Tulsa World: OU Notebook: Let's try this again

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OU Notebook: Let's try this again

By GUERIN EMIG, World Sports Writer
Published: 9/13/2009 2:40 AM
Last Modified: 9/13/2009 6:32 AM

One week after a penalty-filled effort against BYU, Oklahoma's offensive line was flagged just once Saturday night, on Jarvis Jones' false start in the second quarter.

OU coaches said changes would be made, and they were. Ben Habern got his first start at center, true freshman Tyler Evans got his first start at right guard and Stephen Good made his first start at left guard. Jones, who played right guard last week, lined up at right tackle.

It was far from a perfect night for the revamped line. Idaho State stuffed the Sooners three times from the 1-yard to turn away OU's opening drive. So offensive line coach James Patton went to Week 1 starters Brian Simmons and Cory Brandon in place of Evans and Jones for two drives. Then Patton settled on a line of Trent Williams, Simmons, Habern, Evans and Jones until late in the first half.

Habern, whose first start allowed Brody Eldridge to return to tight end, had one errant shotgun snap, which an alert Chris Brown turned into an 8-yard gain.

Helping hands: The Sooners delivered on promises of a lineup change at wide receiver as well. Junior college transfer Cameron Kenney made his first start and made his presence known on OU's first play, when his block on a hitch pass to Ryan Broyles sparked a 34-yard gain.

OU's receivers blocked much better than they did a week ago, made more plays, but still suffered from a slight case of the drops. Kenney and Brandon Caleb mishandled first-half passes, and Dejuan Miller dropped one in the second.

Adron Tennell, who dropped a pair of passes in his first start last week, did not play until the third quarter.

On the fly: The Sooners' longest pass play against BYU covered 18 yards. Saturday night, Landry Jones hooked up with Broyles on a 51-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter, after Broyles ran a fly pattern by cornerback Keith McGowen, and McGowen couldn't tip away Jones' slightly underthown bomb.

Rest time: Starting middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds took the second half off, a luxury given the fact he is coming off his third knee surgery. Austin Box replaced him in the middle until midway through the third quarter, when true freshman Ronnell Lewis played the middle and Reynolds moved to the weak side.

Defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Adrian Taylor, who played the majority of the season opener, did not play after the first quarter. Cordero Moore and true freshman Casey Walker subbed in.

Crowd noise: Jones had his own cheering section among OU students Saturday night. Several showed up with fake mustaches painted/pasted on their upper lips, and they wore white T-shirts with "Fear the Stache" printed on them.

Jones' facial hair has been a topic since he quarterbacked the second half of the BYU opener, and the giant Cowboys Stadium video board put his mustache on larger-than-life display.

The chant from the student section after Jones' third touchdown pass to Broyles: "Lan-dry! Lan-dry!"

Field general: Sam Bradford did make one appearance on Owen Field on Saturday night — he was a team captain along with McCoy, Eldridge and Reynolds for the pregame coin toss. By GUERIN EMIG, World Sports Writer

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