Sooners seeking fourth-down stops
NORMAN — Oklahoma is used to getting every team's best shot, but now teams are throwing in some extra punches.
The Sooners' defense hasn't had too many opportunities to celebrate a thirddown stop this season. Instead, the group has been forced to defend a nation-leading 19 fourth-down attempts through its first five contests.
Opposing teams are 12-for-19 in these situations, and those extended drives tend to hurt OU in the long run.
Of the 11 opposing drives that have included a successful fourth-down conversion this season, eight of them have ended with the other team putting up points on the board.
“If you get too disappointed that you didn't stop them right there at the beginning of the drive, then mentally maybe you're not ready to make that key red zone stop,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said. “We want to be better, but we've got to keep swinging. That's the one thing we have been doing. We've continued to swing.”
Most of those swings didn't connect last week against Kansas State, though.
The Wildcats converted four of their five fourth-down attempts. The four conversions mark a season-high for a Sooners squad that prides itself in being one of the best groups in the country.
“Honestly, it's as simple as we have to finish,” senior linebacker DaShaun White said. “We have to get off the field. ... It's something we'll always be able to get better at and we'll always work to get better at. We'll keep working and I'm sure we'll get the results we want.”
OU's defense will likely receive some extra swings once again on Saturday in the latest edition of the Red River Showdown against Texas.
Texas has attempted 11 fourth-down conversions, which ranks 27th in the country, and it has converted seven of those tries.
“It's definitely a mentality thing, especially on defense,” redshirt junior linebacker Nik Bonitto said. “We should feel disrespected if a team goes for it on fourth down, but Coach (Alex) Grinch does a good job preparing us for moments like that and having the mindset to go out there and get a stop.”
OU in the a.m.
When the Red River Showdown kicks off on Saturday in Dallas, it'll mark the third time this season that the Sooners have played in an 11 a.m. game.
The early start times have garnered criticism from fans and even OU athletic director Joe Castiglione in the past, but they haven't stopped the Sooners from entering this week with a 5-0 record.
“We could play whenever,” quarterback Spencer Rattler said. “We'll play at 12 p.m. or 12 a.m. at night... We just like to play ball. I like night games, personally, but any time is fun.”
The night before an 11 a.m. contest is routine for Rattler, who is set to start in his seventh morning game. He'll settle in at the hotel. He'll enjoy dinner. He'll look over the play sheet. Finally, he'll get a good night's rest for the battle that awaits him in the morning. “(We) kind of just loosen up a little bit,” Rattler said.