Red River Showdown could give OU a jolt
NORMAN — Losses tend to linger in Sooner Nation.
The rarity of their occurrence — not only in the Lincoln Riley era but also for much of the past two decades — tends to have that effect, even if it's mostly external.
But internally it didn't take long after last Saturday' s 37-30 loss to Iowa State for talk to turn to the immediate future for the So one rs— facing Texas in the Red River Showdown on Saturday ( 11 a.m. Fox).
Just a few questions into Saturday's postgame interviews, safety Pat Fields was asked about preparing for the Longhorns.
“I think the best way to put ourselves in better position is just focus on us, focus on the standard of who we are as a defense, who we are as a football team,” Fields said.
Focus shouldn't be an issue this week, the annual rivalry at
the Cotton Bowl snapping t he Sooners out of any funk from their first regular-season losing streak in more than 20 years.
There are good ti mes in the schedule for bye weeks — needing time for injured players to heal or just a mental break after a grueling stretch.
This might be the perfect time for a rivalry game from the Sooners' perspective, the chance to rinse themselves of the disappointment of the last two games with a performance t hat one way or another will be remembered for many years.
“I think it's definitely a great way to look at it ,” Riley said Tuesday. “That' s certainly how we're looking at it. I think when you've had some things not go your way, you've just gotta be ready for the next challenge and however it presents itself to you.”
Riley once again said there was nothing mystic al about fixing the Sooners problems.
“You' ve gotta grind your way out of it and you' ve gotta work and you've gotta push and you' ve gotta stay together,” Riley said.
But it doesn't hurt to have the immediacy of this rivalry straight ahead either.
Of course, Texas is coming off disappointment of its own after last week's 33-31 loss to TCU. The Long horns could easily be in the same two-loss position as the So one rs but narrow ly avoided opening up Big 12 play with a loss with a late comeback to knock off Texas Tech in overtime, 63-56, on Sept. 19.
The last time both the Sooners and Longhorns were coming off a loss coming into this game was 2014. OU won that game, 31-26, building an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter and holding on at the end to escape.
Offensively, at l east, the Sooners haven't been too far from being at least close to the dominant team they've been in recent years.
Riley said the offensive line has played better than it's been perceived and when things haven't gone right, there's been a simple fix — even if simple doesn't always mean easy.
Defensive ly, the problems are more glaring, with coverage breakdowns, lack of consistent pass rush, costly penalties and poor tack ling being the culprit at various times over the last two games.
But even on that side of the ball, Riley said his team was close to success, even if, as he said “nobody wants to hear it.”
“We're closer than even (what) we think right now because we're so disappointed in the end result,” Riley said after Saturday's loss. “But we're close. If this team will keep hammering away, this team will get there.”