Tulsa World: OU Notebook

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OU Notebook

By GUERIN EMIG, World sports writer
Published: 1/8/2009 2:26 AM
Last Modified: 1/8/2009 3:51 AM

Good to the last drive: Some believe tonight's Oklahoma-Florida BCS championship will rival the USC-Texas tilt of three years ago for drama. Count OU center Jon Cooper among the hopeful.

"I'm almost sure it will. Absolutely," he said. "It's always fun to be in those types of games, that come down to the last minute. Your heart's beating on the sideline if you're watching your defense...

"Watching them and knowing how we play, I think it's gonna come down to the last drive, whoever has the ball, maybe to a last-second play."

Does that mean Cooper expects a shootout?

"It could be 3-0, I don't know," he said. "It could be anything. I just think it's gonna come down to the last minute, the last drive, the last couple plays."

Tackling the issue: It will have been 33 days since the Sooners' last game when they take the field tonight. And while some fans are concerned the layoff might have thrown OU's record-smashing offense off stride, the Sooners are at least as concerned about defensive rust.

"Tackling will be the most important thing in this game," OU safety Lendy Holmes predicted.

And it's a concern that Sooner tackle skills have dulled since the Big 12 championship?

"Yes, it is," cornerback Dominique Franks acknowledged. "That's all we've done is tackling drills. We know those guys are going to get into open space, and if you miss a tackle, it could go for six."

Two better than one: The Gators prepared for OU's no-huddle offense by working against two scout teams instead of one.

"The scout team will run a play. Everybody on our defense will run to the ball. That's what our defense really works on, running to the ball. Then a whole different scout offense will get on the ball and run another play," cornerback Joe Haden explained. "We'll have to run over there, get the call, all that stuff, and get lined up. They'll keep doing that for, like, four plays straight. They (Oklahoma) can't do it that fast."

Not a problem: The Sooners' last national championship came at the expense of a team whose offensive coordinator was distracted by becoming a new head coach.

Mark Richt called Florida State's plays in the 2001 Orange Bowl, despite having taken over at Georgia. His offense didn't score a point.

Eight years later, Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen will call plays against OU despite being named Mississippi State coach, something Gators coach Urban Meyer has acknowledged as less than ideal.

The Gators insist it will not be an issue tonight at Dolphin Stadium.

"There really is no offensive coordinator," said tackle Phil Trautwein. "Everybody has their philosophies and their plays and their mind-sets, and it kind of all works together."

The last word: Let's give it to OU linebacker Keenan Clayton, who was asked about Florida's speed this week.

"We've faced guys with speed all year. Probably not as fast as these guys are gonna be, but they're human just like we are," Clayton said. "They put their pants on one leg at a time. We can't let anything intimidate us just because they're fast. We've still gotta play ball." By GUERIN EMIG, World sports writer

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