OU's Landry Jones leaves big impression on OSU defense

BY JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Sunday, November 25, 2012
11/25/12 at 6:29 AM

NORMAN - Bill Young has been coaching at the college level since 1968.

And this is what Oklahoma State's defensive coordinator said about Landry Jones after the Oklahoma quarterback rallied the Sooners to a 51-48 overtime victory Saturday: "He played as well as any quarterback I have ever coached against."

Jones hit 46-of-71 passes for 500 yards and directed an 86-yard fourth-quarter drive to force overtime.

You couldn't have blamed OSU players if they entered the game believing Jones had the potential to be the MVP for either team.

Why? Jones threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles that led to touchdowns in OSU's 44-10 Bedlam rout last season.

Said Jones after that game: "I singlehandedly lost this game for us."

With an improved front seven on defense, OSU seemed better equipped to pressure Jones into mistakes this season than last season. For instance, Jones felt heat in the first quarter and found an open "receiver" in OSU linebacker Lyndell Johnson, who returned an interception 46 yards to the 9 and helped stake the Cowboys to a 14-0 headstart.

But, by game's end, OSU was credited with only one quarterback sack and only two hurries.

"He did a great job of evading our rush and he did a great job of staying on task and getting ball to the receivers," Young said. "He got it there with a lot of velocity and he got it there in the right spot. Several plays, we were right there and the ball as a back-shoulder throw and we couldn't get to it. It's a real credit to their execution."

OSU was coming off what was arguably its best pressure-the-QB outing of the season. The Cowboys sacked Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege three times in the first 18 snaps last week.

A rerun did not occur in Norman.

"I just thought when we did get close, the quarterback would just scoot to the right or scoot to the left," Young said. "I think their offensive line did a tremendous job of executing."

Said OSU head coach Mike Gundy, "We would have liked to have had more pressure. To be honest, what it comes down to is they have got four guys who are running routes who are good players.

"They can get rid of the ball quick and get the ball in their hands. It's pretty obvious they have had a lot of success this year throwing passes and the reason why is they are really good on the perimeter and their quarterback is experienced and makes good decisions."

Johnson said the OSU defense wanted to "mix it up" in an attempt to get the best of Jones. Johnson indicated the Cowboys tried to get pressure early in the game and Jones responded with quick passes.

"Towards the end of the game, we kind of tried to sit back in a zone a little bit and see if he would be able to pick us apart and see if our front four or front three could do the job," Johnson said.

"We tried to switch it up and see if he would throw it any more to us."

Young said he pulled out all the stops.

"We tried everything we had in our playbook," he said. "We were making adjustments and then they would make an adjustment and then we would make one and then they would make one. Obviously they did a much better job of making those adjustments than I did."

Jones became the first opponent to get 500 or more passing yards at OSU's expense since Texas Tech's Graham Harrell had 646 in 2007.

Whatever opinion OSU players had of Jones before the game, do they have a different opinion now?

"No, sir," defensive lineman Nigel Nicholas said. "I feel like he is the same person I thought he was before the game."

And what did you think about Jones before the game?

Nicholas laughed before saying this: "He's a great quarterback and did a good job today."

Original Print Headline: Jones leaves a big impression on OSU

Jimmie Tramel 918-581-8389
jimmie.tramel@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones was 46-of-71 passing for 500 yards and Oklahoma State's defense was credited with only one quarterback sack and only two hurries. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World