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SERIES HISTORYNinety-nine yearsWe take a look at the 25 meetings between OU and Tulsa P 6

FEATUREFrom court to cleatsSophomore defensive end excites with upside P 8ANALYSISRunning backs, y’allOU’s ground attack has been spearheaded by a stable of seniors P 10

HOPE?

Will junior quarterback Blake Bell provide the spark to ignite the Sooners’ stalled offense? P2

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2 • � ursday, September 12, 2013 INSIDE THE HUDDLE

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CONTRIBUTORS

Dillon PhillipsInside the Huddle editor

twitter: @DillonPhillips_

Julia NelsonSports editor

twitter: @julianelson33

Joe MussattoAssistant sports editor

twitter: @Joe_Mussatto

Demetrius KearneySports reporter


Sam HoffmanSports columnist


Kyle MargerumThe Oklahoma Daily editor

Kearsten HowlandAdvertising manager

Sooners need to solve QB quagmire

PAGE 2 COLUMN

Miss Landry yet?

Two games into the 2013 season, OU is a team without quarterback.

After two sub-par performances, redshirt-freshman quarterback Trevor Knight was benched in the fourth quarter of the Sooners’ 16-7 win against West Virginia on Saturday, much to the apparent pleasure of Sooner fans.

The loudest cheer of the night came when junior quarterback Blake Bell entered the game to replace Knight with 14:50 remaining. He proceeded to run the ball twice for 21 yards, throw his only pass of the game — an incompletion dropped by senior run-ning back Brennan Clay — and hand the ball off six times during a drive that led to an OU field goal.

Not exactly awe-inspiring numbers.While it’s not worth much on the stat sheet, that

drive — and Knight’s recent knee injury, which will sideline him this week — was enough to thrust Bell back into the running for the starting job and intro-duce a quarterback controversy heading into game three against Tulsa — something the Sooners had hoped to avoid.

The old saying goes: If you have two quarter-backs, then you have none. And the Sooners quar-terback situation will become even more com-plicated when sophomore quarterback Kendal Thompson returns from a broken foot injury in two-to-three weeks.

So far, nothing has been settled, and the quarter-back carousel is showing no signs of slowing.

Through two games, Knight is 21-of-48 for 205 yards with four touchdowns and three intercep-tions, and Bell is 3-of-6 for 38 yards. Both quar-terbacks have been effective running the football, but with an offense that’s averaging more than 300 yards rushing per game, picking up yards on the ground hasn’t been an issue.

The Sooners don’t need a Heisman-caliber quar-terback under center. But they do need something more than a “game manager” — coachspeak for a quarterback who isn’t trusted with much more than handing the ball off and throwing low-risk, high-percentage passes.

Dillon [email protected]

INSIDE THE HUDDLE EDITOR

SEE QUARTERBACKS PAGE 3

Oklahoma’s depth chartOffense

71 Tyrus Thompson

55 Josiah St. John

74 Adam shead

77 Dionte Savage

64 Gabe Ikard

56 Ty Darlington

54 nila Kasitati

68 Bronson Irwin

79 Daryl Williams

72 Derek Farniok

11 LaColtan Bester

6 Dannon Cavil

8 Jalen saunders

17 Trey Metoyer

3 sterling shepard

12 Derrick Woods

10 Blake Bell

1 Kendal Thompson

24 Brennan Clay

26 Damien Williams

33 Trey Millard

48 Aaron Ripkowski

LT

LG

C

RG

RT

WR

WR

WR

QB

RB

fB

Jr.

Jr.

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Sr.

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Defense85 Geneo Grissom

99 Chaz Nelson

80 Jordan Phillips

93 Jordan Wade

98 Chuka ndulue

95 Quincy Russell

91 Charles Tapper

40 P.L. Lindley

7 Corey nelson

25 Aaron Franklin

20 frank shannon

19 Eric Striker

2 Julian Wilson

23 Kass Everett

15 Zack sanchez

22 Cortez Johnson

10 Quentin Hayes

13 Ahmad Thomas

9 Gabe Lynn

32 Trey Franks

14 Aaron Colvin

6 Stanvon Taylor

Re

RT

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Le

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nICK

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QuARTeRBACKs: OU offense must avoid becoming one-dimensionalContinued from page 2

evin morrison/the daily

Junior quarterback Blake Bell slides at the end of a run after keeping the ball on a read option play. Bell will start against Tulsa in place of redshirt-freshman quarterback Trevor Knight, who injured his knee.

