41
FRIDAY,OCT.12,2001
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 13A
Football: Timing a plus for Jayhawks
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14A
Williams would have to be contained.
"We have to know where he's at all the time," Allen said. Williams is effective on the blitz, can play linebacker and can cover receivers, Allen said.
Playing alongside Williams is Rocky Calmus, a first-team All-American at linebacker a year ago.
One advantage Kansas may have in its favor is timing, but
Allen downplayed that aspect.
"Nobody has caught Oklahoma in the last two years at a good time," he said.
The Sooners are coming off of two emotional wins as they edged Kansas State 38-37 on Sept. 29 and topped arch-rival Texas 14-3 last weekend. The Sooners' next high profile game comes in two weeks when they visit No. 4 Nebraska.
Kansas can take comfort in the fact that they played Oklahoma as well as anyone last year, at least for one half.
"If you had to draw it up I guess it's as good a time as any," Allen said.
Kansas led 16-10 in the second quarter before surrendering the game's final 24 points and losing 34-16. Kansas racked up more total yards (377) than any other team against Oklahoma.
Receiver Termaine Fulton
True to form, Oklahoma escaped last year's game by taking seven turnovers from the Jayhawks.
said the Jayhawks proved last year that they could move the ball on the Oklahoma defense. This year, he said, the focus would be taking care of the ball.
Offensive tackle Justin Hartwig said Kansas left an impact in last year's game.
"Even the Oklahoma players were telling us after the game, 'Man, you guys were a lot better than we thought,'" Hartwig said.
Contact Briggeman at 864-4858
Coach says Oklahoma won't look past Kansas
The Associated Press
NORMAN, Okla. — No. 3 Oklahoma goes into tomorrow night's game at Kansas after having defeated Kansas State and Texas in two tough, emotional games against highly ranked teams.
A letdown this week would be understandable, although it isn't likely.
One thing the Sooners have done in two-plus years under coach Bob Stoops is come ready to play each Saturday.
"We've never been an up-and-down team," he said. "We stick to our routine and how we prepare, how we practice. I think a big part of that is our players' respect for everyone that they're playing.
"Our players understand those players work hard, they're coached well, they practice, and our players respect them. Our players understand that we need to be at our best to have an opportunity to win against anybody."
Stoops' teams have been outstanding the week after playing Texas. In his first season, 1999, Oklahoma lost to Texas but followed it, after an open date, with a 51-6 victory against Texas A&M.
Last season, the Sooners went on the road and beat Kansas State one week after the Texas game.
"We don't put all our eggs in one basket for a game," Stoops said. "We prepare for the season as we go. We've been pretty good
about growing and maturing and getting better as we've gone through the year. That's how we've done it."
Kansas coach Terry Allen said that given the Sooners' recent schedule, this was about as good a time as any to have to play them. But he isn't banking on an upset for Kansas (2-2, 1-1).
"Are we catching Oklahoma at a good time? Nobody's caught Oklahoma at a good time in the last two years," he said.
Oklahoma: Team has 'aura' about it
CONTINUED FROM PAGE14A
Allen said. "They're undefeated and in the toughest league in the country. They wear their opponents out."
Kansas junior tight end David Hurst remembered Oklahoma in its less-memorable days, when he was a high school senior in 1997 in Austin, Texas.
"They weren't that good back then," Hurst said. "It's crazy how they have become so good so fast and with the same players. It's got to be the coaches."
Following a 5-6 season in 1998, Oklahoma fired coach John Blake and baited Bob Stoops, defensive coordinator at Florida, to become its 21st head coach. Stoops brought in a young and invigorated staff, including Kansas State assistants Brent Venables, Mark Mangino and his younger brother, Mike. The turnaround happened instantly. The Sooners and their revamped staff were back and winning.
"They are all good coaches," said Kansas freshman defensive end Travis Watkins, who worked with Mangino and Venables when they coached at Kansas State during a summer football
camp in 1999. "They're real knowledgeable about the game and have great attitudes. Hopefully, the coaches we have now will be able to follow their lead."
Allen said that he thought Oklahoma's offense was less powerful than it was last season, but he said it they had enough weapons to move the football.
Junior quarterback Nate Hybl is expected to make his fifth consecutive start after being rattled and bruised last weekend against Texas. He has thrown six touchdown passes. Junior running back Quentin Griffin has rushed for 395 yards and five scores and has caught 26 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown.
But Allen said that Oklahoma was winning because its mindset was that it could not lose. The Sooners had resurfaced as one of the country's best teams.
County soccer team "They've got an aura about them right now," Allen said. "They believe in themselves. They believe in their coaches. They believe they cannot be beat. And from a coaching standpoint, that's perfect."
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