Oklahoma Sooners

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State didn't come after Sooners quarterback Landry Jones in a big way on the opening drive. Jones, however, did have one ugly overthrow to the sidelines and forced another pass deep to James Hanna that was nearly intercepted and got Hanna drilled by Markelle Martin.

Once the Cowboys turned up the blitzes, they worked.

Jones took two huge shots and got planted into the turf and had no time to throw. The result: A three-and-out.

We're still scoreless in Stillwater, but the Cowboys defense has shown up early, and it's clear Jones has noticed. He's 2-of-7 for 11 yards, and Oklahoma State's gotten the best of him so far.

After completing his first two passes, his next five have been incomplete.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma tried using defensive back Javon Harris.

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III and receiver Kendall Wright made it obvious that wasn't going to work earlier in the season. Apparently, neither will using experienced senior Sam Proctor.

Oklahoma's Tony Jefferson, who most often plays a nickel back position, is playing deep safety, something Bob Stoops has said a handful of times he has no intention of doing. Joseph Ibiloye replaced Jefferson underneath at the nickel back.

Jefferson might be Oklahoma's most instinctive defender outside of lineback Travis Lewis, and having him back there could help. Brandon Weeden hit Tracy Moore underneath for a 52-yard gain to set up a touchdown, but so far, Oklahoma's been solid over the top, where the Bears gave the Sooners big trouble.

It's definitely something to keep an eye on.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Sure, it's a rivalry, but it's civil.

Oklahoma's coaches are wearing orange ribbons tonight to remember the four victims of a plane crash last month that included Oklahoma State women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna.

Oklahoma State's offering up a tribute of its own, too, playing at home for the first time since the crash a little over two weeks ago.

The Cowboys have a "4" logo on the back of their helmets to honor the victims.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Tonight's my fourth visit to Boone Pickens Stadium this season, and after a trip to the field, the energy in the crowd is obvious.

It far exceeds anything I've seen this season in Stillwater, and that was 30 minutes before kickoff. The student section started a "Gun-DY Gun-DY!" chant when coach Mike Gundy made his way to the field. The stadium's sides traded a loud, early "Orange Power" chant in pregame, too.

There's a buzz in the air unlike anything we've seen in Stillwater. There's not much Oklahoma crimson in the stands, and the Sooners will be walking into one of their most hyped atmospheres of the season.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- It's not too bad just yet, but a chill could be on the way by the time Bedlam kicks off on Saturday night.

It's expected to dip below freezing with wind chills in the 20s by game time.

It's a bit windy, but nothing like Oklahoma faced last week against Iowa State, when Sooners coach Bob Stoops said winds hit 50-60 miles per hour.

Oklahoma's biggest weakness all season has been the back line of the defense, so testing that could be more difficult if the winds pick up.

Both teams have arrived, though. Oklahoma State just finished with its customary prayer circle before the game and opened with a few dance moves and a lot of energy.

Both of these teams have been waiting for this game for a long time, even if the stakes have been lowered.

There should be plenty of emotion on the field, and we know there will be two great offenses. Should be a great one.

Ivan Maisel and David Ubben preview Bedlam and look at the BCS stakes for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

"College GameDay" looks at the touching way the Box family and University of Oklahoma have chosen to remember the late Austin Box.

Despite losses to Texas Tech and Baylor, the Sooners have a shot at an eighth Big 12 title. But first, they must knock off third-ranked Oklahoma State at Boone Pickens Stadium. Here are five storylines to follow for a Bedlam tilt of top 10 teams:

Landry on the spot
In Stillwater this season, Oklahoma State has scored 61, 37, 70, 59 and 52 points. Chances are, to beat the Cowboys, Oklahoma will have to outscore them. And with Ryan Broyles unable to provide the pop, the pressure is on quarterback Landry Jones to keep the Sooners in the game. Jones outdueled Brandon Weeden to lead the Oklahoma to a shootout victory last season. For the Sooners to win, Jones will need to outgun Weeden again.