OU needs a quarterback who can throw the ball down the field well enough to keep defenses honest. Someone who can, at the very least, complete half of his passes.

Because if the first two games are any indication, teams are going to load the box against the Sooners and dare them to throw.

Now to this point, it hasn’t made much of a difference; OU has had its way in the trenches.

But Louisiana-Monroe’s

and West Virginia’s defens-es aren’t exactly a group of gangbusters, and with the stout defenses of Notre Dame and TCU loom-ing on the schedule, the Sooners need to develop some semblance of a ver-tical passing game and fast.

So will it be Bell? Or will the coaches hand the reins back to Knight? Or will a healthy Thompson emerge as the Sooners’ top signalcaller?

Only time will tell. I don’t expect the Tulsa

game to offer much insight into whom the guy will be going forward. But at the very least, it gives the Sooners another week to work out the kinks.

Come Sept. 28, they won’t have that luxury.

Dillon Phillips is a professional writing senior and Inside the Huddle editor at The Daily. You can follow him on Twitter at @DillonPhillips_

inside the huddle Thursday, September 12, 2013 • 3

It’s science fact: You can’t have hurricanes in a landlocked state.

Maybe that’s why the Golden Hurricane have struggled so mightily against the mighty Sooners from the south.

During the 99 years the rivalry has existed, OU and Tulsa have met on the gridiron 25 times, and the Sooners lead the near cen-tury-long series, 17-7-1.

With a record like that, it’s tough to call this a rival-ry since the word “rivalry” suggests a high level of competition, a game that’s tightly contested each year. And in recent seasons, when OU and Tulsa have met on the field it has been anything but.

Since OU’s last loss to Tulsa in 1996 — an em-barrassing 31-24 defeat at home, one of Oklahoma’s eight losses that season — the Sooners are 6-0 and have outscored the Golden Hurricane, 280-50.

That’s an average score of 47-8 with an average mar-gin of victory of almost 39 points.

In a word, domination.Now that’s not to say

that Tulsa hasn’t had it’s fair share of success over

4 • Thursday, September 12, 2013 inside the huddle

Tulsa’s depth chartOffense

76 Garrett stafford

75 Davis Walton

77 Jake Alexander

62 Alec Henry

52 Billy Lafortune

57 Dylan Foxworth

65 Gabe Moyer

74 Stetson Burnett

74 stetson Burnett

68 Garrett Gladd

26 Thomas Roberson

6 Derek Patterson

1 Keyarris Garrett

2 Joshua Atkinson

12 Jordan James

2 Keevan Lucas

7 Cody Green

9 Dane Evans

22 Trey Watts

25 Ja’Terian Douglas

41 Cody Wilson

33 Michael Sorrells

LT

LG

C

RG

RT

WR

WR

WR

QB

RB

fB

sr.

Jr.

Jr.

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Defense46 Chris Hummingbird

88 Cory Rahmings

99 DerrickLuetjen

75 Lionel Phillips

8 Jesse Brubaker

79 Jerry Uwaezouke

54 Derrick Alexander

97 Brentom Todd

33 Mitchell Osborne

27 DeWitt Jennings

55 shawn Jackson

53 Jake Sizelove

40 Trent Martin

43 Donnell Hawkins

24 Darnell Walker

37 Austin McDaniel

9 Dwight Dobbins

1 Johnell Cellstan

22 Michael Mudoh

5 Jeremy Brady

20 Marco nelson

21 Joe Bean

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DT

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LB

LB

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CB

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inSiDE THE HUDDLE EDiToR

OU-Tulsa ‘rivalry’ is as one-sided as they come

COLuMn

the years. That success just hasn’t come against Oklahoma.

Although Tulsa ran the series during the 1930s and ’40s and stole a few during the 1910s, the Golden Hurrican have never en-tered a game against Oklahoma ranked in the top 25 — hard to imagine considering the long histo-ry of the series.

This season is no differ-ent. OU, which enters the game ranked No. 14, will take on an unranked Tulsa squad at 11 a.m. Saturday at Oklahoma-Memorial Stadium in Norman.

And unfortunately for the Golden Hurricane, the recent trend of Sooner shel-lackings looks to continue.

