Q&A

Published: November 13, 2006

What did the Oklahoma coaches see that led them to use true freshman Chris Brown as their primary running back in the second half?

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Two things: First, Jacob Gutierrez's fumble in the first quarter was troubling.

Second, Brown's straight-ahead running style works better in the I-formation than Gutierrez's shiftiness, and the I-formation run game had been more successful.

As a result, Brown got 13 of his 16 carries in the second half, while Gutierrez rushed just once after halftime.

It paid off as Brown finished with 84 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown run. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry, compared to 3.5 for Gutierrez.

Will tailback Allen Patrick be back from his ankle injury in time for Saturday's game?

That decision will likely be made later in the week. And it might be based more on need than Patrick's health.

If the Sooners think they can get past Baylor with Brown and Gutierrez, and guarantee themselves a healthy Patrick for the Oklahoma State game on Nov. 25, they'd likely hold him out.

OU seemed to miss Patrick, at least a little bit, Saturday night. Patrick had rushed for 440 yards in three games since taking over for the injured Adrian Peterson. But on Saturday, the Sooners failed have a back rush for 100 yards for the first time this season.

Asked Sunday if he expected Patrick to play at Baylor, Stoops said, "Yes, but that doesn't mean he will."

Did Saturday's upsets shake up the rankings enough to help OU's chances of reaching a Bowl Championship Series at-large berth?

Not as much as might have been expected.

Oklahoma gained only one spot in the Associated Press, Harris and coaches' polls, moving up to No. 16.

In each poll, the Sooners remain one spot behind Auburn, which lost to unranked Georgia 37-15 Saturday.

Cal, previously ranked in the top 10, dropped to No. 17 in each poll, just behind the Sooners.

But in the BCS, the Sooners stayed put at No. 17, behind Auburn (14), Cal (15) and Wake Forest (16).

Texas' loss, while it keeps alive OU's hopes of reaching the Big 12 title game, hurts the Sooners in the BCS rankings. A loss to a top-five team benefits them more than a loss to a top-15 team, especially in the computer polls.

And Texas wasn't viewed favorably by the computers before Saturday's upset loss to Kansas State.

In last week's BCS, the Longhorns were ranked, on average, No. 10 by the computers and are No. 16 this week, which dropped them to No. 11 in the BCS poll.

OU must be in the BCS' top 12 to be eligible for an at-large berth.

Should the Sooners be worried about facing a Baylor team that has nothing to lose?

Not really. Sure, Baylor lost its opportunity to become bowl-eligible, and they have nothing left to play for aside from pride.

But the reason the Bears are in that situation is because they're not a very good team because of Shawn Bell's absence and a porous defense.

They're coming off a demoralizing 66-24 loss at Oklahoma State and they've never beaten Oklahoma in 15 meetings.


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