Poor tackling cause for concern on Sooner defense
NORMAN — Of all the criticisms against Oklahoma’s 91st-ranked defense, poor tackling seems to be the primary concern of Sooner fans.
“We’ve worked it,” defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said this week. “It’s been a big emphasis. We’re going to have to be physical in our tackles and start wrapping people up.”
Senior linebacker Curtis
Bolton said practices have been more intense this week, and not just because a matchup with Texas looms at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Missed tackles isn’t a recorded statistic for defensive players, but the issue was most glaring for OU against Iowa State in Week 3. It hasn’t been completely cleaned up.
“There’s so many things to tackling and not everyone on this team has the same issues in tackling,” Bolton said. “Some people have tracking issues, some people have finishing issues and so on. I think our coaches are doing a good job of trying to narrow that down and create drills that put us in space more.”
Bolton said the whistle won’t blow in practice if a defender doesn’t wrap up well enough.
Oklahoma’s defense has allowed 405 yards per game. It’s the second-worst mark in the Big 12 ahead of only Texas Tech. Texas, meanwhile, has allowed just 333 yards per game. The Longhorns rank second in the Big 12 and 30th nationally in total defense.
Sooner pros weigh in on OU-Texas
The buildup to OU-Texas
inevitably results in trash talk, and former Sooners turned NFL players have weighed in.
Baker Mayfield was asked Wednesday for his thoughts on the matchup.
“Well, we’re not gonna lose,” Mayfield told reporters. “Expectations are to win. Last time Texas was ranked in this game was 2012, and it was a beatdown.”
Mayfield is correct. The 13th-ranked Sooners routed the 15th-ranked Longhorns 63-21 in 2012.
Elsewhere in the NFL, the Washington Redskins are having fun with the matchup. They tweeted a video Wednesday with the caption “The Red River Rivalry has made things tense at Redskins Park.”
The video shows former Texas star and current Washington backup quarterback
Colt McCoy walking up to an elevator and pressing the button. The doors open, and waiting inside are four former Sooners: Adrian Peterson, Samaje Perine, Trent Williams and Tress Way.
They each stare back at McCoy with their arms crossed.
“I’ll take the stairs,” McCoy said before walking away.
Oklahoma and Texas kick off at 11 a.m. Saturday in Dallas.
No word on injuries
Oklahoma was without several key players last weekend against Baylor: left guard Ben Powers, running back Marcelias Sutton, defensive end Kenneth Mann and outside linebacker Ryan Jones.
Coach Lincoln Riley has been sick this week, and his assistants have been tight-lipped on injury updates much like their boss typically is. Defensive coordinator
Mike Stoops was asked specifically about Mann, a defensive captain for the Sooners.
“I’m not going to talk about who’s playing and who isn’t,” Stoops said. “We’re going to get all the guys ready that are going to help us play and play well. We’ll see. We’ll put 11 out there on Saturday. Who those 11 guys are, everyone is going to have to tune in and watch. I think there will be a lot of people doing that.”