As sloppily and unre-markably as OU has begun its 2013 campaign, Tulsa has done them one better.

The Golden Hurricane opened the season with an unexpected, if not embar-rassing, 34-7 drubbing at the hands of Bowling Green on Aug. 29 in Bowling Green, Ohio.

In the season-opening loss, Tulsa was held to just 51 yards rushing and 273 yards of total offense while allowing the Falcons to pick up 401 yards, 238 of which came on the ground. Tulsa also fumbled twice in the loss and was just 4-of-16 on third down conversions.

A rough start, to be sure.But the Golden

Hurricane bounced back in week two, downing Colorado State at home thanks to a 34-yard field

goal from senior kicker Carl Salazar as time expired to pick up a 30-27 win.

Against the Rams, Tulsa righted the ship offensively, outgaining Colorado State, 427 yards to 286.

Talk about a tale of two teams.

So when OU and Tulsa meet Saturday for the 26th time, which Golden Hurricane squad will take the field?

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Dillon Phillips is a professional writing senior and Inside the Huddle editor at The Daily. You can follow him on Twitter at @DillonPhillips_

KEY oPPonEnTCody GreenYear: Senior

Position: Quarterback

Statistics: So far this season, Green has completed 38-of-73 passes for 384 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He’s also carried the ball 13 times for 51 yards.

more on the seriesFor a complete look at the rivalry between oU and Tulsa, check out the “Battle for i-44,” which includes the date and result of each meeting in the series’ 99-year history.PAGe 6 & 7

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Colvin in lineup against the Golden Hurricane

injury update

Senior cornerback Aaron Colvin left Saturday’s game

against West Virginia early in the third quarter after a collision and did not return.

Initially, I figured this had to be a concussion. Colvin collides with a West Virginia player and leaves the game for good — had to be a concussion. A con-cussion would have meant Colvin’s status for the game against Tulsa on Sept. 14 would be a game-time decision.

But after the game Colvin took to Twitter. He tweet-ed, “Split my back tooth… #painful.”

The cracked tooth was confirmed on Monday in coach Bob Stoops’ weekly press conference. Colvin cracked his top molar on the play and was complain-ing about his jaw during the remainder of the game.

Stoops went on to ad-dress the issue, saying Colvin went to the dentist Monday and will be expect-ed to play against Tulsa.

Sooner fans can now let out a sigh of relief knowing their defensive leader will be ready to go against an

in-state foe. The injuries among the

Sooners’ lineup are trou-bling enough with redshirt freshman Trevor Knight sitting out against Tulsa be-cause of a knee injury. The last thing OU needed was its leader on the other side of the ball to sit out against the Golden Hurricane.

Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops stressed the difference Colvin makes for the Sooners’ defense. In the postgame press confer-ence Saturday, Stoops said Colvin’s leadership and presence is what the team missed in the second half.

The fact that Colvin will play the Tulsa game with his nagging tooth injury is a nice consolation to the quarterback drama that engulfs the Sooners at this moment.

Plus, it gives Colvin a game under his belt with his new tooth so he can make any further adjust-ments against the Fighting Irish on Sept. 28, in South Bend, Ind.

Anyway, during the West Virginia game red-shirt sophomore Cortez Johnson filled in for Colvin. This was Johnson’s first ac-tion after his suspension in the season-opener against

Louisiana-Monroe. Johnson filled Colvin’s

shoes relatively well. The Mountaineers took mul-tiple shots Johnson’s way but never prevailed. The Sooners defense held their own without Colvin and probably could hold their own without him against Tulsa.

However, since Colvin is the defensive leader, it’s best he is present on the field this Saturday.

The Sooners defense has allowed seven points through two games this season, which is surpris-ing seeing how last season ended giving up at least 40 points in three of the last four games.

Look for the Sooners defense to pick up where it left off on Saturday with Colvin leading the charge.

Sam Hoffman is a journalism junior and sports columnist at The Daily.

