'That win-loss column doesn’t care about your feelings': Isaiah Thomas, Sooners defense emphasizing team effort after sloppy win

Isaiah Thomas treats every game like it’s the Big 12 Championship.

It’s a mindset the redshirt senior said he’s adopted from Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley. In fact, that’s an attitude Riley aims to instill in his entire team. However, during OU’s 40-35 win over Tulane, Thomas doesn’t believe his team had that mindset.

As the Sooners took a 37-14 lead into halftime, Thomas said some of his teammates looked ready to go home. This resulted in the Green Wave going on a 21-3 run to end the game. 

“I think the biggest thing that stood out was inconsistency,” Thomas said of Oklahoma’s performance. “We started off shaky and ramped up quickly and showed what we’re capable of. At the end, we didn’t finish the way we wanted to. And I say that just comes from effort. Not from us not knowing what our jobs are, but simply effort. Myself included. I gotta do a better job, man. And this week, that's been heavily emphasized.”

Tulane ended the game with 396 yards of offense and was 4-of-6 on fourth down conversions. Quarterback Michael Pratt finished 27-of-44 passing with 296 yards and three touchdowns. The Sooners forced three takeaways and came away with a game-winning fourth down stop, but Thomas and company believe OU didn’t play to its standard. Going forward, they’ll look to make their season-opener a footnote as the year progresses.

Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch played 31 different players against the Green Wave. Rotating extensively is a tactic Grinch has become known for  during his three seasons at OU, and it’s done so he gets the most out of his defense.

However, Grinch thinks the Sooners left a lot of opportunities on the field against Tulane, and thus left a lot to Grinch’s desire. 

“In the second half, watching the scoreboard to dictate your performance is a slippery slope on every side of it,” Grinch said on Tuesday. “I certainly think the film suggests we’re guilty of (that). Our history suggests we’re guilty of that, at times, which isn’t a proud moment for a coach to say that.

“What the film shows, beyond that, and including that, is execution wasn’t what I believe we’re capable of doing… I believe our execution should be better. The film suggests that things we’ve been repping for eight months, we weren’t able to execute on Saturday.”

In addition to OU’s lackluster performance in the second half, the limited-capacity crowd at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial significantly dwindled after halftime. Thomas said that didn’t help his team’s energy, but it’s something the Sooners shouldn’t focus on.

“In-between those white lines, we can only control what we can control,” Thomas said. “When it comes to adversity, we’re going to face it. We just got to handle it.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve been in every situation possible. From being down 25 and winning to being up 25 and losing. … At the end of the day, that win-loss column doesn’t care about your feelings.”  

Oklahoma’s next three home games — Western Carolina on Sept. 11, Nebraska on Sept. 18 and West Virginia on Sept. 25 — have been sold out, per a release from the athletic department on Wednesday. 

Thomas finished Saturday’s game with three tackles, one for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. Sophomore defensive end Reggie Grimes started over Thomas on Saturday, which many speculate was due to Thomas’ June 13 arrest for driving while impaired. Nevertheless, Thomas is viewed as one of OU’s top defensive leaders, and is only expected to improve his game this season.

The Tulsa native started all 11 games for the Sooners last season, where he led the team with 8.5 sacks en route to being selected to the All-Big 12 second team.

“I have (very) high expectations for him, probably even more than what he thinks,” sophomore defensive back Key Lawrence said. “He knows that the whole defense, the whole team as well, has a very high standard for him because of the level, the energy and motor he plays (with).”