Bring the 'Belldozer'
The Blake Bell package has been virtually unstoppable this season. On 33 carries, Bell has rumbled for 11 first downs and nine touchdowns, and fullback Trey Millard has added two rushing touchdowns out of the set. Oklahoma State has had its struggles against power rushing plays, which is why the “Belldozer” could be a game-changer for the Sooners offensively.

Young run guns
With the passing game slipping sans Broyles, the Sooners will be relying on young running backs Roy Finch and Brandon Williams to pick up the slack. Both have played well the last two weeks, averaging a combined 6.2 yards per carry. That kind of production will give the Sooners to hang if this game turns into a shootout.

'Shark' week
OU’s embattled secondary has been gashed by the lesser passing attacks of Texas Tech and Baylor. The “Sharks” have to come to play if the Sooners are to have a chance in this one. The talent is there. The experience is there, too. Time for the “Sharks” to live up to their own preseason hype.

No un-special teams
The Sooners have been surprisingly superb in special teams the last few weeks, but they’ll be facing perhaps the top special teams unit in the nation. The Pokes returned kicks for touchdowns in the teams’ last two meetings and Stillwater, and the Sooners can’t allow Justin Gilbert to run wild on them again. Michael Hunnicutt also needs to continue to nail his field goals, as the Sooners can’t afford to leave any points on the field this game.

After suffering its first loss of the season in its last outing, Oklahoma rebounded with a 82-53 win over Sacramento State at Lloyd Noble Arena on Friday night.

The Sooners never trailed during one of their best performances of the season after falling 83-63 to Saint Louis on Sunday night.

OU shot 31 of 54 from the field (57.4 percent) including 11 of 20 from the three point line (55 percent). The Sooners were just as effective on the defensive end forcing 22 Sacramento State turnovers which lead to 30 of OU’s 82 points.

Player of the Game: Cameron Clark. The sophomore led OU in scoring with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting. He displayed his improved outside touch, hitting 3 of 5 three point attempts while adding three rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and two steals in 26 minutes.

Unsung Hero: Steven Pledger. The Sooners sharp shooter was ridiculously efficient with 15 points on just five field goal attempts. He was 4 of 5 from the field, 3 of 3 from the three point line and 4 of 4 from the free throw line in the victory. He also added a team-high five assists and three steals.

Key Stat: 16. OU’s ball pressure was the difference in the game as the Sooners had 16 steals often leading to easy layups and dunks on the offensive end.

Key Stat, Part II: 22. The Sooners finished with 22 assists on their 31 field goals, meaning only nine buckets were scored without the help of a teammate. A great example of the ball movement this team has displayed all season.

Quotable

“The good thing about this group is they really believe in how important it is to make progress every day. And they’re doing that.” --OU coach Lon Kruger.

“In each of our games we’ve had stretches [of good defense], I thought we had more good stretches, more good minutes tonight.” --Kruger.

“Coach has been saying attack more, I was attacking in practice and that gave me a little more confidence.” --Leading scorer Cam Clark

“We’ll miss Calvin. He was doing a good job for us, but we respect his decision.” --Kruger on Calvin Newell’s decision to transfer closer to home due to family considerations.

“It brings a lot of energy to the crowd, last year we didn’t have many dunks.” --Forward Andrew Fitzgerald on multiple dunks from Clark and Romero Osby.

Because Bedlam has been scheduled back-to-back years at Oklahoma State’s Boone Pickens Stadium, it has allowed OU’s players to be ready for the OSU crowd and atmosphere.

“It’s a tremendous boost,” cornerback Demontre Hurst said about having played in Stillwater in 2010. “Last year I had a lot of fun, but didn’t know what to expect.

“We know how their crowd’s going to be. We have to match their attitude and play with composure.”

Another similarity from 2010 with this weekend is the Cowboys are coming in the higher-ranked team. OU was No. 14, while OSU was No. 10 last season. This season the discrepancy is even more with the third-ranked Cowboys and 10th-ranked Sooners.

“We’re used to being the higher-ranked team, the favorite so this is something different,” safety Sam Proctor said. “I’m kind of liking this underdog role that we’re in. We know what to expect after last year.”

