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JEFF LATZKE
Associated Press
NORMAN, Okla. - Look who's back atop the Big 12 in total defense. Yep, it's that same team that was dead last only a few weeks ago.
And what a time for a resurgence.
Even without running back Adrian Peterson, expected to miss the rest of the regular season with a broken collarbone, Oklahoma put together its second dominant performance of the season on defense Saturday in a 24-3 win over Colorado.
The Sooners (5-2, 2-1 Big 12), who moved up one spot to No. 19 in the AP poll Sunday, held the Buffaloes to a season-low 113 yards of total offense and gave up only five first downs to claim the top mark among Big 12 defenses. At 266.7 yards per game, Oklahoma ranks 11th in the nation in total defense.
It's been a remarkable turnaround over the past four games. After giving up 501 yards in a 34-33 loss at Oregon on Sept. 16, the Sooners ranked last in the league in total defense. No opponent has reached 250 yards against Oklahoma since then.
"We're playing better," said linebacker Rufus Alexander, who led the Sooners with 11 tackles Saturday. "You can say we're putting it together. I'd just say everybody's starting to do their jobs."
Early on, missing tackles and giving up big plays seemed to be the norm for a defense that was missing Dusty Dvoracek's interior muscle and Clint Ingram's playmaking ability. Now, those days seem to be behind the Sooners.
"They're playing well," coach Bob Stoops said. "The communication's better, our adjustments were really sound and we didn't have those plays where ... regardless of who you're playing you give something up because of your positioning."
Defensive coordinator Brent Venables said the improvement has come as the Sooners have placed a bigger emphasis on practicing their top defense against their top offense instead of against scout-team players.
"Any time you do a lot of that work, you get more technique work," Venables said. "When you go against scouts, you can develop a lot of lazy habits because you can beat a scout without having good technique and you get led into false security."
Venables said the arrangement compares to two-a-days.
"There's no question I think it's made us better in the basics of the game," he said.
Oklahoma spent the first few weeks trying to find the right combination in its secondary, eventually moving Reggie Smith from cornerback to strong safety. Marcus Walker and Lendy Holmes have proven steady at corner, and the coverage was solid against Colorado even with Smith limited by an injury.
"The first few games we went out there and were just focused on not messing up," said linebacker Zach Latimer, who had his second interception of the season against the Buffaloes.
Now, Stoops is talking about getting "greedy" because he was disappointed that his defense gave up a 22-yard pass on third-and-19 in the fourth quarter. Cody Crawford's nice catch against two defenders accounted for almost one-fifth of the Buffaloes' offense.
"I think before everybody was trying to do too much and getting frustrated. Now everybody's starting to have fun and just do their assignments," Alexander said.
The defense's progress will be tested in the upcoming stretch. The Sooners' next three opponents - Missouri, Texas A&M and Texas Tech - are among the top 20 teams in the nation in total offense.
"The common denominator is they've all got really good quarterbacks that are managing the game the right way for them," Venables said. "So it's going to be a huge challenge."
JEFF LATZKE
Associated Press
NORMAN, Okla. - Look who's back atop the Big 12 in total defense. Yep, it's that same team that was dead last only a few weeks ago.
And what a time for a resurgence.
Even without running back Adrian Peterson, expected to miss the rest of the regular season with a broken collarbone, Oklahoma put together its second dominant performance of the season on defense Saturday in a 24-3 win over Colorado.
The Sooners (5-2, 2-1 Big 12), who moved up one spot to No. 19 in the AP poll Sunday, held the Buffaloes to a season-low 113 yards of total offense and gave up only five first downs to claim the top mark among Big 12 defenses. At 266.7 yards per game, Oklahoma ranks 11th in the nation in total defense.
It's been a remarkable turnaround over the past four games. After giving up 501 yards in a 34-33 loss at Oregon on Sept. 16, the Sooners ranked last in the league in total defense. No opponent has reached 250 yards against Oklahoma since then.
"We're playing better," said linebacker Rufus Alexander, who led the Sooners with 11 tackles Saturday. "You can say we're putting it together. I'd just say everybody's starting to do their jobs."
Early on, missing tackles and giving up big plays seemed to be the norm for a defense that was missing Dusty Dvoracek's interior muscle and Clint Ingram's playmaking ability. Now, those days seem to be behind the Sooners.
"They're playing well," coach Bob Stoops said. "The communication's better, our adjustments were really sound and we didn't have those plays where ... regardless of who you're playing you give something up because of your positioning."
Defensive coordinator Brent Venables said the improvement has come as the Sooners have placed a bigger emphasis on practicing their top defense against their top offense instead of against scout-team players.
"Any time you do a lot of that work, you get more technique work," Venables said. "When you go against scouts, you can develop a lot of lazy habits because you can beat a scout without having good technique and you get led into false security."
Venables said the arrangement compares to two-a-days.
"There's no question I think it's made us better in the basics of the game," he said.
Oklahoma spent the first few weeks trying to find the right combination in its secondary, eventually moving Reggie Smith from cornerback to strong safety. Marcus Walker and Lendy Holmes have proven steady at corner, and the coverage was solid against Colorado even with Smith limited by an injury.
"The first few games we went out there and were just focused on not messing up," said linebacker Zach Latimer, who had his second interception of the season against the Buffaloes.
Now, Stoops is talking about getting "greedy" because he was disappointed that his defense gave up a 22-yard pass on third-and-19 in the fourth quarter. Cody Crawford's nice catch against two defenders accounted for almost one-fifth of the Buffaloes' offense.
"I think before everybody was trying to do too much and getting frustrated. Now everybody's starting to have fun and just do their assignments," Alexander said.
The defense's progress will be tested in the upcoming stretch. The Sooners' next three opponents - Missouri, Texas A&M and Texas Tech - are among the top 20 teams in the nation in total offense.
"The common denominator is they've all got really good quarterbacks that are managing the game the right way for them," Venables said. "So it's going to be a huge challenge."