoff return for a touchdown OU has allowed this season.
“You want to be perfect,” Stoops said. “We can’t practice them a whole lot harder than we already do.”
