Tulsa World: OU Notebook

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OU Notebook

By GUERIN EMIG, World sports writer
Published: 10/8/2008 2:06 AM
Last Modified: 10/8/2008 3:12 AM

The rush is on: One of the reasons Sam Bradford was able to strafe Texas for 244 yards and three touchdowns last year in Oklahoma's 28-21 victory was the protection he received from his offensive line. The Longhorns sacked Bradford just once, when DeMarco Murray missed his block on Brian Orakpo.

OU's O-line returns intact. So does Orakpo, and his 5 1/2 sacks rank fifth in the nation, on a team that ranks first in sacks.

Said Orakpo: "You can create some havoc in the backfield and make him throw some bad passes and make him, hopefully, turn the ball over. That's what you hope to do as a defensive front, put pressure on the quarterback. If you get a quarterback sitting back there all day, it's going to be a long day for your secondary, covering guys for a long period of time."

The Sooners have allowed just five sacks in five games.

Taking it personally: OU's linebackers caught a lot of blame for the 149 receiving yards put up by Texas tight end Jermichael Finley last year. Two of those 'backers, Curtis Lofton and Lewis Baker, have moved on, leaving Ryan Reynolds to answer for what went wrong.

At least one teammate feels that's a crock.

"If you're not on the field, you really don't know what's going on," defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said, scolding fans and media. "If you're not in our meeting rooms and our practices or playing in a game, you can't blame a guy for what's going on, how hard it is to play the position he plays. People get beat all the time. So what? He got beat on a play. Who cares? We won the game.

"Ryan's back. He's full steam ahead. I think he's put all that behind him, and he's going to play real well this game."

Franks' first go: Sophomore Dominique Franks from Union gets his first crack at Texas on Saturday. He can hardly wait.

"I can't really sleep thinking about it," he said. "I went to bed about 10 last night and woke up about 1:30 in the morning and looked back over my playbook. I just know this is a great opportunity to be able to prove what I can do."

Cornerbacks Franks and Brian Jackson must stop a Longhorn receiving corps without a true star, unlike past years when Texas threw to Roy Williams or Limas Sweed.

"Really, it makes it harder to prepare for these guys. You don't have just one receiver you can focus on," Franks said. "Now you've got to worry about everyone getting the ball." By GUERIN EMIG, World sports writer

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