OU football notes: Sept. 19, 2011

Defensive front holds own at Florida State

The defense answered a lot of questions about how it could respond in a tough environment on the road Saturday night. While the turnovers and big hits provided the highlights of the game, the defensive front was hard at work making those big plays in the secondary possible.

“The turnovers were just ridiculous,” said junior defensive back Javon Harris, who had two interceptions in the game. “The defensive line played great which helped me get my picks, and overall, we just all played a lot more physical.”

The Sooner defensive front caused six sacks and seven quarterback hurries during the game and made sure that neither Florida State quarterback had time to get comfortable in the pocket.

Senior defensive end Frank Alexander said the game proved how far the defensive line has come from a year ago. Going into this season, the defensive line seemed to be the one question mark on a very solid defense. After two games, the line appears to be up to the challenge.

“It feels good because we talked about it all winter and all through two-a-days,” Alexander said. “Everybody marked off the D-line for being one of the weakest links on the team. We were like ‘we can’t have that,’ so every day we made it a point to come out there and get better. I feel like we did a good job of that in these first two games.”

Sooner lexicon nixes 'revenge'

One of the big talking points going into Saturday’s game was the revenge factor working for Florida State after the ’Noles got beat by 30 last September in Norman.

The Sooners handled the hostile environment well enough. And, now, the 2-0 Sooners have their own chance at revenge when Missouri comes into Norman on Saturday. However, OU players say the Missouri game is business as usual.

“There’s no revenge factor,” Alexander said. “It’s just another game on the schedule that we have to play. So, we’re just going to prepare like we did the last two week and go out there and be ready to play.”

Stoops receives extended contract

Between downing Florida State on Saturday and preparing his team for its upcoming game against the Missouri Tigers, OU coach Bob Stoops apparently has not had much time to pay attention to his contract details.

“Oh, really? I didn’t even realize that,” Stoops said when told the OU Board of Regents had approved a three-year contract extension Monday afternoon.

“That’s great. I appreciate it, and am always grateful for being appreciated. So thankful for it, and I always feel lucky being here.”

Under the new contract extension, which runs through 2018, Stoops is set to receive $34.5 million. As per his previous contract, Stoops will still receive $4.875 million this year.

However, his pay will continue to grow. Over the last three years of his new conttract, Stoops is set to make $5.15 million annually plus bonuses.

Overall, Stoops is receiving a $75,000 bump in his annual salary.

Greg Fewell

Greg is a former staff member of The Oklahoma Daily who worked as Sports Editor, Assistant Sports Editor and Sports Reporter.