NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -Oklahoma left tackle Trent Williams’ mind was racing out of control. His mighty Sooners were losing again, down by 11 in the second half at Miami.
“I’m not used to playing from behind,” said Williams, an NFL prospect who was making his 30th college start last weekend. “Coming from a winning high school and then being here, we’ve won a lot.
“When we get behind in a game, my mind just starts going 100 miles an hour and I kind of let that get to me a little bit and just kind of – not hang my head, but when people look at me, they need to see encouragement and I wasn’t showing that.”
Without three of their top offensive playmakers, including Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford, the No. 19 Sooners (2-2) have become all too accustomed this season to the pitfalls of close games. A pair of 1-point losses to BYU and Miami have wiped away all the good from blowout wins against Idaho State and Tulsa in a season of extremes for Oklahoma.
The Sooners have handled prosperity with ease, outscoring opponents 109-0 in their two wins, but they haven’t been able to respond to adversity.
ach Bob Stoops refuses to chalk up the early season defeats to the loss of Bradford (shoulder) and his top two pass-catchers, tight end Jermaine Gresham (knee) and Ryan Broyles (shoulder blade). Instead, he’s calling on his players to eliminate the bad habits they were able to get away with when the offense was scoring an NCAA record for points last season.
“We’ve got to be more disciplined and efficient in all these areas that maybe in the past, when you’re putting up 60, you can overcome it,” Stoops said. “But now, that isn’t the case and we have got to be more just focused in all of the little areas and make plays that we’re capable of making when we’re in position to make them.”
The reality is that those high-scoring days may be hard to duplicate if the Sooners’ stars are missing or not at full strength. Rather than winning games by an average margin of 26.6 points like last season, down-to-the-wire struggles like the ones against BYU and Miami may be the norm.
“We’re going to be in a lot of close games, and we’ve got to fight, scratch and claw until the very end to win,” receivers coach Jay Norvell said. “That’s the mentality we’re trying to build in our guys, and we’re not quite there yet.”
deficit in last year’s 61-41 win at then-No. 11 Oklahoma State.
“With the team last year, we were killing everybody almost and scoring 50-plus points all the time,” said center Ben Habern, one of four new starters on the offensive line. “Just this year with the different team and the different players, it’s something that we’ve got to adjust to and we’ve got to get used to.”
In each of their two losses this season, the Sooners have needed a late stand by a defense that hasn’t been hit by injuries.
BYU put together a 16-play drive to score the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter, and Miami ran out the final 4 minutes with ease to keep Oklahoma from getting a chance at a go-ahead score.
“We have a saying on the sideline: `It might be on us.’ Last year was a little different being up sometimes and at halftime by 30 and 40 points. That hasn’t been the case this year,” safety Sam Proctor said. “We’ve been put in some situations where the defense had to make some stops and make some big plays to set up some points. We’re just trying to accept that challenge every week.”
Williams said he feels it’s his place as one of the remaining veterans on offense to become a more vocal leader, but he doesn’t feel that’s appropriate until he sets an example on the field. As he watched the film of the loss at Miami, he noticed the bad body language that accompanied his lackluster play.
ink that my mind, I’m worrying about too many things that I can’t control,” Williams said. “I’ve just got to play harder and take care of my assignment.”
Regardless of their mind set, the Sooners have learned twice that the difference between winning and losing can be one big play or one key mistake – no matter who is on the field.
“There’s plenty of leadership. In the end, it’s still that guys have to be able to produce it and compete,” Stoops said. “Whether someone yells at them or not isn’t going to make them compete or not. Either guys do or they don’t.”
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