OU Football Notebook: Sooners lose Williams
BY GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
11/20/12 at 3:05 AM
Daryl Williams, the only Oklahoma offensive lineman who had escaped harm until Saturday's game at West Virginia, finally got dinged in Morgantown. He sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee during OU's first drive.
Coach Bob Stoops revealed the diagnosis Monday, and added Williams could be available for the Sooners' bowl game at the earliest.
OU compensated Saturday by putting Tyrus Thompson, essentially a sixth starter, at left tackle and shifting Lane Johnson to the right side.
The pass protection didn't suffer any - quarterback Landry Jones scrambled a couple of times, but he was never sacked.
Landry wins a prize: It figured a Sooner would finally win a Big 12 player of the week, having just played West Virginia. After all, four straight Mountaineer opponents had produced the league's offensive player of the week.
Sure enough, Jones made it five Monday.
Jones' OU-record 554 yards and six touchdowns were enough to earn the award over West Virginia's Tavon Austin, who rushed for 344 yards in the 50-49 shootout.
"I think that was probably one of the best games I've played in my college career," Jones said. "I just really played well."
Why take the chance?: Jones hit Kenny Stills for the go-ahead touchdown pass with 24 seconds left in Morgantown.
It figured Patrick O'Hara would squib or pooch the ensuing kickoff, anything to keep the ball from Austin or Stedman Bailey, the Mountaineers' dangerous return men.
Instead, O'Hara kicked it deep ... just as he was instructed.
"Every time you try and pooch it or squib it, they end up with the ball at the 35- or 40-yard line," Stoops said. "I just felt, 'Hey, we've been really good covering him. We only have to do it one more time.' "
Austin had returned seven kicks for an 18-yard average to that point.
Sure enough, he returned O'Hara's final kick from his own 5 to his 23 - exactly 18 yards - before Jaydan Bird made one of OU's most important special teams tackles of the season.
Don't bother me with the Big 12: Stoops began his Monday morning with a question about the Big 12 race.
The Sooners can tie idle Kansas State for first place by defeating Oklahoma State Saturday.
Any chance Stoops had considered that possibility?
"Not really," he said. "All I know is we've got to play a good Oklahoma State football team this week to have a chance at anything."
Any chance he'd comment on the possibility of rooting for Texas to knock off Kansas State Dec. 1 (something that would have to happen for OU to pass K-State)?
"We're not there yet," Stoops said. "You'd have to ask me that then."
No kickoff time for TCU: The Sooners' regular season finale at TCU on Dec. 1 could start at any of four different times, and air on any of four television outlets.
According to OU associate athletic director Kenny Mossman, the game will kick off at 11 a.m. if FX televises it.
But if ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 picks it up, it could air at 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. or 7 p.m.
Apparently, about the only outlet that has passed on the game is FOX. Look for Gus Johnson and friends to be in Manhattan that night for Kansas State-Texas.
