By JOHN E. HOOVER Sports Columnist on Nov 30, 2012, at 3:52 PM Updated on 11/30 at 3:52 PM
GAME POINT
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FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU has the Big 12’s best statistical defense.
So, Oklahoma will need some offensive proficiency in its game against the Horned Frogs on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
The age-old question — how much of an offense’s success is execution by the players, and how much is play-calling by the coaches — always seems magnified against good defenses.
Last week against Oklahoma State — a not-so-good defense — the Sooners were simply magnificent early in the game on first down plays, which allowed them to overcome some mistakes and kept them close enough to catch up later.
By the midway point of the third quarter, Landry Jones had completed 21-of-25 passes for 246 yards — on first down alone. OU offensive coordinator Josh Heupel and the OSU defensive alignment dictated that the Sooners throw the football on 25 of their first 33 first-down plays, and the Sooners averaged 8.5 yards per play on first down.
That’s good coaching, but it’s also brilliant execution.
Strangely, as Jones climbed up the Sooner legend chart with a game-tying, overtime-inducing, fourth-quarter touchdown drive, his success on first down dried up. After his 21-of-25 start, Jones finished the last 20 minutes or so of the Bedlam game completing just 5-of-12 passes for 42 yards on first down. Three of those incompletions were drops. Twice Jones misfired an uncatchable ball.
That’s a lack of execution.
As the day became night, Jones wasn’t particularly clutch on third or fourth down, either. In those situations during the fourth quarter, he hit just 1-of-3 passes for 10 yards and was sacked once.
They say first down is a money down. Same thing about third down. You can either get things off to a good start or convert in crunch time.
But in the fourth quarter, Jones was at his best on second down. He completed 8-of-10 for 95 yards in the final period on the Sooners’ second-down plays.
TCU leads the Big 12 in total defense, allowing just 324 yards per game. But the Frogs’ strength is run defense, where they yield just 97 yards per game and 3.1 yards per rush.
If OU is going to win and maintain a shot at overtaking Kansas State for the Big 12 title, Jones and his receivers — and his offensive coordinator — will need to be good on first, second and third down against TCU.
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