WACO, Texas — Oklahoma's defense dominated throughout its 49-17 win over Baylor, yet defensive coordinator Brent Venables was disappointed about the Bears' three scoring drives, especially the first one.
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Baylor's first score came in the second quarter, which was ignited by quarterback Robert Griffin's dazzling 36-yard run on third-and-12.
After Griffin stepped out of bounds, safety Nic Harris drilled him and was flagged for a 15-yard personal foul, which put the ball at the OU 19.
The Sooners forced Baylor into fourth-and-6, but a pass interference call on fourth down by Lendy Holmes gave the Bears first-and-goal.
Griffin took the ball over the goal line two plays later.
“I'm pleased with our guys, outside of three drives. I'm displeased with three drives,” Venables said. “I thought our guys came back and played with a little bit more purpose, a little bit more physical in the second half, but those three drives kind of bothered you a little bit. I felt we weren't as physical, didn't play with a sense of desperation or an attitude."
Venables was also displeased the defense didn't force a turnover against Baylor.
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Nobody's saying that OU should unveil any new tricks after half-time. But getting two or three yards per rush in the second half is rather bad, don't you think? Keep the playbook open to only what has been used already, and play up to the level shown in the first halves. Except for a handful of plays, there's been nothing "spectacular" about how the second half has been played.
For Richard in Scottsdale: Adam is right. The reason the Sooners are having better first half scores is that they go vanilla after they get a big lead. That leaves alot more of their weapons under the canvas for future opponents. I think they've done a good job play calling this season. The only bad spots i've seen were that game where the opposition kick returner ran all over them on special teams, and the kicking game. Other than that, they've been spectacular.
One thing needs to be said about our positive outlook on the Sooners. It's great to be positive, but I'm very positive there are 4 teams out there that OU will need to be on it's pure A-game for this year 1. Horns: They are looking sharp, but I think OU can shut them down. 2. Pokes: Wow they are looking good. We'll see, but they are definitely ranked too low. 3. Tech: OU is good at shutting down one dimensional offenses but the kinds of points they can hang on you require alot of focus to defend. 4. Mizzou: If OU makes it to face Mizzou in the Big 12 game, they better be ready. I'm all about OU, but Mizzouri looks pretty good. I think they should be number 2.
The first halves of OU's games have been astounding. Can't say the same for the second halves. Stoops and company obviously don't want to deliberately humiliate opponents, and large leads going into the second half make it easier to give playing time to second-stringers. But there should be some serious attention paid to how pedestrian the Sooners have played the second halves. Perhaps just once, say against TCU, the Sooners should have unplugged the offense and let Bradford, et al, perform to the limit. I hesitate to say maybe what they've been doing in the second half is all they're capable of---Texas would love to exploit that shortcoming if it does exist.
Rick, Scottsdale
Brian Jackson does look awesome back there!! Hes big and physical and what I like is that everytime the ball is thrown to the receiver he is covering he is right there....He looks like a first rounder to me
" dazzling 36-yard run " ..........whatever, I don't think it was " dazzling " . Once he got past the four rushers, it was open field. Nobody else was even in the TV picture, Griffin could've been running track. I think its safe to say the defense was uhhhh .... out of position. But it was a long run, not sure about dazzling.
No. 1 OU bewilders Bears 10/05/2008 WACO, Texas — As an already thin crowd began thinning out in the third quarter, Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin chucked a backward pass to track star and...
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Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
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Rick, Scottsdale
How bout the way that Brian Jackson is playing?? Looks real good back there!