Last weekend’s game against Cincinnati featured plenty of strengths. Redshirt freshmen Ryan Broyles and Travis Lewis were both pleasant surprises, and the no-huddle seems to be picking up speed.

But it wasn’t all sunshine and puppies for the Sooners.

Clearly, the most pressing issue that needs to be resolved is OU’s kick coverage. Virtually every time Cincinnati return man Mardy Gilyard touched the ball, he seemed poised to break a huge play. OU special teams routinely missed several tackles and allowed Gilyard to blow past them for a huge gain.

Bob Stoops claimed he didn’t think the special teams’ performance was anything to worry about, but I have to imagine he grilled everyone on the kick coverage team this whole week.

It would surprise me if we see more glaring holes in the kick coverage teams this week, but if we do it could mean it is a serious problem. Special teams is often overlooked, but it has the potential to make or break a team’s season.

Beyond special teams play, there were also some notable problems on defense, again revolving around Gilyard. I don’t claim to have watched game tape, but it seemed to me that Gilyard was regularly beating Lendy Holmes. Holmes always seemed to be a few steps behind.

Perhaps he just happened to repeatedly be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but if he was having trouble with coverage that could be another problem, especially against Washington quarterback Jake Locker this week.

Locker is by far the best player OU has faced thus far, and could be the best quarterback the Sooners play all year — depending on which Colt McCoy shows up for OU-Texas.

Locker has the capability of picking a defense apart, and this young secondary will have its hands full. He has yet to throw an interception, so the secondary can’t count on getting a gift in the endzone like it got against Cincinnati.

Locker also loves to run, which will force OU’s young linebackers to stay disciplined and pay attention. If they collapse toward the line of scrimmage to keep Locker from scrambling, he’ll gun one over their heads. If they turn around in coverage, Locker will take off for a big gain.

Locker is the Huskies’ leading passer and rusher, and essentially is what makes their offense tick.

He should present some unique challenges, which could be a good thing for such a young OU defense. With so many new starters, it is key that they acclimate themselves to quality opponents.

I wouldn’t expect the final score of this weekend’s game to be particularly close, but it will be important to see if the Sooners can fix some of the problems that presented themselves against Cincinnati. Stoops is a great coach, so I have faith the same mistakes won’t be made again.

— Corey DeMoss is the sports editor and a journalism senior.