MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- This wasn't the way Oklahoma expected its non-conference schedule to go. At 2-2 after Saturday night's 21-20 loss to Miami at Land Shark Stadium, it's hard to describe the Sooners' start to the 2009 season as anything better than disappointing.
Entering the Big 12 Conference schedule at .500 wasn't the way anyone pictured things going for OU this season. Then again, with the exception of the team photo taken in early August, the Sooners bear little resemblance to the team OU thought it would have back then either.
No All-American tight end to rely on. After the second quarter Saturday night, no playmaking wide receiver to wreak havoc in the secondary. For the third straight game, no Heisman Trophy winning quarterback guiding an explosive offense.
No Jermaine Gresham, Ryan Broyles or Sam Bradford dramatically changes OU's offense.
But what was familiar was the way OU lost.
From 2000 through Saturday, the Sooners are 82-17 (80 percent winning percentage) and have won six Big 12 Conference titles. Clearly they know something about winning big games.
What's happened to OU more recently is it has lost the ability to win close tough games. Saturday's loss marked the fourth straight time it was in a game decided by 10 points or less and lost. Since the 2007 season, OU is 2-6 in games decided by 10 points or less.
"In the fourth quarter we needed to play a couple plays better, whether it was on defense or offense," OU coach Bob Stoops said. "We have to keep pushing for that."
It was very evident that the Sooners intended for their defense to win Saturday's game because after OU jumped to a 10-0 lead in the second quarter, the offense became more conservative than Rush Limbaugh.
Landry Jones was 18-for-30 on the night with a first-quarter touchdown pass. But what OU did on third down was the difference in the game. OU was just 5-for-15 when it had the opportunity to keep drives alive. But on six of those failed conversion attempts, Jones completed passes short of the first down marker. Two other times, OU elected to run the ball despite needing seven or more yards.
Stoops had no problems with the way his quarterback played.
"I thought he was excellent tonight," he said of Jones.
His only miscue was a fumble early in the third quarter that set up Miami's go ahead touchdown. In Jones' defense, he was hit from the blind side by an untouched defender.
"Turnovers are key in this game. You turn it over inside the 20-yard line and it's obviously not putting your defense in a good spot," Jones said. "I just needed to take care of the ball and squeeze it up when that guy hit me."
Some people point to OU's defense as the reason for its downfall. It's easy to do that when Miami was able to run and collect four first downs in the final four minutes to seal the victory.
"We needed a stop and we didn't get it," defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. "They put the game in our hands again and we didn't take advantage. We didn't do what we're supposed to do."
On the other hand, OU held an explosive Miami offense to 21 points and only gave up two real scoring drives.
Another way to look at the recent injury problems for the team is to consider that had OU gained four more points scattered over both the BYU and Miami games, OU would be 4-0, likely ranked in the top 3 and very much in the national title race.
Instead, the Sooners are 2-2 and ranked No. 19 as they head into Saturday's game against Baylor at Owen Field.
"It's all what your perception wants to be," Stoops said. "We just played a heckuva a game with Miami. If we're average, we're average. Maybe we're pretty good."
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
· If the Sooners won the close games, they would be perfect
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