Sooners may have put the pieces together

 

Retrospect will give us a better picture, but Oklahoma for six quarters now is looking more and more like a complete team.

"I just said that in the locker room," coach Bob Stoops said Saturday night after the Sooners’ won a 42-30 tussle with Kansas State, which looks to me to be the best team in the Big 12 North.

"I said the most exciting part of tonight is the way the offense answered back when they had to. That reminded me of some teams we have had here in the past several years. It showed a lot of character. That's a great sign that we are becoming a more complete team.”

OU’s offense put together three long touchdown drives in the second half to blow open a 35-13 win at Kansas. Part of the post-game discussion reprised early last week was about whether that offensive performance could be the start of something.

The way the offense started and finished the K-State game lends further credence to that fact, which will prove to be crucial for the Sooners as they attempt a strong finish and to build for next season.

“Those were two big drives,” quarterback Landry Jones said of the fourth-quarter marches that answered Wildcats’ touchdowns that twice cut OU’s margin to five. “We stepped up in the second half and got things going like we did at Kansas.

“We’ve got to keep it going, getting better every week. I think I’m getting better, seeing coverages and everything.”

If the progression continues, give much-maligned offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and his staff credit for making the best of a much-discussed bad situation.

“I thought Kevin Wilson and our offensive coaches have done an excellent job to continually mold our offense with the changes we have had to make,” Stoops said. “I thought we were really sharp.

“We started the game in a really good way and in the second half they answered back when they had to. It was pleasing."

Pleasing to see when the defense uncharacteristically had a middle-quarters lapse before coming up with key stops late.

“It was real nice to see the offense click together like that and get some key touchdowns, especially in the fourth quarter,” defensive end Jeremy Beal said. “It was good for (the defense). It’s nice that we won not on our best day.

“That’s what a team is for--offense and defense. When one is light, someone else has to pick it up and the offense did that for us tonight.”

If the offense keeps that up, OU chances of finishing strong double.--Mike Jones.