The Sooners return to practice this week, but they'll take Saturday off to rest for their Sept. 28 trip to Notre Dame. That's not a bad thing considering they had some bumps and bruises coming out of the 51-20 victory over Tulsa.
Cornerback Aaron Colvin sat out after getting kicked in the jaw the previous Saturday against West Virginia. Bob Stoops said Monday Colvin was "close" to being able to play against Tulsa. It's likely he will play at Notre Dame, given he was at practice later Monday.
Safety Gabe Lynn, who appeared to sustain a lower leg injury while being tackled after his interception against Tulsa, did not practice Monday. Mike Stoops called Lynn "day to day."
Bob Stoops also said he would get an update on Trevor Knight's injured knee this week.
"It's possible he'll be back this week," Stoops said. "If not he should be back Monday of next week."
Any fuel left in the Belldozer?: Blake Bell carried 10 times against Tulsa. The only run that resembled the Belldozer of the past two years came on a third-and-1 in the third quarter.
With Aaron Ripkowski at tight end and Trey Millard lead-blocking off the wing, Bell took the snap and ran wide left for 3 yards and a first down.
Otherwise, Bell's running game was mostly scrambling, with a little read option mixed in.
Does that mean the end of the Belldozer?
"It still has its place," Stoops said. "Let's face it, third-and-one, or third-and-goal at the 1, or third-and-goal at the 2, it's still important that you score. It's still important that you pick up the first down. So, you know, there will be a place for it, definitely."
Thanks, West Virginia: OU's 2012 schedule was upset by two bye weeks which occurred before the Sooners had even played four games. That was in danger of happening again this season, until OU and West Virginia agreed to move up their date.
Stoops said Monday what would have been a Sept. 7 bye instead became the earliest Big 12 Conference game in school history. The Sooners looked erratic in winning 16-7, but it beat the alternative.
"Otherwise we would have only had two games (the ULM opener and then Tulsa) going into this off week," Stoops said. "The fact that we moved West Virginia up into that other open week, this one works out just fine."
Embrace the hype: Two weeks is a lot of time to hype a non-conference game as big as OU-Notre Dame. It might get tiresome to some, even.
As for Sooners tackle Daryl Williams?
"I kind of look at it as an upside," he said. "To get the jump on our opponent, that's great. To have two weeks against them, especially since we lost to them last year, I think everybody's going to be focused this week and next week."
OU
The final two games are May 16 and 17 at ONEOK Field in Tulsa. Each of the Tulsa starts are at 7 p.m.
