NORMAN — Oklahoma didn’t lay a complete egg in its season opener, but even the Sooners admit the performance in the 31-24 victory over Utah State left a lot to be desired.
The offense was just 5 of 17 on third-down conversions, only scored 10 points in the second half and quarterback Landry Jones completed less than 50 percent of his passes.
The defense gave up way too many big plays and 421 yards in a performance that left many scratching their heads.
It wasn’t exactly the confidence boost the 10th-ranked Sooners were looking for as they prepare to face No. 17 Florida State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Owen Field.
OU coach Bob Stoops admitted the performance wasn’t up to par, but did throw out this nugget to munch on.
“We held a few things that we didn’t show that we’ve been working on — which didn’t help us,” Stoops said Tuesday.
It’s a common practice for teams to use a pretty light playbook in non-conference games they believe they can easily win. They don’t want to show future opponents anything but the bare bones. The Sooners have done it many times in past Septembers. The goal is to always have some curveballs to throw at appropriate times.
It’s hard to believe OU won’t throw some passes to DeMarco Murray, which they didn’t against Utah State.
But does that excuse the performance against the Aggies?
No.
“We just have to make more plays,” OU quarterback Landry Jones said. “It’s not the playbook. It’s us making more plays.”
Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson wanted to use the season opener to establish OU’s running game. And he was willing to do it at all costs.
“We’re trying to be patient early and not get into a finesse offense, which we were last year,” he said. “I truly believe you build toughness and a running game as you go through the season. I did want to start early. Maybe I was trying to force it, but I wasn’t going to get away from it.”
But that won’t be the case against the Seminoles.
The Sooners can’t afford to have a game plan that’s so one dimensional Saturday. If Utah State was good enough to take advantage of it, imagine what Florida State would do.
Wilson promises more aggression for Game 2.
“We just have to get more positive energy and confidence and a little more pep in our step and more swagger as an offensive unit and be more aggressive and be more aggressive in how we attack,” he said.
It doesn’t explain all of the Sooners’ season-opening issues. Jones had an admitted off-night and some of the receivers struggled to get open.
“Some of it is execution and being able to get away from people and find the spaces. Some of it is giving them more opportunities,” Stoops said. “We’ll have more out there this week.”
The Sooners played their cards close to the vest last week. As they prepare for the showdown with the Seminoles, there are clear signs the Sooners are more than willing to take more risks.
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
