NORMAN —
After two games, Oklahoma has done what it had to do. Saturday night’s 69-13 victory over Florida A&M lifted it to 2-0. It even got its starters a fourth quarter off and emerged from the first two games in good health.
But the bar was set low for the Sooners’ first two outings. After all, the Rattlers — an FCS team — and UTEP, which OU topped 24-7 on Sept. 1, are a combined 0-4 through two weeks.
It’s going to get a lot tougher.
No. 15 Kansas State, which pummeled Miami (Fla.) 52-13 on Saturday, is next on No. 5 OU’s agenda. There will be an obvious elevation in talent when the Wildcats arrive at Owen Field on Sept. 22.
Have the Sooners made the kind of strides they needed to make in the first two games? In some ways, yes. In others, no.
The positive for the Sooners on Saturday night was that the offense was much more explosive. Six of their 10 touchdowns came on plays of 10 yards or more and they averaged over 9 yards per play in piling up 662 yards of total offense.
“The whole week we had been saying we need to light it up,” OU center Gabe Ikard said. “That was our little slogan we had going. We said we were going to light the scoreboard up and put points on the board for our defense since we kind of disappointed them last week and it was just we need to be more crisp, more clean. Get into a better flow of the game.”
It did, scoring touchdowns on eight straight possessions from early in the second quarter until early in the fourth quarter. But that came after a five possession span to start the game where OU scored a pair of touchdowns, but also punted twice and had committed its first two turnovers of the season.
“I thought we played well in the second half. I wasn’t happy with our execution the first half, run game and pass game,” offensive coordinate Josh Heupel said. “Certainly, in the second half our guys did a much better job. Handled the looks and the pressures that they received.”
Execution was OU’s “buzz” word the first two games. Simply coasting by on athletic ability isn’t going to do much to prepare them for what’s ahead.
OU coach Bob Stoops was more interested in the eight penalties for 80 yards and the first two turnovers of the season on Saturday, than winning by 56 points.
“I’m disappointed in a couple really bad penalties,” he said. “One killed the drive. Similar to a week ago, we’re getting down in scoring position and we have a penalty that we need not have that destroys the drive. The other one could have. A couple turnovers, again we’ve got to correct that and take better care of the football.”
OU now has two weeks to do those things. The first two games allowed it to ease into the season. The time to hit full stride has arrived.
After watching the Wildcats beat up on the Hurricanes on Saturday, it wasn’t hard to get the Sooners’ attention.
“We know what kind of issues they present, so we are through these two games and where we want to be and are really excited to get into conference play next week,” defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said.
The Sooners are 2-0. On paper, everything is going according to plan. But the soft start is over. The meat of the season has arrived.
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Tough road lies ahead for Sooners
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6 Edmond golfers hit pro links in Norman
Six Edmond golf professionals will tee it up Wednesday in the Second Annual OK Kids Korral Championship at Belmar Golf Club in Norman.
One hundred-eight players make up this year’s event on the Adams Golf Pro Tour Series. This includes five amateurs and 15 of the top 25 players on the 2013 AGPTS money list including last week’s winner in Miami, Okla. Mark Walker of Hurst, Texas, who is currently third among the money leaders.
Players from Edmond include William Kropp, Andrew Green, Dillon Rust, Wilhelm Bogstrand, Jackson Ogle and Cameron Meyers. -
UCO Endeavor Games athletes qualify for 2014 world championship powerlifting team
At the University of Central Oklahoma’s Endeavor Games for Athletes with Physical Disabilities June 6-9, four athletes qualified for the 2014 World Championships in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) powerlifting competition.
The qualifying athletes include Trevor Bunch from O’Fallon, Mo.; who is making his World Championships debut; Scott Danberg from Cooper City, Fla., a five-time Paralympian; Bryce Segura from New Iberia, La., who is competing in his first World Championships; and Mary Stack from Ann Arbor, Mich., a four-time Paralympian. -
Two UCO rowers named All-American
Central Oklahoma rowers Jenna Goodner and Michaela Stam have been named to the NCAA Division II All-America Team, it was announced by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association.