Sam [email protected]

sports columnist

plAYEr proFilEaaron ColvinYear: Senior

Position: Cornerback

Statistics: Led the Sooners with four interceptions and 11 pass breakups in 2012

“Split my back tooth... #painful”

twEEt From AAron colvin, ou cornErbAck, AFtEr hE crAckEd his tooth AgAinst

wEst virginiA

6 • � ursday, September 12, 2013 INSIDE THE HUDDLE � ursday, September 12, 2013 • 7

BATTLEFOR

DATE SCORE WHO WON SCORE OU RANKING SEPT. 3, 2011 47 SOONERS 14 1

SEPT. 19, 2009 45 SOONERS 0 12

SEPT. 21, 2007 62 SOONERS 21 4SEPT. 10, 2005 31 SOONERS 15 18AUG. 30, 2002 37 SOONERS 0 1NOV. 3, 2001 58 SOONERS 0 3

SEPT. 28, 1996 24 GOLDEN HURRICANES 31 UNRANKEDSEPT. 25, 1993 41 SOONERS 20 10SEPT. 22, 1990 52 SOONERS 10 11

SEPT. 26, 1987 65 SOONERS 0 1

SEPT. 24, 1983 28 SOONERS 18 8

SEPT. 22, 1979 49 SOONERS 13 3

OCT. 16, 1943 6 GOLDEN HURRICANES 20 UNRANKED

OCT. 3, 1942 0 GOLDEN HURRICANES 23 10OCT. 29, 1938 28 SOONERS 6 UNRANKEDSEPT. 25, 1937 7 GOLDEN HURRICANES 19 UNRANKEDSEPT. 26, 1936 0 TIE 0 UNRANKED

OCT. 7, 1933 6 GOLDEN HURRICANES 20 UNRANKED

OCT. 1, 1932 7 SOONERS 0 UNRANKED

DEC. 12, 1931 20 SOONERS 7 UNRANKEDOCT. 11, 1919 0 GOLDEN HURRICANES 27 UNRANKED

NOV. 24, 1917 80 SOONERS 0 UNRANKEDOCT. 14, 1916 0 GOLDEN HURRICANES 16 UNRANKEDNOV. 6, 1915 14 SOONERS 13 UNRANKED

NOV. 30, 1914 26 SOONERS 7 UNRANKED

on to say. “It’s a normal sight to see on the street. But if a Lamborghini drives up, that’s a phenomenal ex-perience. That’s something that you’re going to talk about, that’s something you’re going to be amazed by.”

But Tapper wasn’t a foot-ball player. He played for the first time in his junior year of high school but only because friends and family convinced him too. He was still a basketball guy with cleats on his feet. And it was what Robinson saw on the court that convinced him to talk to Tapper.

“ W h a t I s a w w a s a k i d b e a t i n g 5 - f o o t - 8 ,

130-pound guards up and down the court,” Robinson said. “Hustling, getting put backs, getting rebounds — he had a motor on the court that was really unseen. I

knew right then and there it would translate to being a football player.”

Thus, the work began to transform an undersized, hoop-playing center into a pigskin pass rusher that would have coaches sal-ivating at the prospect of coaching him.

The 2011 U.S. Army All-American combine in San Antonio was where Tapper made a name for himself. He was a sight to see. He was a Lamborghini.

“ H e j u s t b l e w u p ,” Robinson said. “He went from nobody to overnight every scout in the country knew he was. What I loved about Charles was he still

didn’t know what he was doing, but he was hav-ing fun and relying on his athleticism.”

Assistant head and cor-nerback coach Bobby Jack Wright, who was OU’s de-fensive end coach at the time, noticed Tapper. After that, the Baltimore baller was on Oklahoma’s football radar. A scholarship offer quickly followed.

The offer from Oklahoma surprised Robinson and Tapper, Robinson said, but why wouldn’t it? No mat-ter how good Tapper had looked, he was raw and inexperienced.

8 • Thursday, September 12, 2013 inside the huddle

feature

Hooper makes transition from hardwood to gridiron


OU defensive end Charles Tapper (91) pressures Louisiana-Monroe senior quarterback Kolton Browning during the Sooners’ 34-0 win against the Warhawks on Aug. 31 at Oklahoma-Memorial Stadium. Tapper has started both games this season at defensive end for the Sooners.

Joe MussattoAssistant Sports Editor

It all started at McDonalds with a couple of cars.

It was a moment that des-tined sophomore defensive end Charles Tapper to hang up the high-tops and the reason why the Oklahoma football program should be grateful for the advice of Next Level Nation co-owner Cory Robinson.

The past two Saturdays, S o o n e r f a n s h av e s e e n Ta p p e r a s a r e l e n t l e s s rusher off the edge. The Ba l t i m o re nat i v e ha s a motor that never stops, the physical presence of a man far beyond his age and the personality of a guy you would want to have lunch with.

