During Saturday's Orange-White contest, however, there were only two TDs. There weren't many offensive plays that would qualify as "big."

But the Boone Pickens Stadium crowd of about 15,000 did not seem dissatisfied with the lack of fireworks. The fans saw signs that the 2008 Cowboy defense could be significantly better than the 2007 model.

"I was real excited to watch the defense -- to watch some of those young guys get pressure on the quarterbacks," Cowboy coach Mike Gundy said. "It was nice to see that. We haven't had that in a couple of years here."

For the record, the Orange squad was a 9-7 winner over the White. Orange tight end Wilson Youman caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Zac Robinson. The White TD was scored by tailback Beau Johnson, who collected a short Alex Cate pass, escaped a tackle attempt by linebacker Seb Clements and completed the 16-yard scoring play.

With four minutes left to play, Clements made amends by dropping Johnson in the end zone for a safety, giving the Orange its two-point cushion.

The scrimmage capped OSU's five-week spring-practice period. Gundy's overall assessment: "We're better from a depth standpoint and a toughness standpoint, and I think we're faster than we have been."

The 2008 season begins on Aug. 30 against Washington State in Seattle.

Last season, the 7-6 Cowboys were dynamic on one side of the ball (averaging 34.6 points per game, ranking seventh nationally in total offense and eighth in rushing). On the other side of the ball, they were deficient (101st in total defense, 112th in pass defense).

On Saturday, the Cowboy defense was good. Sophomore Justin Gent, a linebacker for the White squad, had a game-high 10 tackles and recovered a fumble.

Several first-year defenders were impressive. Redshirt freshman safety James Thomas intercepted a Cate pass. On a fourth-and-goal play from the 2-yard line, Robinson was stopped short of the end zone by White end Jeremiah Price. Orange end Ugo Chinasa sacked Cate for a 15-yard loss. Orange end Richetti Jones, a blue-chip 2007 recruit who was sidelined last season because of a hip injury, was active all afternoon and batted down a pass.

Jamie Blatnick, a redshirt freshman defensive end for the Orange team, had three QB sacks totaling 27 yards in losses.

"Richetti's name gets brought up a lot, and Richetti has gotten himself better," Beckman said. "But there are four other (ends) that are good football players. Derek Burton, Ugo Chinasa, Jamie Blatnick and Jeremiah Price have all made Richetti better. We're looking forward to all five ... becoming great football players."

Cowboy cornerback Jacob Lacey, a senior promoted by Gundy as an All-Big 12 candidate, predicts that the OSU defense has improved because "our depth is so much better. We have some young guys that can come in and relieve some people."

Most prominent offensively were Robinson, who was 12-of-21 passing for 142 yards; Orange tailback Kendall Hunter, who rushed for 69 yards and averaged 6.3 per attempt; and Orange wide receiver Dez Bryant, who had eight catches and was responsible for the play of the day. The big sophomore leaped high, over cornerback Perrish Cox, to make a 28-yard reception.

Cate, listed as the team's No. 2 QB, was 12-of-25 passing for 82 yards and was sacked four times. Redshirt freshman Brandon Weeden, Robinson's backup on the Orange team, was 7-of-13 for 54 yards. On a fourth-down play from the White 4-yard line, Weeden threw a perfect strike that was dropped by Youman in the end zone.

All-conference tight end Brandon Pettigrew did not play because of a hand injury.

ORANGE 9, WHITE 7

White: Beau Johnson 16 pass from Alex Cate (Dan Bailey kick)

Orange: Wilson Youman 31 pass from Zac Robinson (Grayson Buster kick)

Orange: Seb Clements safety

Individual statistics

White

Rushing

Beau Johnson 10-60. Michael Roberts 1-5. Alex Cate 6-(-42).

Passing (Att.-Comp.-Yds-Int-TDs)

Cate 25-12-82-1-1.

Receiving

Jeremy Broadway 4-18. Ben Bailey 3-36. Damian Davis 3-16. Beau Johnson 1-16. Tony Bush 1-(-4).

Punting

Matt Fodge 6-41.0

Field goals

Dan Bailey 1-1 (54)

Orange

Rushing

Melvin Davis 10-69. Kendall Hunter 11-69. Brandon Weeden 1-3. Dez Bryant 1-3. Zac Robinson 7-(-1)

Passing (Att.-Comp.-Yds-Int-TDs)

Zac Robinson 21-12-0-1. Brandon Weeden 13-7-54-0-0.

Receiving

Dez Bryant 8-87. Wilson Youman 3-53. Bo Bowling 3-27. Bryant Ward 2-13. Melvin Davis 2-6. Kendall Hunter 1-10.

Punting

Matt Fodge 3-42.3

Defensive statistics

White

Tackles

Justin Gent 9.5. Kenny Alexander 4. Andre Sexton 4. Quinton Moore 4. Jared Glover 3.5 Perrish Cox 3.0. Patrick Lavine 2.5. Jeremiah Price 2.5. Derek Burton 2.0. Matt Fodge 2.0. Al'Darius Thompson 1.5. Quencey Patrick 1. T.J. Bell 1. Shane Jarka 1. Tonga Tea Jr. 1. Adrian Moore 1. Markelle Martin 0.5.

Orange

Tackles

Seb Clements 5.0. Jamie Blatnick 3.5. Orie Lemon 2. Ugo Chinasa 2. Mathies Long 1. Jeray Chatham 1. Maurice Gray 1. Bryant Ward 1. Richetti Jones 1. J. Cockrell 1. James Thomas 1. Al'Darius Thompson 1. Kendall Hunter 1. Marcus Richardson 1. Swanson Miller 1. Ricky Price 1. Lucien Antoine .5. Jonathan Lewis .5.

Bill Haisten 581-8397
bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com