OU notebook

Published: September 4, 2007

Senior tailback Allen Patrick will play Saturday against Miami after missing the first game with a high ankle sprain and sophomore Chris Brown will be available after sitting out last week's 79-10 win over North Texas while serving a one-game suspension.

Patrick, the Sooners' leading returning rusher, said he hated having to watch from the sideline last week, but was thrilled for his teammate, DeMarco Murray, who rushed for five touchdowns in his first game as a Sooner.

"He got up five on me,” Patrick said with a laugh. "But that's good, a young fella coming in. Everybody on the team knew he had the capability to go out and get the job done.”

•High standards: OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson wasn't displeased with the blocking of his offensive line Saturday.

But he wasn't completely satisfied, either.

"They just have a lot of talent and a high standard that they can reach,” Wilson said. "I just think there's some glitches in the first game that as a coach you try to minimize.

"They have a long way to go to reach their potential. We'll keep challenging those guys to keep practicing better and cleaner.”

•No wasted time: Randy Shannon said he put his first victory as head coach of the Miami Hurricanes behind him in "two, maybe three” minutes.

That's because he knew what was next, Shannon told the Miami Herald.

"You can get Gatorade dumped on your head and (have) everybody in Miami patting you on the shoulder,” he said.

"But you know what? It ain't going to ever help you win the game the next week against Oklahoma.”

Shannon said the best thing for him and his staff in preparation for the game is that none of the OU coaches changed jobs after last season, especially the coordinators.

"So we'll have an idea of what they do,” he said. "And we'll have a good game plan.”

By Scott Wright

Comments