NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson knows Sooners fans see things pretty much black or white.
The same coach lauded for putting together Oklahoma’s no-huddle machine that racked up an NCAA-record 716 points last season has taken the brunt of the criticism for a scuffling offense that’s been unable to overcome a series of injuries to Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford and other playmakers this season.
“No matter what I call, if we execute it, good. It’s a good call. If we execute it poorly, it’s a stupid call,” Wilson said. “Trust me. The most critical guy of me is me. Always has been.”
Wilson has the support of the only man that matters, coach Bob Stoops. The boss of the 19th-ranked Sooners (2-2) called it “ridiculous” to suggest that Wilson put together a game plan that was too conservative in a 21-20 loss at Miami on Saturday night that most likely eliminated the chances of a second straight trip to the BCS championship game.
a bunch of those plays throughout the game,” Stoops said. “They don’t look as good when they’re defended well or you get a holding call out on the perimeter on the same play and you get minus-10.”
Oklahoma went into the game without Bradford and star tight end Jermaine Gresham, then lost top receiver Ryan Broyles to a broken shoulder blade in the first half. Wilson said the loss of Broyles, who had six touchdown catches in his previous two games, cut into the game plan. His 37-yard reception on Oklahoma’s opening drive was the team’s longest pass play of the game.
“You saw the last couple weeks, we tried to get the ball in Ryan’s hands,” Wilson said. “When that happened, we lost a smidge of some stuff we had oiled up – not that the other guys can’t do but we had a couple things we thought to really take advantage of him.”
Broyles’ injury presents even more problems for the Sooners while he’s out the next two to four weeks. The rest of the receiving corps is mostly unproven, featuring several highly rated recruits who have yet to pan out.
The top-rated prospect from last year’s recruiting class, Josh Jarboe, was kicked off the team and transferred to Troy. The Sooners had also pursued Julio Jones, who made a signing-day decision to stay close to home and play for Alabama.
es’ replacement. Receivers coach Jay Norvell said tailback DeMarco Murray could also play there Saturday against Baylor (3-1).
Murray had a season-high 23 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown against Miami.
“DeMarco’s played out there and he can play out there as well, and we will use him out there a little bit,” Norvell said. “He has a role. He’s been out there before, so we can definitely use him some out there.”
Personnel issues aside, Wilson thinks the main reason his team’s scoring average has dropped from 51.1 points last season to 35.5 this season is that the Sooners have been handcuffing themselves.
“That was my concern – not concerned with play-calling but we didn’t get ball stretched down the field enough,” Wilson said. “Not that we need to throw bombs all the time, but I felt like we played in a phone booth, that we allowed them to crowd up on us and in our preparation, we didn’t get enough shots up. … Whether we make those plays or not, maybe that opens up a little bit more of your run game and underneath stuff.”
Stoops pointed out that Oklahoma ended up with not only one less point than Miami, but just one fewer yard than the Hurricanes in the game. He also defended a pair of running plays called on third-and-long, saying that they were aimed at creating manageable fourth-down situations. Instead, the Sooners’ drives stalled after tailbacks were tackled behind the line of scrimmage.
“When those calls work well, those are good calls,” Wilson said. “And when you don’t execute and have some of the blunders that we did, you look like a buffoon.”
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