OU football ready to ‘flush’ loss to Texas, fix ‘the little details’ plaguing offense

NORMAN — With questions swirling around OU football following another inept offensive performance in last Saturday’s 34-3 loss to Texas, the Sooners showed up Monday aiming to put the rivalry game past them.

The team held a players only meeting Sunday and there was a sense of urgency during practice Monday to respond positively. By all accounts, they did just that and head coach Brent Venables and a handful of players made it clear following practice there is belief in the locker room that OU still has a lot to play for this season.

“We talked about this prior to the game,” Venables said during his weekly coaches show, “regardless of the outcome, Monday is coming and we’re going to have to flush the game and learn from it.”

The Sooners registered 237 total yards and didn’t score a touchdown in the blowout loss to their arch rivals. Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. tossed for 148 yards but seemed hesitant to push the ball down the field once OU fell behind.

The Sooners have gained 20-plus yards on 3.4% of their offensive plays this season, the third-worst percentage among Power 4 offenses over the past decade, according to TruMedia. The offense has a lot to learn from before South Carolina rolls into town.

“It’s the little details that (offensive coordinator Seth Littrell) has been talking about the whole season since fall camp,” Barnes said.

OU isn’t backing down to the challenge of righting the ship against South Carolina at 11:45 a.m. Saturday in Norman on SEC Network.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to have courage,” Venables said. “True courage is giving it all you’ve got, regardless of the outcome. You put everything you’ve got into it.

“ … Don’t be one foot in, one foot out.”

More: Inside Kirk Herbstreit’s 2,000-mile journey from ESPN ‘College GameDay’ to OU-Texas

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ou-football-ready-flush-loss-030756976.html

Author : The Oklahoman

Publish date : 2024-10-15 03:07:56

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