That’s just what Robinson did. And that lunch is the reason why Tapper calls a field — and not a court — home.

The two men had met through Robinson’s cous-in, Carlton Carrington, the basketball coach of Nike Baltimore Elite, a high-pro-file area AAU squad. Tapper was a 6-foot-4 center on Carrington’s team. Sure, the big man had skills, but in-adequate height to play the position was clearly work-ing against him.

So, Carrington decided to place a call to his cousin. He told Robinson of Tapper, a junior at the time, and his unheard of athleticism, his unmatched energy and his amiable personality.

T h e s e a r e a l l t h i n g s Robinson looks for as the co-owner of Next L evel

Nation. The company pro-vides a roadmap to success for student athletes as they make their way from high school to college football.

And on Tapper’s map, the road began at the Golden Arches.

“ W e w e r e s i t t i n g i n M c D o n a l d ’ s , a n d [Robinson] told me, ‘You can either drive a Honda Accord or a Lamborghini,’” Tapper said. “I asked him what he meant, and he said I could keep play-ing basketball and drive a Honda Accord, or I could play fo otbal l and dr ive a L a m b o r g h i n i . I s a i d , ‘Shoot, I wanna drive a Lamborghini.’”

The metaphor settled it for Tapper. And nearly three years removed from the conversation, Robinson re-members it just as well.

“Figuratively, I used the terms, but when you’re talking to a 17-year-old young man, you want to say things that are relevant to help him understand what you’re really trying to say,” Robinson said.

“If you’re driving a Honda Accord, there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s a normal thing to do,” he went

PLAYER PROFILECharles tapperyear: Sophomore

Position: Defensive end

statistics: In two games, Tapper has recorded eight solo tackels.

“... He said I could keep playing

basketball and drive a Honda Accord, or I could play

football and drive a Lamborghini. I said, ‘Shoot, I want to drive a Lamborghini.’”

ChARLES TAPPER, OU dEFEnSIvE End

Sophomore end relies upon superb athleticism

See taPPer page 9

Julia NelsoNSports Editor

The quarterbacks aren’t the only ones affected by the lack of passing game in Norman.

In fact, senior wide receiver Jalen Saunders might be missing the air-raid attack more than anyone.

He’s established himself as the team’s best receiv-er — there’s no debating that. But if a team is only passing 21 times in a game, he’s not going to get very many touches.

So far, his production has suffered as a result this season. Last season, he averaged 16.6 yards per catch. Through the Sooners first two games, Saunders is averaging just under 13 yards per catch. That’s a pretty significant drop.

Redshirt fresh-man-quarterback Trevor Knight’s knee injury isn’t doing Saunders any fa-vors. Knight and Saunders have great on-field chem-istry, but we don’t know how the dynamic will change once junior Blake Bell takes the starting po-sition this week.

The quarterback dilem-ma can’t be a good envi-ronment for a receiver. The relationship between quarterbacks and receiv-ers is one of the most im-portant ones on the entire


T w o g a m e s i n t o t h e Sooners 2013 campaign, 8 5 , 0 0 0 f i l l t h e s e a t s a t O k l a h o m a M e m o r i a l Stadium, and not one could be surprised that No. 91 was offered that coveted scholarship.

Tapper has started both games at defensive end for the Sooners and recorded eight tackles. The motor is still running as fast as ever, and all say Tapper isn’t close to realizing his poten-tial. Heck, he’s still learning the game of football.

“Charles has a chance to be one of the guys that we are used to having around here,” coach Bob Stoops said of his young star. “We have had a lot of good ones, and he is on par as a young guy. He’s as good as any of them. We just have to keep bringing him along as he works hard.”

R o b i n s o n , w h o s a y s Ta p p e r i s l i k e a b ro t h -er to him, doesn’t know how good the sophomore could end up being. One day he might actually end up driving a Lamborghini, Robinson said with a laugh.

“For Charles Tapper, I believe that the sky is the limit,” Robinson said. “But Charles is like a baby, just beginning, and that ’s a scary thing to say about a kid playing for a historic program like Oklahoma. He’s just at the tip of his potential.”