Several Sooners have mentioned the fact they are considered the underdog when Oklahoma visits Boone Pickens Stadium to battle Oklahoma State this weekend.

“We are going into this game as the underdog this year,” offensive lineman Gabe Ikard said. “They’ve been the higher-ranked team this year, we know they aren’t going to be intimidated.”

But in the locker room, underdog is not a word the Sooners use to describe themselves.

“I don’t feel like a underdog at all,” cornerback Demontre Hurst said. “I know what type of team we have. I know we’ve made some mistakes but we have to learn from those losses. Heading into the game this challenge is out there for our defense.”

Oklahoma has named the final two players who will honor Austin Box by wearing his No. 12 jersey without a name on the back.

Box, who would have been a senior, died in May.

Cornerback Jamell Fleming will honor the linebacker by wearing his jersey on Saturday against Oklahoma State when Oklahoma plays for the Big 12 title and a ninth trip to the BCS since the 2000 season.

In the Sooners' bowl game, sophomore safety Tony Jefferson will wear the jersey.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will play for the Big 12 title Saturday night, and you'll see a lot of the talent on the field playing on Sundays in the future.

Steve Muench of Scouts Inc. broke down a few of the matchups between NFL talents we're apt to see during Saturday's game.

You'll need ESPN Insider to see the whole thing and more on each matchup, but here's some of what Muench sees.

Oklahoma QB Landry Jones vs. Oklahoma State S Markelle Martin

It's important that Jones get his rhythm back this week, especially when throwing over the middle.

Martin reads quarterbacks' eyes, is instinctive and closes well when the ball is in the air. He's also shown above-average ball skills and he isn't afraid to jump routes.

Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon vs. Oklahoma CB Jamell Fleming

Fleming doesn't have shutdown cover skills, but he can also hold up in underneath coverage thanks to his speed and fluidity. However, Blackmon's strength will be a distinct advantage in this matchup.

Oklahoma State RT Levy Adcock vs. Oklahoma DE Frank Alexander

Oklahoma State's pass-heavy scheme also puts Alexander in a bit of a catch-22 against the run. He can't simply fly upfield and play the run on the way to the passer, because that will make it easy for Adcock to turn him outside when the Cowboys run the ball.

In terms of the passing game, Adcock can anchor and protect the edge working against Alexander. However, Alexander is relentless and won't give up when he doesn't win with his first move.

Oklahoma State RB Joseph Randle vs. Oklahoma WLB Travis Lewis

Lewis is an effective tackler who locates the ball quickly, takes sound pursuit angles and wraps up on contact. He doesn't stack and shed particularly well, though, so Randle must run with vision and make Lewis fight through blocks when pursuing. Lewis can't afford to start running around blocks in an effort to get to the speedy Randle, either, because he isn't explosive enough to recover if he gets caught out of position.

Good stuff from the scouts. Check out the full story.

Jake Trotter answers readers' questions about Oklahoma football in his mailbag every Friday. Got a question for Jake? Submit it here.

Richard in Mesa, Ariz., writes: Do you feel it might be time for Stoops to stop all the nonsense in regards to media access to players and take names off jerseys and teach this team some humility? Doesn't it seem like the majority of this team, minus Ryan Broyles, Landry Jones and the offensive line, have bought too much into the hype?

Jake Trotter: Stoops actually took the names off jerseys in ’06, and the fans hated it. It seems that whenever OU loses, people search for abstract reasons why. The bottom line is, the Sooners lost to Baylor basically because their safeties couldn’t keep the ball in front of them. And if Blake Bell scores that 2-point conversion at the end of regulation, we’re not having this conversation. Has it been a disappointing season? No question. But if the Sooners win this weekend, they will secure their eighth Big 12 championship. When you compare it to what’s going down at Florida and Ohio State and Penn State and USC, the OU program is in pretty good shape. Yes, provided how many times they danced around it, it’s time the Sooners won another national title. But given the perennial success of the program, wholesale changes would be imprudent.

Kyle in Perry, Okla., writes: How is OU planning to stop Justin Blackmon?

