Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby Talks Bedlam Troubles: ‘That’s on Me’

NORMAN — Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby described the Sooners’ second-half maladies towards Oklahoma on Saturday night time as a product of many widespread parts of a soccer sport.

However as for the Sooners’ stark fourth quarter, Lebby takes the blame completely.

“After these first two sequence (of the second half), the remainder of it’s on me getting too conservative,” Lebby mentioned Monday throughout his weekly press convention. “All people needs to level the fingers; it’s me being too conservative.”

Lebby thinks he ought to have known as extra passes down the stretch of the Sooners’ 28-13 Bedlam victory.

“I imply, 16 of the final 18 performs, we run the soccer,” Lebby mentioned. “You already know, the primary quarter, we scored a bunch of factors as a result of we have been in a position to throw the soccer and make some performs. Ought to have caught to that a bit of extra and stayed aggressive, as an alternative of what I did. I feel we’d have had a bit of completely different consequence.”

OU raced to a 28-0 lead within the first quarter, then the offense fell off the face of the earth.

“We gotta get out of our personal method,” Lebby mentioned.

The Sooners punted 11 instances on Saturday — essentially the most in 21 years at OU — and went three-and-out 9 instances.

The groups mixed for 37 possessions, and on OU’s 18 drives, 17 of them lasted 91 seconds or much less. Just one drive — a nine-play, 93-yard march within the first quarter that took 2:45 and produced a landing and a 14-0 lead — went longer than 1:31.

“I feel essentially the most irritating factor for me was, it was a special place group or a special individual each single situation,” Lebby mentioned.

The true drawback got here after the primary quarter, because the Sooners’ ultimate 12 possessions produced zero factors. Solely two of these drives even crossed the 50-yard line — none within the second half.

“You come out first two sequence and you bought a drop on second and 5 and a drop on first and 10,” Lebby mentioned. In all, Sooner receivers dropped 5 passes on the night time. However the uneven begin to the third quarter, “we weren’t in a position to overcome.”

After the sport, head coach Brent Venables mentioned he wasn’t pleased with the offense’s clock administration. Nursing a 13-point lead down the stretch, the Sooners stayed of their up-tempo offense, a number of instances snapping the soccer with greater than 20 seconds left on the play clock.

Did Lebby be taught something about clock administration or play-calling — and even himself as an offensive coordinator?

“Yeah,” he mentioned, “particularly within the third quarter, keep aggressive. Even the primary sequence of the fourth quarter, staying aggressive. After which clearly, afterward, ought to have — actually, the final two sequence is the place we had the power in all probability to huddle and to actually decelerate and go run the soccer.”

The Sooners didn’t have the type of success working the soccer they’ve been used to most of this season, however Eric Grey did rush for 90 yards, Jovantae Barnes averaged 10 yards per carry, and Dillon Gabriel was weaponized on the bottom a handful of instances.

“We ran the soccer — not successfully, however we did run it,” Lebby mentioned. “However once more, to me, I feel the most important factor that I realized was staying aggressive. That’s how we’re gonna play. That’s how we’re gonna function. That’s on me.

“We’re gonna throw the soccer in the event that they acquired yet one more within the field than we will block. We’re not constructed to go run the QB 25 instances. We’ve gotta throw the soccer and make performs, and that method you’ve acquired an opportunity to get away from ‘em and it’s completely completely different.

“Fortunately, defensively, we have been lights out. Our crowd was unbelievable and we have been in a position to get it achieved.”