Tulsa World: OU Notebook

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OU Notebook

By GUERIN EMIG, World sports writer
Published: 11/7/2008 2:13 AM
Last Modified: 11/7/2008 3:22 AM

No sweat: The last time Oklahoma played at Texas A&M, the Sooners sweated out a 17-16 victory, secured by Paul Thompson's quarterback sneak on fourth-and-inches from the OU 29-yard line with 1:29 remaining.

"It was amazing," OU offensive lineman Brian Simmons said. "That game was a dogfight. I will never forget it. Hopefully this year it will be completely opposite from that."

Meaning, the Sooners won't have to hold on for dear life. A look at some statistics shows they shouldn't have to.

Two years ago, OU won despite a run/pass ratio of 45/12. Their past three games, the Sooners have run 129 times, thrown 115 passes and scored 155 points.

Put another way by Simmons, "We have a much better offense across the board. I wouldn't say we were one-dimensional then, but pretty much everybody in the country knew what we were going to do every play."

Missing person: The Sooners' offense isn't the only one to have changed since 2006. Back then, A&M running back Jorvorskie Lane was one of the surest things in college football, a short-yardage battering ram who set a school record with 19 touchdowns.

Now, a poor fit to Mike Sherman's West Coast offense, Lane is lucky if he steps on the field. He has carried 10 times for 18 yards in the Aggies' five Big 12 Conference games and has scored two touchdowns all season.

Remembering the old Lane, OU secondary coach Bobby Jack Wright said, "He was a load when he did carry it. He was a biscuit under three bills."

Safety last: The Sooners will play without star defensive end Auston English Saturday, but it may not matter much. The Aggies have surrendered 27 sacks this year, the most in the Big 12 and the seventh-most in the nation.

OU, with 30 sacks to rank second in the league and fifth in the nation, smells blood, particularly considering A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson is making his seventh start.

"He still has a lot to learn about college football," said Alan Davis, expected to join starters Jeremy Beal and Frank Alexander in OU's defensive end rotation. "If we can get to him early and rattle him and shock him, I think we'll throw him off his game."

Reynolds undergoes surgery: Ryan Reynolds, the middle linebacker lost to a torn knee ligament against Texas Oct. 11, underwent surgery a week ago.

"It went great," OU coach Bob Stoops reported. "There were no other issues, which sometimes there are, whether it's cartilage or other ligaments. It was just the (anterior cruciate) ligament. Everything else was perfectly intact, which wasn't the case in his other surgery (in the spring of 2007). Hopefully this one will heal quicker and better." By GUERIN EMIG, World sports writer

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