• Main
• Roster
• Coaches
• Schedule
• Statistics
• Archives

SoonerSports.com   Coach Stoops Recaps Tulsa Game on Review Show   SoonerVision Game Highlights: Oklahoma 62, Tulsa 21   Coach Stoops Post-Game Press Conference   Oklahoma Moves to No. 3 in Latest AP Poll   Sooners Romp Past Tulsa at Skelly Field, 62-21

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Oklahoma coaches harp on their players to play hard, play physical and play smart.

Even as his team has racked up the highest scoring average in the nation, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson believes the No. 3 Sooners (4-0) can improve in one of those areas.

"As good as we're playing, we still haven't played really as smart as we can or need to play," Wilson said. "We're good enough to be an immature, sloppy team if we'll allow it to happen."

While pouring it on for 61.5 points per game, the Sooners also are averaging 7.2 penalties per game and they've turned the ball over at least once in each of their four blowouts to open the season.

Against Tulsa, Oklahoma found itself behind for the first time when a penalty backed them up in a goal-to-go situation, and an interception led to the Golden Hurricane's first touchdown. The Sooners recovered their own fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but a penalty backed them up even farther and a three-and-out put Tulsa in position to score again.

With those kind of mistakes on the road, Wilson said, "you open up a can of worms, you make it a dogfight." And another road test looms this week in the Big 12 opener at Colorado.

"Without being negative, they're doing great and they ought to have a lot of confidence and they need to feel good about themselves. We do," Wilson said. "But in this day and age, contentment is one of the easy sins that you can back yourself into where you kind of think you've got it figured out."

Oklahoma has outscored its opponents 246-47 through four games and has a chance at scoring 50 points in five straight games for the first time in school history. After the 62-21 victory at Tulsa, receiver Juaquin Iglesias said the way the offense is playing, "it's like we can't really be stopped right now."

Wilson responded, "He's wrong because the one thing that can stop us is us."

Wilson identified the possible dangers, including if "we start taking things a little for granted in our preparation" or if the Sooners can't stay healthy.

The Sooners will be a man down in at least one position. Starting defensive end John Williams injured his Achilles tendon against Tulsa and will be out for the season. Williams had started three of Oklahoma's first four games with one sack and four tackles for a loss before pulling up on a rush from the right side on Tulsa's first series of the second half.

"It is sad," Stoops said. "I really feel bad for John. He's worked hard and started off great here, really playing well. You just hate to see that happen to him."

The injury gives Alonzo Dotson, who started against Miami, a bigger role and increases playing time for backups Alan Davis and converted linebacker Jeremy Beal.

Stoops was uncertain about the status of tailback Chris Brown, who left the game after hitting the back of his helmet on the turf. Stoops said Brown, who'd been splitting carries with Allen Patrick and DeMarco Murray, would be re-evaluated this week.

"I don't believe he was (knocked) out," Stoops said. "I believe he was dazed a little bit."

Other than overcoming the injuries, though, the Sooners are focused on removing the bumps they've placed in their own road.

On offense, that means cutting down the penalties -- which are about 50 percent higher than last year's marks of 4.9 penalties for 37.2 yards per game -- and the turnovers that are keeping their scoring production from being even higher.

"We don't have a total of what we're trying to score per game. We don't have a goal," Wilson said. "We don't have a goal of how many yards we're trying to get. We don't have a goal of being 50-50 run-pass. We want to score as much as we can to win every game, and we want to keep getting better and better. That's the challenge."

For the defense, it's eliminating alignment problems and coverage mistakes that led to three Tulsa touchdowns -- one more than the Sooners' previous three opponents had combined to score.

"I didn't feel like obviously we played with the consistency we needed to the other night," defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. "I thought we came on and played better in second half, but just some basic fundamental, discipline things broke down.

"Outside of those things, I think that there's been some steady improvement but the errors from the game are things that obviously we've got to get corrected right now."