TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | Tuesday, February 09, 2010 | WIRELESS
CONTACT US | SUBSCRIBER SERVICES | SIGN IN SIGN OUT | MY PROFILE PAGE | MY ACCOUNT

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on RSS
Sports Extra!
Follow us on ...
OU | OSU | TU | ORU | HIGH SCHOOLS | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | COLLEGE BASKETBALL | NFL | FANTASY | OUTDOORS | GOLF | PROS | ALL




SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS
    Sports Editor
Mike Strain
Sports Columnist
Dave Sittler
The Picker
Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA



Newspaper View Newspaper View      Print this story Print      Email this story Email     
Share      Bookmark Bookmark

OU's defense hopes it can redeem itself

Oklahoma's Brian Jackson deflects a pass intended for Kansas State's Deon Murphy during a game on Oct. 25. The Sooners' defense gave up 550 yards in total offense in the 58-35 win over the Wildcats. James Gibbard/Tulsa World

 
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 11/5/2008  2:11 AM
Last Modified: 11/5/2008  2:34 AM

 NORMAN — The oldest, most worn adage in sports tells us that defense wins championships.

If that is true, then the question Oklahoma fans must ask is, can the Sooners' defense win a championship?

"This is where we're going to have to prove it," said OU defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. "They say defense wins championships, but this is our chance."

Oklahoma's offense is holding up its end, averaging 49.8 points and 538 yards per game. Those averages over an entire season would set school records.

"It's really up to us," McCoy said. "The offense has been doing great, but we've been giving up these big plays. That's just not what we're about. That's not what we do. So it's going to be on us these next three or four weeks."

OU's defensive numbers are not good — not by the standards set by past Sooner teams, and not by the standards set by past national champions.

No. 6-ranked OU (8-1, 4-1 Big 12) goes into Saturday's 2:30 p.m. contest at Texas A&M (4-5, 2-3) having allowed more than 400 yards and, for the first time in school history, 28 points in four consecutive games.

A study of the past five winners of the Bowl Championship Series national title game — LSU, Florida, Texas, USC and LSU — shows that those defenses, collectively, allowed only four opponents to surpass 400 yards (three last season by LSU, two in triple overtime). Only seven times in the past five years did a BCS national champion give up 28 points or more (two, both in three OTs, by LSU in 2007).

Among Big 12 teams, OU ranks fourth in scoring defense and second in total defense. But the Sooners in nine games this season have allowed 23.1 points and 353.1 yards per game.

Currently, the yards-per-game average is the fourth-worst in school history (behind the 1969, '97 and '96 teams). The points-per-game average would rank as the fifth-worst (behind the 1996, '97, '95 and '69 teams).

OU still plays games against Texas Tech (second nationally in yards and third in points) and Oklahoma State (seventh and fifth), so the current averages likely will swell.

"Obviously, the issues are the critical big plays," said defensive coordinator Brent Venables. "It's frustrating."

Venables counts runs over 15 yards and passes over 25 yards as "big plays." In the first five games, the Sooners allowed three big passes (for 129 total yards) and four big runs (for 73 total yards). But in the past four games, OU has given up 15 big passes (for 632 yards) and 10 big runs (for 315 yards).

"I don't know why it started," McCoy said. "But it needs to stop."

Head coach Bob Stoops said there is not an obvious common thread.

"There isn't anything, in my eyes, that's alarming," Stoops said.

But there is another way to break it down:

In 378 plays before starting middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds went down for the year with a knee injury on Oct. 11, OU had given up nine big plays (2.4 percent) for 263 yards (29.2 yards per play).

In the 332 plays since Reynolds' injury, the Sooners surrendered 23 big plays (6.9 percent) for 886 yards (38.5 yards per play). That is almost three times as many big plays since Reynolds' injury, and the big plays have gotten bigger.

Reynolds' most valuable contribution was his knowledge and communication of the defense to his teammates.

"You've got a guy out there that's managing it, saying, 'Here's the run-pass, get your butt over here in the A-gap, spill, spill, lever, lever!' I mean, you'd be amazed at the things that are communicated when Ryan was out there," Venables said. "These other guys, they're coming along."

Higher numbers may be partially due to better talent from the opposition, too. Quarterbacks at Texas, Kansas, Kansas State and Nebraska are better than quarterbacks at Tennessee-Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Washington, TCU and Baylor. But Venables is not giving in.

"Well, I mean, they're good players," he said. "But you still ask, 'Is it them or is it us?'

"You can live with things. People are going to make plays. But you don't want to give things away. Are these preventable? Big time."

Stoops and Venables aren't pushing the panic button. While the last three opponents have piled up yardage and points, the Sooner defense has collected 11 turnovers. And they expect continued improvement from Reynolds' latest replacement, Austin Box. And OU leads the Big 12 in defensive pass efficiency, third-down defense, fewest first downs allowed and ranks second in sacks and tackles for loss.

"You're not up 35-0 in the first quarter (like last week against Nebraska) without doing a lot of good things," Stoops said.

"Trust me," said Venables, "our guys would swear that we're 1-8 after sitting in meetings and going to practice. That's what you want. We've got a lot of work to do. We continue to stress the things it takes to be a championship-style defense.

"Yeah, we're capable. But we certainly haven't shown it here."



John E. Hoover 581-8384
john.hoover@tulsaworld.com
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

Newspaper View Newspaper View      Print this story Print      Email this story Email     
Share      Bookmark Bookmark


COMMENTS 
      Add your comment Show: Most Recent Comment First

3 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
Report Comment Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you.  -- Web Editor Jason Collington
 

 
Report Comment
boots&suites, Sapulpa (11/5/2008 7:42:15 AM)
I suspect the alarm will be sounded after tech and OSU as they will be the best 2 offenses that OU plays this year. It is tough to compare defenses with those of past eras due to the current offensive schemes and the continual evolution of the passing game resulting in big plays.

Be interesting to look at a comparison of past ranking as far as relationship to others versus absolute yards allowed.
Report Comment
OKLA, (11/5/2008 10:58:09 AM)
I'm not football expert, but it seems that OU's defense does not have the hustle that OSU's does. I see defensive backs literally standing there watching the play go by. If Reynolds can't be there to lead his defense, then there are some coaches and coordinators who are getting paid to do that. No, I didn't attend either OU or OSU.
Report Comment
wilson, (11/5/2008 12:11:28 PM)
"That's just not what we're about. That's not what we do." Ummm I'm sorry, but yes it is.
 

 
Add Your Comment 
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.

 
Post Your Comment
 



Home | About Tulsa World | Advertise With Us | Privacy | Usage Agreement | FAQ and Help | Contact Us | Today's Headlines
Copyright © 2010, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.