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Oklahoma’s Tackling Must Improve if Sooners’ Defense is to Maintain Lofty Standards

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Oklahoma’s Tackling Must Improve if Sooners’ Defense is to Maintain Lofty Standards


Even after Oklahoma’s Red River Rivalry loss to Texas on Saturday, the Sooners’ defense still stands tall.

OU remains first nationally in total defense, second in first-downs allowed, passing yards allowed and scoring defense and in the top 10 in passing efficiency defense and rushing defense.

But there is one category where the Sooners’ defense hasn’t been excellent this season — tackling.

After the 23-6 loss, the Sooners stand 63rd nationally and 11th in the Southeastern Conference in tackling, grading out 68.0 in the category according to Pro Football Focus.

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OU missed 10 tackles vs. Texas, according to PFF. Linebacker Kobie McKinzie, defensive end R Mason Thomas, and safety Robert Spears-Jennings had two each.

“I’ve got to tackle way better,” Spears-Jennings said after the loss. “It’s third downs, I’m missing tackles that I need to make and I’m putting our defense in a tougher position because they’re converting on third downs and that’s not our standard.”

The problem was particularly evident in the second half, when Texas ripped off a pair of long drives — one for a touchdown and another for a field goal. In the first half, the Longhorns had a 12-play, 75-yard drive for a field goal.

The three drives ate up more than 18 minutes of clock, with the two second-half drives taking 13:26 of the third quarter.

Texas was a combined 9-of-11 on third-down conversions during those three scoring drives.

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“It’s hard to play defense like that when you don’t help yourself get off the field,” McKinzie said. “Simply doing the little things like tackling the dude with the ball. That’s going to be really important when we get to practice this week. It’s going to be a good challenge, looking forward to it.”

“I thought we lost some discipline there,” Sooners coach Brent Venables said of his team’s second-half defense. “Lined up offsides and turned guys loose and didn’t tackle well in all three of those drives. They made their plays.”

While the tackling wasn’t good Saturday, it also wasn’t too far outside of the norm for this team this season.

The 54.4 PFF grade in tackling was just OU’s second-worst of the season. The Sooners graded out at 47.1 in the category in the Sept. 20 win over Auburn.

“We didn’t have our best game of tackling, so to not have them wrapped up and letting them run free says a lot,” Thomas said. “We need to work on that aspect of the game.”

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Oklahoma has graded out at 70 or better just once this season — 81.5 in the win over Kent State.



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The Spring adds immersive walkthrough to annual Encounter Hope gala in Sand Springs, Oklahoma

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The Spring adds immersive walkthrough to annual Encounter Hope gala in Sand Springs, Oklahoma


A Tulsa-based nonprofit is adding an immersive, walkthrough experience to its annual fundraising gala, aiming to give attendees a closer look at what survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking face — and how support services can help.

The Spring, which provides services to people impacted by domestic violence and human trafficking, will feature the walkthrough as part of Encounter Hope, its annual gala set for April 9 at the Arvest Convention Center.

The experience is designed to guide guests through the story of an abuse survivor across four stages of interaction with The Spring: the inciting incident, the crisis call, time at the emergency crisis shelter, and moving into safety.

“The idea is really to put you in the shoes of the people that we serve every day,” Allison Wells,

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The Spring’s events and environments coordinator, said. “It’s easy to throw out stats about violence and trafficking in Oklahoma, throw out our service numbers each year, but these are really peoples’ lives. We want to put our attendees in the mindset of one person, one story. What would you do if you were facing this?”

After the walkthrough, attendees will have the opportunity to assemble move-in kits for The Spring’s shelter guests and write personal notes of encouragement.

The program portion of the evening will include a panel discussion hosted by Karen Larsen, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who anchored Tulsa’s Channel 2 for almost 30 years.

“Tulsa is an incredibly charitable city, and we know that these kinds of gala events aren’t rare here,” Leslie Clingenpeel, The Spring’s CEO, said. “Our goal is to go beyond the model of these fundraising-only type events. More than anything, we want people to understand what we do, to know that we’re here, to know what our frontline advocates are doing every single day. Domestic violence and trafficking are hard to look away from once you’re aware of them. We want to build that awareness to the people of this city.”

Individual tickets and table packages are available for purchase.

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Attendees are encouraged to register before April 1 because space is limited.

More details and purchasing information are available at www.thespringok.org/encounterhope.

The Spring is a Tulsa-based nonprofit offering services to those affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking.

The organization provides emergency crisis shelter, transitional living, and non-residential services.

More information is available at www.thespringok.org.

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Oklahoma State outlasts UCF in overtime, Houston next

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Oklahoma State outlasts UCF in overtime, Houston next


ORLANDO, Fla. –

The Oklahoma State Cowboys men’s basketball bounced back in a big way Tuesday night.

Anthony Roy scored 27 points and Kanye Clary added 23, including seven in overtime, as Oklahoma State defeated the UCF Knights men’s basketball 111-104 in Orlando.

The Cowboys controlled the extra period, finishing overtime on an 11-4 run and outscoring UCF 17-10.

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Clary played a major role in closing it out. He hit a key 3-pointer and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in overtime to help seal the win.

The victory moves Oklahoma State to 18-12 overall and 6-11 in the Big 12, and gives the Cowboys two wins in their last three games after snapping a five-game losing streak. UCF, now 20-9 (9-8 Big 12), has dropped two straight.

Roy and Clary led a balanced offensive effort. Jaylen Curry and Christian Coleman each added 16 points, while the Cowboys shot 49% from the field (35-of-72) and 80% from the free throw line (32-of-40).

Themus Fulks led UCF with 22 points, while Riley Kugel added 18.

Late-game drama forces overtime

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The final seconds of regulation were chaotic.

With 24 seconds remaining, Isaiah Coleman threw down a dunk to give Oklahoma State a 94-91 lead.

But UCF answered quickly when Chris Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, tying the game at 94-94.

Oklahoma State had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Jaylen Curry missed a shot, and John Bol blocked Roy’s attempt, sending the game to overtime.

Cowboys respond after tough loss

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The Cowboys showed resilience after Saturday’s lopsided loss to Cincinnati.

The team traveled directly to Orlando following that defeat and was pushed through two intense practices by head coach Steve Lutz and the coaching staff.

The response was clear.

Led by Roy’s scoring and Clary’s clutch overtime performance, Oklahoma State delivered a gritty win and swept the season series against UCF

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Oklahoma City police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon

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Oklahoma City police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon


Oklahoma City Police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon Monday night.

The shooting happened near Northwest 10th Street and South Yukon Parkway near the border of Yukon and Oklahoma City.

Police are on the scene, and officials said the victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the hip.

OKCPD said they have at least one person in custody.

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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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