GAME DAY
17
Oklahoma (3-3)
OFFENSE
If freshman quarterback Landry Jones could
cut down on his interceptions, namely those that come in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma's offense would be flourishing. As is, the Sooners have been basically shut down by the quality defenses they have faced this season: Texas, BYU and Miami. But against mediocre defenses,
Jones
Oklahoma has scored at will. The status of Sam Bradford will weigh into the Sooners' effectiveness against Kansas, but the Jayhawks' defense has been exposed twice in two Big 12 affairs.
DEFENSE
Oklahoma has yet to give up a single point in the
first quarter. And what's perhaps more notable is that it's given up just 10 in the fourth quarter. It's the second and third quarters that are hurting the Sooners. Their defensive line, led by juniors Gerald McCoy and Jeremy Beal, has held opponents to just 2.2 yards per carry. Their pass defense is pretty good too: They held Heisman-
McCoy
hopeful Colt McCoy to just 127 yards through the air. The Sooners' defense is aggressive and presents a bigger challenge than any unit Reesing and Co. have faced so far.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Like other big-time programs, Oklahoma'specialists
Jimmy Stevens hasn't missed a field goal under forty yards this season. Freshman punter Tress Way has unleashed a 71-yard boot. However, as evidenced by junior punt returner Dominique Franks in the Texas game, this is not a seamless unit. Still. Franks is an electric
playmaker with the ball in his hands and averages 17 yards per punt return.
Stevens
It's hard to fathom that Bob Stoops has been the
COACHING
head coach at Oklahoma for only 11 seasons. However, Stoops is just 18-14 in games outside the state of Oklahoma since 2006. Stoops will not come out and say it, but his team had to be very disappointed in their loss against Texas because it effectively knocked them out of the national championship and probably the Big 12 championship.
Stoops
MOMENTUM
It's hard to say the Sooners are on the upswing. They've beaten who they should have, but lost close games against their three ranked opponents. While the team might be deflated, it is still extremely talented and is probably a few plays away from being undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country. The Sooners needed to turn around their season last week to achieve their goals, but with those goals unattainable now, they need to set their sights on winning the rest of their games.
Bradley McDougald
Clark Goble
will cheer if...
use forces Oklahoma to punt on its first tries. The Sooners are a handful, even with L players Sam Bradford and Jermaine operating a quick stop early will not only hits, but it will also prove that the defense must an offense such as Oklahoma's.
y will weep if...
especially the offense, start slowly
last two games, Kansas has played
the first half before coming alive after
the Jayhawks weren't playing against the
lose games. If Kansas starts slow tomor-
roe a long day.
Prediction:
klahoma 42, Kansas 35
Offense
CYCLONES STARTING LINEUP
Pos. Name Number Year
QB Landry Jones 12 Fr.
RB DeMarco Murray 7 Jr.
WR Dejuan Miller 24 So.
WR Brandon Caleb 8 Jr.
WR Cameron Kenney 6 Jr.
TE Brody Eldridge 83 Sr.
T Trent Williams 71 Sr.
G Stephen Good 77 So.
C Ben Habern 61 Fr.
G Tavaris Jeffries 72 Jr.
T Jarvis Jones 76 So.
P Tress Way 36 Fr.
Defense
Pos. Name Number Year
DE Jeremy Beal 44 Jr.
DT Adrian Taylor 86 Jr.
DT Gerald McCoy 93 Jr.
DE Auston English 33 Sr.
LB Keenan Clayton 22 Sr.
LB Ryan Reynolds 4 Sr.
LB Travis Lewis 28 Sr.
CB Dominique Franks 1 Jr.
S Sam Proctor 27 So.
S Quinton Carter 20 Jr.
CB Brian Jackson 2 Sr.
K Jimmy Stevens 17 So.
AT A GLANCE
Oklahma is far and away the scariest 3-3 team in the country. Its three losses have all come to ranked teams. They've lost by five total points. The defense is overly aggressive and will blitz frequently. Not that Kansas would overlook Oklahoma, but the Sooners present the toughest test of the season by a wide margin.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior tight end Brody Eldridge
Keep an eye on Eldridge because he might
be anywhere along the offensive line. The senior is the Sooners' starting tight end but is mostly used as a blocker. Should any offensive linemen go down with injuries, coach Bob Stoops is more than willing to throw Eldridge on the line. Expect to see
Eldridge
the line. Expect to see some pancakes.
QUESTION MARKS
Will the Sooners play with the same tenacity as they did against Texas?
No offense to Kansas, but last week's game against Texas was way more important to the Sooner faithful than this week's game against Kansas. The Sooners played hard against the Longhorns but fell short in the end. A Big 12 South title seems unlikely unless Texas stumbles, so what are the Sooners playing for now?
How will Oklahoma defend Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe?
Todd Reesing says he has seen a lot of different looks this season,but apparently none of them have worked very well. Bob Stoops has seen more than his fair share of talented passing offenses in the Big 12 South. You can bet he will have a gameplan to stop Briscoe and Meier from racking up receptions.
BY THE NUMBERS
-5 Net yards given up by Oklahoma on seven punts this year
5
Number of Oklahoma Heisman trophy winners (Bradford'08, White'03, Sims'78, Owens'69, Vessels'52)
14 Number of undefeated seasons in Oklahoma football history
82 Carries for senior running back Chris Brown
Carries for junior running back DeMarco Murray
Z
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE WAVE OCTOBER 23,2009