By GUERIN EMIG Sports Writer on Jan 7, 2013, at 7:51 AM Updated on 1/07 at 7:51 AM
OU SPORTS
Cornerback Aaron Colvin returned for his senior year at Oklahoma to win some games, win some awards and put himself in prime ...
Keeping with the Big 12 vs. SEC theme of the week, I found something pretty cool from a year ago, when the two conferences ...
We're still more than a year and a half from the first College Football Playoff, and the first CFP selection committee, and ...
Mike Stoops' rehiring as Oklahoma defensive coordinator was met with so much enthusiasm that two harsh realities were conveniently forgotten:
Stoops didn't have the same personnel he did during his first tour with the Sooners, and that was going to cost him against offenses so much more sophisticated and dangerous than in the early 2000s.
Take a look at the end result, by way of a statistical comparison between Stoops' initial five-year run as coordinator, and his latest season...
OU's NCAA total defense ranking:
2012: 64
2003: 3
2002: 10
2001: 4
2000: 8
1999: 39
OU scoring defense ranking:
2012: 50
2003: 5
2002: 6
2001: 4
2000: 7
1999: 16
OU run defense ranking:
2012: 90
2003: 20
2002: 14
2001: 7
2000: 23
1999: 37
OU pass defense ranking:
2012: 29
2003: 2
2002: 25
2001: 11
2000: 9
1999: 46
The talent in the Sooners' secondary this season was at least comparable to the Williams-Strait-Everage bunch. Tony Jefferson, Aaron Colvin and Demontre Hurst fit Stoops' scheme pretty well, and that allowed OU to play the pass respectably.
What Stoops could not do was devise a system to overcome a sharp drop-off from secondary to linebacker, and from linebacker to defensive line. Not against 2012 offenses, anyhow.
Many thought he would patch OU's defensive holes almost by magic. That his presence alone would make whatever difference was necessary.
Stoops knows defense. What the numbers prove is he hasn't mastered witchcraft.
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