If someone were to say that five weeks into the college football season OU would be 2-2 heading into conference play, that person would be laughed at.
It may be a shock, but the Sooners right now are a .500 team and hopes of a national championship are very slim. Players and coaches know what they have to do; they need to get back on track.
OU now heads into conference play where it looks to regroup this week against Baylor. The Sooners recognized the mistakes they made against Miami last week and look to correct them with solid play this week.
“We are not used to playing like that,” linebacker Travis Lewis said. “We are not used to lowering our standards and last week was our worst defensive performance of the season.”
OU has a good chance to get a win this week against Baylor. Currently, Baylor’s starting quarterback Robert Griffin is out with injury.
On the other hand, the Sooners could possibly get back their starting quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Sam Bradford this week.
Bradford’s return would be a huge morale boost for the team and would be a beneficial for Bradford to get one game in before the taking on Texas Oct. 17.
For the Sooners to get back on track they need someone to step up on the offensive end.
With the injury to wide receiver Ryan Broyles, other up and coming receivers such as Brandon Caleb will have to make big plays through the air to balance out the running game.
Just as importantly the Sooners need to get back on track on the defensive side of the ball. Missed tackles and not getting third down stops hurt OU against Miami last week and was why they lost the game.
The Sooners will have to correct those mistakes against Baylor.
“If you put your head down (when tackling) you are going to miss a guy,” said defensive coordinator Brent Venables. “We have to be better next game.”
Even though the Sooners are 2-2 on the season they are 0-0 in Big 12 play, and even though a national championship might be out of the picture there is still something to play for. This week the Sooners need to get back on track with solid overall play against Baylor, and then prepare for their toughest opponent in the Big 12, Texas.
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