NORMAN —
After a second straight 10-3 season, Oklahoma appears to be in a holding pattern. Yes, it shared the Big 12 Conference title with Kansas State this past season — OU’s eighth conference title since 2000. But did it elevate its play from the previous year?
Some key personnel will change as the Sooners prepare for the 2013 season. Key players from the last three seasons — Landry Jones, Kenny Stills, Tony Jefferson and Tom Wort — are gone. OU’s coordinators — Josh Heupel and Mike Stoops — remain in place, but how well they handle a league where offenses continue to put up record-setting totals, while defenses seemingly fall farther behind.
The Sooners are in a rebuilding mode. They need to come up with a plan that not only keeps as the perennial team to beat in the Big 12, but one capable of staying in the national championship hunt and winning it.
“We’re gonna do all we can to improve and compete for the Big 12 and hopefully the national (championship),” he said. “That’s what we try and do every year.”
Here’s five things OU must improve on for it to happen in 2013:
Improved production from the defensive line: The Sooners were 112th in tackles for loss with 55. The total was the lowest about half of what OU averaged the previous five seasons (102.2).
Stoops said some of decrease was due to OU blitzing less under Mike Stoops than it did under previous defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
The defensive line struggled to come up with negative plays. Less than half of the tackles for loss were made by linemen. The Sooners must create more pressure on offenses than it did this season and starts up front.
“Can we find a better balance? Hopefully,” Stoops said. “We can blitz more and do some things stun wise to get more tackles for loss and still not give up big plays.”
Achieve offensive balance: The Sooners threw 56.8 percent of the time this past season. There was nothing wrong with the decision. They had the personnel to do it.
However, the Blake Bell era begins this spring. He still has to prove he can handle all throws OU’s playbook requires. However, offensive coordinator Josh Heupel also has to tailor the offense to Bell. The 6-foot-6, 255-pound Bell must run the ball. Having running backs Damien Williams, Brennan Clay and Trey Millard all back means the rushing attack will be the most proven part of OU’s offense heading into the 2013 season.
Becoming a better running team falls under Stoops’ top priority for next season.
“I think just overall as a team, I want to be more physical. I don’t think you can ever be physical enough. It’s definitely something you want to keep working on. Both in recruiting and how you develop them. We’re aware and always, always every year talking about how we get more physical,” he said.
Blake Bell could be the second coming of Sam Bradford in the pocket, but he’s still going to be a first-year starter. The best way to break in a new quarterback is build the offense around the running game.
Emphasize Trey Millard: One of OU’s biggest accomplishments since the regular season ended has been convincing Millard to stay for his senior year. Because of that, it has a bruising running back, the best blocking back in college football and an effective tight end to use next season.
They need to figure out a way to utilize all of those talents in every game.
“We always look for it, and we’ll keep doing that, because we feel he’s one of our best players,” Stoops said.
Millard is a player who should be on the field for just about every snap. He wasn’t this season; that should change in his senior year.
There’s just too many things he does that helps teams win to have standing on the sideline for 20 offensive plays a game.
Use the linebackers more: There was a reason OU didn’t use them much this season. There weren’t any receivers they could cover in man-to-man coverage. But it left gapping holes in the run defense.
“It’s just where do you put your pieces? Are you gonna be stronger defending the pass or stronger defending the run? That’s the game everybody’s playing,” Stoops said. “We’ve got to find a better balance of it.”
The Sooners sank to 89th in the country in rush defense and not having linebackers on the field had a lot to do with it. Opponents exploited it throughout the second half of the season. OU never adjusted.
Embrace the underdog role: The 2013 Sooners won’t have the burden of preseason expectations that most of Stoops’ teams carried.
They won’t be the overwhelming pick to win the Big 12 title next season, and likely won’t start the year ranked in the top 10. They’re going to play some games they won’t be favored to win.
OU hasn’t had a team that really had to prove itself in the nation’s eyes since 2000. That team embraced the underdog role and rode it to a national championship.
“We didn’t seem very close when we had a shot at it in 2000,” Stoops said. “You never know when it’s coming. We’re gonna work hard for it, and we’ll try and make some improvements through the winter and spring and hopefully have a chance to be better next year.”
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Plenty of holes for Sooners to fix next season
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Central Oklahoma softballers make World Series again
Hayley Hudson gave Central Oklahoma a 5-4 lead with a run-scoring single in the fifth inning and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos staved off a seventh-inning Winona State threat to capture the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional championship Saturday afternoon at Edmond North High School.
The Warriors put two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in a bid to pull out a late win and force a deciding game in the best-of-three series, but left fielder Devyn Frazier made a running catch in foul territory for the final out to set off a wild celebration on the field.
UCO improved to 47-11 — a school-record for wins — with its 23th consecutive home victory and advanced to the Division II World Series for the second straight year. The Bronchos will face Armstrong Atlantic in the eight-team World Series at 11 a.m. Thursday in Salem, Va.