That doesn’t keep Tapper from thinking big: 15 sacks on the season is his goal — not bad for a basketball

tapper: Despite inexperience, d-end has limitless potentialContinued from page 1

player. But now Tapper is just

as comfortable with grass under him as he was on the hardwood, and don’t think for a second he’s lost his game.

“Of course, I still play bas-ketball,” he said. “Well, not right now. I probably won’t unti the end of the season, around January. It’s not a rule, I just want to take it upon myself that I have a lot to learn on the football field.

“I miss it a lot, but if I can’t play basketball, I might as well take that anger out on somebody.”

It sounds as though he’s catching on.

Joe Mussatto [email protected]

BY THE NUMBERStapper at the 2011 U.S. army all-american Combine

6-3 Tapper measured a

height of 6-foot-3.

227 Tapper weighed

in at 227 pounds, 34 pounds less than his current weight.

31.5 Tapper’s vertical

jump in inches.

Source: Rivals.com


Senior receiver Jalen Saunders hurdles a pair of West Virginia defenders before crashing to the turf during the Sooners’ 16-7 win against the Mountaineers on Saturday at Oklahoma-Memorial Stadium.

OU wideouts hamstrung by poor passing

team. With the inconsisten-cy under center, it’s hard to stay stable.

Even further, Knight has yet to put his receivers in the best positions to make plays. Off-the-mark throws, turnovers and inconsistency have plagued Knight and left the coaches reluctant to put the ball in the air at all.

The introduction of the read option already meant receivers would be blocking more, but when the Sooners run the ball 60 times a game, it leads to even more block-ing by the receiving corps.

This isn’t the land of the air-raid offense anymore, I get that. Times change,

trends change, football changes. It’s becoming a mobile quarterbacks world. Just don’t let your lead re-ceiver fall by the wayside as your team pursues greener pastures.

After all, this is Saunders’ senior season. Listed at 5-foot-9, he’s going to need a solid year in production to have any chance at getting drafted.

Saunders said his goal for the season was to have a touchdown catch every game. Two games and that goal already is unrealized. He went without a touch-down against West Virginia.

That’s no fault of his own,

there wasn’t a quarterback available to throw him the ball once he got in the inzone. He’s there, ready to make plays, but he can’t do it on his own.

Maybe a new quarter-back will emerge and give Saunders the passing game he deserves. And maybe one won’t.

A true test of Saunders’ capabilities will be what happens if the air game doesn’t get going.

Julia Nelson, [email protected]

analySiS

Sooners’ receivers affected by sub-par quarterback play

10 • � ursday, September 12, 2013 INSIDE THE HUDDLE

RUNNING BACK BY COMMITTEEIt’s been awhile since

Oklahoma’s had this kind of dominance in

the run game. The Sooners have

rushed for over 300 yards in each of their first two games. If they have anoth-er successful day on the

ground, it will be the first time since 1988 Oklahoma has rushed for 300 yards three times in a row.

Just think about that for a second.

Three consecutive 300-yard games for the first time in 25 years. That’s before the days of for-mer Sooners Demarco Murray, Adrian Peterson or Quentin Griffin. All have played well in the NFL, but their alma mater is topping their run production.

Senior running backs Brennan Clay, Damien Williams and Roy Finch are doing more for the

Sooners’ ground game than some of Oklahoma’s greats.

Granted, they’re run-ning a committee-style ap-proach and have the bene-fit of a mobile quarterback, but still, Clay amounted for almost half of the Sooners’ rush yards against West Virginia.

It’s pretty impressive for a guy who didn’t make a significant impact for OU until late last season.

Part of the run game’s success stems from neces-sity. The quarterbacks sim-ply aren’t getting it done through the air. But it also

stems from the hot hand. Clay was having a lot

of success against West Virginia running off-tackle, so why mess with a good thing? If he’s going to pop off a 10-plus yard run every couple of snaps, it only makes sense to put the ball in his hands.

Clay might have had the hot hand, but Williams also shared the wealth. He rushed for almost 100 yards against West Virginia.

Williams and Clay are currently both listed as starters on the depth chart. Clay started the first two

games, but Williams saw action soon after the first snap.

Finch has seen playing time, but it’s been sig-nificantly less than that of Williams or Clay. He promised to make a bigger impact this season, but the jury’s still out on Finch. It’s unclear whether coaches have just been playing the hot hand or if bad prac-tice habits die hard for the senior.

