NORMAN — Even if Ryan Broyles, who claimed to see more positive than negative, didn’t know what all the fuss was about following Oklahoma’s beyond lackluster 34-27 victory over Utah State, sophomore center Ben Habern and the rest of the squad appear to have understood.
“We got into the locker room and just kind of looked around at each other and said, ‘Did we really just play like that,’” he said.
The question is why.
Or, at least, Sooner fans better hope that’s the question and that it comes with a specific answer. Because if OU’s just not that good, well, get ready for another long season.
Everything appeared to be wrong.
DeMarco Murray ran for a bunch of yards, but two of his 35 carries made for 102 of his 218 yards. For 33 carries, the offensive line was only nominally helpful.
Broyles was great, catching nine balls for 142 yards and two scores, but where was the help?
Defense appeared to be on holiday. The Aggies gained almost a half-yard more than the Sooners per snap, 5.6 to 5.2. They went up and down the field until OU put an end to it when the only alternative was losing.
What gives?
Tuesday, a semblance of an answer arrived.
Forever prepared not to make an excuse, Bob Stoops wasn’t about to go there until a question took him there. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson isn’t in the excuse-making business, but he’s long on explanation, just as long as he can employ a golf metaphor for everybody’s enjoyment.
In a word, the Sooners were cautious and football is not a game of cautious. Stoops actually said it was a game that had to be played “recklessly.”
“You cannot play this game cautiously,” he said. “You’ve got to play it recklessly.”
Just not, perhaps, recklessly like redshirt freshman linebacker Tom Wort played it, picking up a pair of personal fouls.
Wilson was direct.
“Quit worrying about screwing up and pin your ears back and go play,” he said, “and play like an Oklahoma team is supposed to play.”
If they’re on to something, it makes perfect sense. Because a team-wide case of caution is enough to make everything go to heck.
An offensive line that doesn’t fire can keep any play from getting off the ground. A quarterback trying to be too good or too cute will fail to complete a pass to all but the most wide open receiver.
A defensive back who gets too tied up with keeping perfect pace with the guy he’s covering, losing track of the ball along the way, can be right there every time and never make a play.
The Sooners actually made several plays. It wasn’t the lack of spectacular that let the Aggies mount their challenge, it was a lack of the good and solid.
Saturday, one of the many storylines at play will be the history of the Florida State-Oklahoma series. The programs have met just five times, yet three have come at the Orange Bowl, the last one for the national championship.
That 2000 team was frequently not spectacular, but it was just about always good and always solid.
“They were very tough and very smart,” Stoops said. “They took everything in and played intelligently … They really made you beat them.”
They weren’t cautious.
It may be as simple as relaxing and playing, just as long as it’s reckless and hard.
The Sooner Nation should hope so.
Clay Horning 366-3526 cfhorning@normantranscript.com