“I’d say that was a nail-biter,” head coach Genny Stidham said. “It was a good game, both teams played well. Winona has a great team and they didn’t give up, but we came up with some big plays and came out on top. -
Central Oklahoma golf coach picks up award
Central Oklahoma’s Michael Bond has been named the NCAA Division II Central Region Coach of the Year by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association, with Aly Seng and Erica Bensch both earning All-Central Region honors.
Bond led the Bronchos to perhaps the best season in school history in 2012-13 with top-five finishes in 10 of their 12 tournaments. UCO won three titles, including the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association crown and its first-ever regional championship, and finished 10th in the Division II national tournament. -
Workman's blast cranks UCO's engine; Bronchos cruise to 5-2 win
Nicole Workman’s solo home run gave Central Oklahoma a lead it would never relinquish and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos went on to topple Winona State 5-2 in the first game of the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Friday night at the Edmond North High School Softball Complex.
Workman blasted her 14th homer of the season to lead off the second inning, with UCO adding three runs in the third and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 5-0 lead before the Warriors created some anxious moments in their final at bat.
WSU scored two runs and had runners on second and third on with just one out in the top of the seventh, but Kalynn Shrock got the final two batters to close out her fourth straight complete-game outing of the postseason and put the Bronchos in control of the best-of-three series. -
Richters rip competition at KickingBird
The KickingBird 2-man scramble was won by Jeff and Josh Richter, finishing with a 57.9 on May 11.
Jeff Jester and Kevin Wright wrapped up second-place honors with a 59.9 and Rick Morales and Ronnie Roberts placed third (60.1).
In the second flight, the top score was 60.4 by Jerry Bernhardt and Ted Carter. Picking up silver was the tandem of Jerry Fuller and Ramona Jacobi (61.2) and the third-place squad was Dyke Hoppe and Mark VanSickle at 62.0.
Morales was closest to the pin on No. 6 and Jeff Richter landed a dart on hole 14. -
Eagles' season finished; Lopez earns national honor
Southeastern, Fla. eliminated Oklahoma Christian 4-0 om the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio today to advance to the tournament semifinals, while OC closes at 26-26.
OC would have advanced to the semifinals with a win, but completed a terrific turnaround from an 8-34 season in 2012. The Eagles made only the second national-tournament appearance in the program's history, with the other coming in 1972, when OC finished third in the NAIA World Series. -
Multiple baseball camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Schools baseball coaches Kyle Roberts (Edmond Memorial), Jeff Shafer (Edmond Santa Fe) and Karl King (Edmond North) will instruct the Edmond All-Star Baseball Camps starting May 28 at Edmond North High School.
A pair of all-skills camps will take place for kids ages 5 and older from May 28-31 and June 3-6. Times are the same, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
On June 7, a pitcher/catcher camp will be offered for ages 8 and older with the identical time frame. Cost is $35 for the pitcher/catcher camp and $125 for the all-skills camp.
For further inquiries, contact Karl King at 863-3570. -
Arthur Hills eating up Bronchos
Central Oklahoma’s struggles continued at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday.
The Bronchos made 10 double bogeys and two triple bogeys en route to a season-high 329 score on the rugged 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International, leaving UCO in 10th place with a three-round total of 975.
Nova Southeastern has an 881 total heading into Saturday’s final round, giving the four-time defending champion Sharks a one-shot lead over second-place Lynn. -
Bronchos will make 12th appearance in national golf championship Monday
No. 18-ranked Central Oklahoma will make its 12th appearance in the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. next week.
The 54-hole stroke play portion of the tournament runs Monday-Wednesday at the 7,061-yard, par-71 Hershey Country Club East Course, with the top-eight teams from the 20-team field advancing to match play. -
Online registration for 2013 UCO Endeavor Games now open
Registration is now open online for athletes and volunteers for the 2013 University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games, June 6-9, the nation’s largest multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities.
Athletes of all ages or sporting experience are invited to register for the event. Community members are also encouraged to register to volunteer with more than 300 volunteer opportunities available.
Similar to the summer Paralympic Games, athletes may register for multiple adaptive sports, which include cycling, indoor archery, outdoor archery, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, shooting, table tennis, track and field, wheelchair basketball, and, for the first time at the UCO Endeavor Games, paratriathlon. The paratriathlon will be limited to athletes over the age of 16 with previous paratriathlon experience. -
Deer Creek drops Carl Albert again for state title
They did it again.
The Deer Creek girls soccer team knocked off rival Carl Albert in the Class 5A state soccer title game for the second consecutive season.
The Lady Antlers, led by freshman Lauren Haivala’s two goals, topped the Titans 2-1 May 10 at Noble High School.
On May 7, Deer Creek blanked Tulsa Edison 2-zip in the semifinals for a chance to play for its fourth state championship in girls soccer. - More Sports Headlines
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