Bob Stoops faced the media yesterday for his weekly press luncheon and had several things to address with conference play beginning on Saturday and the loss of a senior defensive lineman.
The way the Sooners are rolling this season and the way Colorado has played in seasons past it could be easy for Oklahoma fans to automatically dismiss this game as a gimmie. Obviously Bob Stoops doesn't feel that way. Listening to him describe the Buffaloes you get the feeling that he feels like the Sooners are heading into a dogfight.
"Coach Dan Hawkins and his staff have a really good team. They have played a lot harder schedule than a lot of people. That is obvious when you are on the road at Arizona State and hosting Florida State. There are not a lot of teams willing to do that. I think they are a very tough team, and last year I thought they were one of the better defenses in our league and in the country. This team does a really good job of being a tough, physical team defensively.
"Offensively, their quarterback situation with Cody Hawkins is different from a year ago. He is much more of a threat throwing the football and they are doing that more and more. They have good running backs and they have a lot of motion. They are a very disciplined offense. Defensively, we have to handle all of their motion and be in the proper positions. We have had a lot of training for it leading into this game.
"They are a very solid football team. Going on the road, you have to have the focus and the toughness and the mental toughness to go on the road. That is what we are going to work towards this week."
One of the biggest blows delivered to Oklahoma's defense this season came Friday night in Tulsa when senior defensive end John Williams suffered a ruptured Achellies. Now questions of depth and experience begin to pop up.
"With John, that is one of the poor things about the game and he was really playing well. He covered a wheel-route up the boundary as good as a defensive back could have. He didn't even interfere with him when the ball was in the air. I thought it was a great play to stay on his feet. It is really unfortunate for John. Some of our other guys are going to have to step up and play. We have other guys who are used to playing like Alonzo Dotson and Auston English, who is playing great. Alan Davis, Jeremy Beal have to step up and take over in those spots, and they are more than capable."
Oklahoma's receivers are among the top units in the nation and, along with the offensive line, are a part of the equation to Sam Bradford's success.
"They are coming into their own, and you would expect that being true juniors. As true freshman and sophomores, I think they are still trying to figure things out, although they did make a lot of good plays for us. They are now making more special plays now that we thought they could make when we were recruiting them. They are really stepping up and making the big plays we want them to make. I said earlier in the year that it needed to happen, and fortunately it is."
OU's secondary did get a test by fire going up against Tulsa's Paul Smith. While they made some great plays there were also a few that left Sooner fans scratching their heads.
"I thought about 90 to 95% of it went really well. There was another three or four plays where we broke down that show up. I think we will be better for it, they will learn from it. There are some discipline and technique issues there that they could get better at, and I think they will."
Another thing that came to the forfront Friday night is thar Allen Patrick is back and completely healthy. The senior running back carried the ball 19 times for 145 yards and 2 touchdowns.
"Not only is he getting more of a feel for the game, he is getting his conditioning back, his legs back and getting back his game conditioning. I am sure he felt that the other night, that he was catching his rhythm and seeing the holes and finding them. Getting that live action will continue to help him."
Player Quotes
"It is really unfortunate John got hurt. But like we always say we are brothers. I am going to have to come in and pick up the slack. Like I said it is really unfortunate that he got hurt, but I am looking forward to the opportunity I am ready. I am ready and prepared for everything." - Defensive End Alan Davis on replacing John Williams
"They are real good up front and their front seven are great. They are flying around the ball and getting 11 guys to the ball every time. They really know how to make plays. They will get off blocks and avoid you just to a make a play. They are very good and they will be one of the top defenses we will play all year." - Center Jon Cooper on Colorado's defense
"It's going to be fun being at someone else's house. This is going to be my first time playing outside of the state of Oklahoma, so I just can't wait to get going. Last week at Tulsa was our first time for an away game. It was a little loud at first but got used to it. During the week we would use silent count and we used it at the Tulsa game. So it ended up working pretty well." - Running back DeMarco Murray on playing on the road