Goodner was a first-team selection, while Stam was a second-team choice. All-America selections take into account a candidate’s strength of schedule, regular season record, end of season regatta results, nomination rank, coach’s comments and 2,000-meter ergometer score. -
The remembrance remains fresh
The celebration is not over.
The Deer Creek girls basketball team continued to relive March’s state basketball championship Friday at Deer Creek High School with a Class 5A state championship ring ceremony.
Head coach Totsy Manning greeted each of her players by presenting them with a title ring.
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Traffic shouldn’t be an issue with upcoming national soccer tournament
About 15,000 people are expected at the U.S. Youth Soccer Southern Regional at the Edmond Soccer Complex on Danforth Road near Kelly Avenue June 21-27.
The number of out-of-state guests should not be a problem according to Assistant City Manager Steve Commons. The tournament will attract more than 200 boys and girls teams, ages Under-13 through Under-19, from the 12 state associations that make up U.S. Youth Soccer Region III (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, north Texas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, south Texas and Tennessee).
As a matter of fact, Commons feels very upbeat about the prospect of Edmond hosting the national tournament. -
LaFaye takes Pick-A-Partner crown with 135
The KickingBird Men’s Golf Assocation’s Pick-A-Partner was won by Robert LaFaye Saturday with a 135.
Sean Conrad took second (136) while Kevin Wright and Kevin O’Neil deadlocked for third place at 137. -
UCO overtakes Division II foes for national title
Starting out the postseason, the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos softball team puttered out in the MIAA Tournament.
But UCO shifted it into another gear when the rounds of regionals began and rode the wild momentum going undefeated en route to securing the NCAA II national championship over Kutztown (Pa.) in Salem, Va.
The Bronchos dominated, going 9-0 straight through to the national title contest on May 27. -
2013 US Youth Soccer Region III Championships to bring more than $8 million to Edmond area
he 2013 US Youth Soccer Region III (South) Championships presented by the National Guard, to be played June 21-27, will provide an estimated economic impact of more than $8 million to the Edmond area.
Local restaurants, hotels, retail stores and others will benefit from the more than 3,600 players, coaches, teams and tournament officials, along with an estimated 12,000 spectators attending the seven-day tournament. Visitors to the Edmond area will book an estimated 10,000 room nights at area hotels.
The top 200 Boys and Girls US Youth Soccer teams from Region III, including at least 19 teams from the host Oklahoma Soccer Association, will compete at the Edmond Soccer Club Complex. -
Memorial graduate Morris totes home MVP trophy
It’s always good when Oklahoma beats Texas in anything and Saturday night’s 101-95 victory by Oklahoma over Texas in the annual Faith 7 Basketball Bowl at Oklahoma Baptist University's Noble Complex was a real cause for celebration.
But the happiest person in the gym might have been Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall. You might remember that Marshall and his band of opportunistic Shockers shocked the basketball world and several NCAA experts with their improbable run to the much coveted Final 4 in April.
But Marshall, one of the clinic speakers during the annual Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association annual festival, didn't want to talk about the Shockers’ monumental achievements of the spring. His big grin and jovial nature could easily have been a glimpse into the Wichita State future. -
Stars’ Crabaugh, Jensen become MLB draftees
Oklahoma City University’s Cody Crabaugh and Chase Jensen have been chosen in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Saturday.
The San Diego Padres took Jensen in the 22nd round with the 658th overall selection, while the Miami Marlins picked Crabaugh, a former Edmond North player, in the 32nd round with the 952nd choice.
Crabaugh, a senior right-handed pitcher from Edmond, compiled a 13-2 record and 2.12 earned run average, three complete games, a shutout and 77 strikeouts in 93.1 innings pitched this year.
In the NAIA, Crabaugh ranked fourth in wins this year. He led the SAC in wins and ranked second in ERA to his teammate Derek Howell. Crabaugh struck out seven in eight innings, both season highs, against Mid-America Christian on May 3 in the SAC Tournament. His whitewashed St. Gregory's on March 20 in Shawnee, Okla. He became a second-team NAIA all-American and first-team all-SAC selection this season. - More Sports Headlines
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