Posted: Thursday, July 27, 2006 12:00 am
Oklahoma plans to start faster than it did in 2005; visits Oregon on Sept. 16
By Mike Jones
McClatchy Newspapers
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Oklahoma began last season with an uncharacteristic whimper that by season's end had evolved into the more familiar growl.
An anemic 2-3 after five games, the young Sooners reversed ground to close with a 17-14 Holiday Bowl victory over No. 6 Oregon and finish 8-4. The same teams will play Sept. 16 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
A similar start to the 2006 season is both unexpected and unacceptable, OU senior linebacker Rufus Alexander said Wednesday during the windup of the Big 12 football media days.
"We have big expectations," said Alexander, voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year by the media. "We don't want to be the laughingstock in the nation … (people saying) 'They're a joke because they lost the first game of the season to (this season's first-game opponent, Alabama-Birmingham) or something like that.'
"We have something to prove to ourselves and to our fans, our coaches and our families. We have to show why we're the University of Oklahoma, why we expect greatness. The only reason why we couldn't win all our games is if we didn't prepare mentally or we weren't focused as a team."
OU coach Bob Stoops said a quick start is the key to his program regaining the prominence of championship-game status.
"The bottom line is we need to be better earlier," Stoops said. "And we need to be a more disciplined and tougher football team to start the season. And we've got to be better through the year. We played that way as we got toward the end of (last) year."
There are imposing reasons to believe OU will get out of the gate quickly and resume its leadership in one of college football's toughest divisions, the Big 12 South.
Begin with a young offense that matured last season behind then-redshirt freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar and also saw the emergence of young stars such as rookie receivers Malcolm Kelly and Juaquin Iglesias. Factor in a healthy Adrian Peterson at running back and what is expected to be a more aggressive play-calling system under new chief offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.
Add the potential of a defense that could become a dominant force and mix in the valuable experience gained by a young team that struggled through the early transition period, yet eventually found ways to win while Peterson was sidelined with a high ankle sprain.
"We finished strong last season and in the Holiday Bowl, and that's an experience we can build on, and that's what we're doing," Peterson said. "It could be pretty scary."
Stoops is reservedly optimistic.
"This is a new season," he said. "It all begins again. And so hopefully there's a good number of guys that were young and inexperienced, who gained experience through the year and hopefully (that) will carry over through (this) season. It's early for me to say, but that's what I want to see.
"It's easy to talk about. It's easy for everyone to write about it. (But) you've got to earn it on the field in the way you practice and prepare.
"We'll see if we can do that."