3 Sooners Takeaways: Oklahoma Barely Squeaks By Houston; Concern Mounts In Norman

“A win is a win.” Every University of Oklahoma player we talked to after the game said that exact quote. It is true — even if the Sooners won by four points in a game in which they were favored by four touchdowns. But alas, the Sooners are 2-0, just like they are supposed to be.

That said, OU fans have every right to be concerned right now. That leads directly into my first takeaway.

OU is WAY behind schedule

Let’s start with what should be the easiest fix. No more stupid penalties! A silly personal foul penalty stops the clock with under a minute left and forces the Sooners to punt the ball back to the Cougars, giving Houston 29 seconds to try to go win the game. You just can’t leave the door open like that. Especially, not in the SEC.

Now to a harder fix: the offensive struggles. All spring and summer we heard about how new Offensive Coordinators Seth Littrell and Joe Jon Finley were about to run the ball right down opponents’ throats. Instead, OU rushed for just 75 yards against a team that surrendered nearly 200 a week ago to UNLV. Starting running back Gavin Sawchuk had four carries for four yards. After the game, Brent Venables chalked the run game issues up to struggles across the board.

Coach Venables said, “[There was] too much penetration at times for sure. No doubt, we have to be a lot better,” he added, “[We] need to go back and see if we were making the right cuts and the right reads. We have to make people pay in the back end too- we have to make plays throwing the ball as well.”

To make matters worse, the Sooners don’t have much time to get back on schedule. Tulane took a really good Kansas State team to the wire Saturday and the Green Wave will be hungry when it comes to Norman next Saturday.

OU officially has a ‘3rd down’ problem

Brent Venables had high praise for his punter after the game. Luke Elzinga had 8 punts, pinning 5 of them inside the 20 yard line. Venables also had a concerned chuckle, almost in disbelief, recognizing it probably isn’t a good sign when he’s “coming to a press conference and bragging on our punter.”

The Sooners were 1/12 on third down last week. It was Week 1, and the offensive game plan was vanilla, so there was reason to believe it could be an anomaly. After going 4 of 14 on third downs this week, it is time to sound the alarm.

I asked OC Seth Littrell about the issues after the game. He said, “There were a lot of opportunities that I felt like we had that we did not capitalize on… I have to man up and look myself in the mirror first. We will figure out if they were good or bad calls when it is all said and done. At the end of the day, we have to execute better.”

The most noticeable struggle — a QB draw on 3rd and 11 in Houston territory early in the fourth quarter. The conservative play call picked up 5 yards and a loud collection of boos from the crowd. It would lead to a missed field goal.

An improved run game would help the offense stay on schedule, setting up more third-and-short and third-and-manageable situations. Crucial drops by fill-in wide receivers didn’t help either. Sooner fans are rightfully anxious for Nic Anderson to return to the field… soon!

Defense wins championships… and, apparently, close nonconference games

It wasn’t always pretty on defense (see 44-yard Houston touchdown to open the second half), but in the biggest moments, the defense made its biggest plays.

Early in the fourth quarter, Robert Spears-Jennings jumped a hook route for an interception, setting the offense up inside the red zone. If the Sooners get points there, the game may have been blown wide open.

But they didn’t capitalize.

Then with under two minutes left to play, Gracen Halton makes the play in the backfield for a safety. Those were the only points OU would score in the second half. It also gave the ball back to the Sooners so they could milk the clock. CLUTCH.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Danny Stutsman’s 15 tackles, 12 of them solo tackles. That’s unbelievable from an All-American-caliber linebacker who only seems to be getting better. And one who is still hungry, saying after the game that he didn’t feel like he tackled very well.

Tulane is coming with a vengeance this Saturday… Tennessee making a visit September 21st.

The Sooners better wake up!