Oklahoma football: Bob Stoops, Landry Jones emphasizing improvement

“Especially last week in our scouting report meeting on Monday,” Johnson said. “Coach Stoops emphasized making less mental mistakes and focusing on the job and not worrying about outside distractions. Even Landry stepped up and was vocal about it, knowing we've got to pick ourselves up and get better.”

Johnson also said intensity has been higher now that the team is finally playing a conference game. OU beat UTEP 24-7 in a lackluster performance to open the season, and then routed FCS opponent Florida A&M 69-13 two weeks ago.

“Usually, we'll go against scouts during game week, but we went against our defense a few times,” Johnson said of bye week practices. “That was pretty intense for sure.”

LEHMAN FINALLY TACKLED SPROLES FOUR YEARS LATER

Four years after No. 1 Oklahoma was routed 35-7 in the Big 12 championship game by Kansas State, then-senior linebacker Teddy Lehman finally caught up to Darren Sproles.

In the Big 12 title game, Sproles gashed the OU defense for 235 yards on 22 carries, a 10.7 per-carry average. He also caught three passes for 88 yards, which included a 60-yard touchdown reception.

A little over four years after the Big 12 debacle, in December 2007, Lehman's Detroit Lions went to San Diego to play against the Chargers, and Lehman ended up on the wrong end of another rout against Sproles' team.