The running back trio is aided by the mo-bile quarterbacks too. Against Louisiana-Monroe redshirt freshman

quarterback Trevor Knight was the team’s leading rusher. Knight added another 42 against West Virginia.

The run game is alive and well in Norman, that’s for sure. How long it can thrive if the passing game continues to suffer though, is a different story.

Julia Nelson is a journalism senior and sports editor at The Daily. You can follow her on Twitter at @julianelson33

Julia [email protected]

SPORTS EDITOR

The Sooners’ potent ground game has been accomplished with the help of ...

The quarterback sit-uation in Norman is more unstable

now than it has been at any point in the Bob Stoops era. Neither redshirt freshman quarterback Trevor Knight nor junior Blake Bell has looked comfortable air-ing it out, and as a result, Oklahoma sits at 110th in the nation in passing yards.

But that’s about all OU (2-0, 1-0 Big 12) can com-plain about.

Compared to the strug-gles several Big 12 teams have endured early this season, Sooner fans should be far from disappointed in their team.

Against Louisiana-Monroe and West Virginia, the defense’s early play has been superb compared to what the unit did a year ago. The Sooners have allowed just one score and have


Justin HaywortH/tHe associated press

Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads yells at an official about a Northern Iowa player whose helmet had came off on the previous play during the first half of Iowa State’s season-opening loss to Northern Iowa on Aug. 31 in Ames. Only five undefeated teams remain in the Big 12.

column

Big 12’s struggles bode well for Sooners

Joe [email protected]

ASSIStANt SPORtS edItOR forced five turnovers on the season.

And on offense, when the passing game has failed to produce, the OU run game is averaging more than 300 per contest. Senior Brennan Clay rushed for a career high, 188 yards, last Saturday against the Mountaineers.

It hasn’t been smooth for the Sooners so far, but in the wide-open Big 12 con-ference, five teams have al-ready been dealt a loss. And for some of those squads, the loss isn’t the worst thing to happen.

Here are a few tales of travails so far in the conference:

Mack Brown’s seat isn’t getting any cooler at Texas, and following the Longhorn’s lopsided loss at BYU on Saturday, the coach fired defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.

TCU, one of the presea-son favorites to win the league, dropped it’s opener in a tough game against LSU, and on Saturday, starting quarterback Casey Pachall had surgery on his non-throwing arm and is expected to miss eight weeks.

Kansas State won a share of the Big 12 title last season, but the Wildcats couldn’t beat FCS power North Dakota State in its opening game of the sea-son. Coach Bill Snyder’s quarterback situation isn’t any better than OU’s.

The FCS struck again when Northern Iowa out-lasted in-state foe, Iowa State in week one. After not playing last week, the

Cyclones will be looking for a win against Iowa on Saturday.

Other news around the Big 12 even for a couple of squads that haven’t lost isn’t any better.

Kansas is still Kansas, but hopes this year it can avoid coach Charlie Weis’ “pile of crap” label.

And Oklahoma State is the subject of a new multi-layer story Sports

Illustrated broke titled, “Dirty Game”. The re-port will be broken down into five segments: The Money, which came out on Tuesday, The Academics, The Drugs, The Sex and The Fallout. Not good news for coach Mike Gundy’s Cowboys.

But in Norman, no loss-es, no major injuries and no coaching casualties have helped the Sooners

avoid negative limelight. No, as of now the

Sooners don’t have a prov-en quarterback, but things could be worse, a lot worse.

Just ask the rest of the Big 12.

Joe Mussatto is a journalism sophomore and assistant sports editor at The Daily. You can follow him on Twitter at @Joe_Mussatto

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12 • Thursday, September 12, 2013 InsIde the huddle

The Daily’s Sports Desk 2013 Pick ’em Challenge

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WEEK THREE

SEASON RECORD 5-5 7-3 8-2 6-4 8-2

No. 1 Alabama at No. 6 Texas A&M

Vanderbilt atNo. 13 South Carolina

No. 25 Ole Miss atTexas

No. 24 TCU atTexas Tech

Tulsa atNo. 14 Oklahoma

Alabama

Texas

Oklahoma

TCU

OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma OklahomaOklahoma

South Carolina

Texas A&M

South Carolina

Ole Miss

TCU

Alabama

Texas

Texas Tech

South Carolina

Alabama

South Carolina

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TCU

Alabama

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Thursday, September 12, 2013