Without junior defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger to aid the front line, the Sooner defense still overpowered a potent Horned Frogs offense.

It was evident the Sooner defense was ready for anything on TCU’s first play from scrimmage.

Following a 75-yard kickoff return to the OU 11, the Horned Frogs were in a position to tie the game at seven.

TCU ran the ball on first down, but sophomore defensive tackle Gerald McCoy broke through the line and took down the runner for a four-yard loss.

The Horned Frogs went three-and-out and settled for a field goal on what would be their best field position of the game.

“That set the tempo for the night,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. “Hopefully you can build on that for the rest of the night, hopefully in situations like that you can.”

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Football: OU vs. TCU

The Oklahoma Sooners leaped the TCU Horned Frogs Saturday, Sept. 27, 35-10.

The defensive line and linebackers held up to a formidable rushing attack brought on by TCU, a team that was ranked No.1 in the nation in rushing per game with 248.8 yards per contest.

The Sooners allowed only 102 yards, a total of which which the entire defense is immensely proud.

“Well the coaches told us that the goal was 125 yards rushing,” McCoy said. “They said if we held them to less than that it wouldn’t be close.”

And the game wasn’t close, beyond the first five minutes. OU kept putting points on the board while TCU struggled to create offensive production.

“Our guys stayed on top of everything,” Venables said. “And they stayed sound.”

TCU entered the game scoring 43 points per game and managed only one touchdown and one field goal on the night.

The ability of the Sooner defense to prevent fourth-down conversions and create turnovers at opportune situations was key in the victory.

The Frogs were 0-for-3 on fourth down conversions, including one attempt which was in Oklahoma territory.

Instead of settling for a field goal, TCU tested OU’s resilience on fourth down and turned the ball over on downs.

“It all goes into our preparation, and we look at each team,” freshman linebacker Travis Lewis said. “You know we had two weeks to prepare for this team, we were really well prepared, and coach Venables really coached us well for this one.”

Lewis recorded eight tackles, one for a loss, and intercepted a pass at the Oklahoma 14 with 50 seconds to go. OU picked off TCU twice, the other was by junior corner back Brian Jackson.

Jackson got his interception at the Oklahoma five yard line with the Frogs threatening to score in the second half. Due to the defenses’ ability to create turnovers at opportune times, this game was never close.

“We pressured very, very little,” Venables said. “We thought our guys stayed in the pass rush lanes really well... for our guys to get as much pressure as they did and have the quarterback run for his life as many times as he did it’s extremely encouraging.”

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kb8890pl 3 years, 7 months ago

Good article i enjoyed reading it

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