Jake Trotter: I’m not sure the goal is stopping Blackmon, as much as it is slowing Blackmon down. How will the Sooners do that? Getting pressure on quarterback Brandon Weeden would help. Also look for OU to roll ends and linebackers underneath to Blackmon’s side, while also bracketing coverage with a safety over the top. That will make the Sooners more vulnerable in the running game, which is why it’s important for OU to stuff Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith early and often the way Iowa State did.

H. Bick in Dallas writes: What are your thoughts on the Bedlam offensive and defensive line battles? The battle in the trenches seems more intriguing with the loss of Ronnell Lewis for the Sooners.

Jake Trotter: This might be the most experienced and talented offensive line the Cowboys have ever had, and the expected absence of the “Hammer” is huge because it will allow OSU to chip and double team Frank Alexander. But on the other side of the ball, OU’s offensive line should also be able to control the Pokes, give Landry Jones time to throw and Roy Finch and Brandon Williams running lanes. Both offensive lines seem to have the advantage, more reasons why this game figures to turn into a shootout assuming the weather isn’t too bad.

Ned Grassman in Brazoria, Texas, writes: As pitiful as our secondary is, how are we going to stop Oklahoma State? Our offense has become mediocre, too. Can we fix it before Bedlam?

Jake Trotter: “Pitiful” and “mediocre” are harsh adjectives, but you point out obvious areas of concern for the Sooners going into this game. The good news is that the talent is there to beat OSU, on offense and in the secondary. Without Ryan Broyles, this is not the same high-flying offense we saw earlier in the season, meaning the Sooners are going to need to get Roy Finch, Brandon Williams and Blake Bell rolling in the run game to take pressure off Landry Jones and keep the ball out of the hands of OSU’s quick-strike offense. If the secondary can just avoid biting on play-action and make tackles in the open field, it will be fine. All easier written than done. But the Sooners are capable.

Brian O’Bannon in Nashville, Tenn., writes: I have seen Landry Jones seem frustrated on the sideline as Blake Bell enters the game at quarterback in the Belldozer. Do you think this decision by the coaching staff has affected Jones' play at all? Do you think they would still be doing this if Landry's Heisman hopes were still alive?

Jake Trotter: No and Yes. The Belldozer hasn’t affected Jones’ play as much as the loss of receiver Ryan Broyles, and receiver Jaz Reynolds last game. Jones has been adamant the last two weeks that he doesn’t mind coming off the field as long as it helps the team. Bob Stoops doesn’t care about winning Landry Jones the Heisman. He cares about winning games. If the Sooners were 11-0, Jones would be in the Heisman race, Belldozer or not. You are correct, however, in that the Bell has sapped Jones’ touchdown numbers. There’s no doubt if Jones were in the race, that would work to his detriment. Then again, if the Sooners hadn’t been so bad in the red zone earlier in the season, the Belldozer would have never been implemented.

Oklahoma State 41, Oklahoma 35
Thanks to the passing of Landry Jones and the running of Blake Bell, the Sooners go toe-to-toe with the Pokes early. But after withstanding a couple of quick OU scoring strikes to open the third quarter, Brandon Weeden's offense pulls away in the fourth to give the Cowboys their first outright conference title in 63 years.

Pick to click: Frank Alexander does everything he can to keep the Sooners in the game, with two sacks and three tackles for loss. OU loses, but Alexander goes on to capture Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors.
- Jake Trotter

Oklahoma State 38, Oklahoma 35
The Cowboys finally get over the hump thanks to a late turnover by the Sooners which ends a potential game-winning drive. The weather has a impact on OSU as they struggle to make big plays through the air but still make enough plays to pull out the victory. OU leans on its running game to put up points but three turnovers prove costly.

Pick to click: Freshman Brandon Williams flashes the potential that has had Sooners fans drooling all season with one long touchdown run as he secures the first 100-yard game of his OU career.
- Brandon Chatmon

Oklahoma State 31, Oklahoma 22
Weather is going to play a big role in this one as freezing rain that could turn into snow is being expected. In a battle of the running games, it is OSU's Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith that get the best of OU's Roy Finch and Brandon Williams in helping the Cowboys earn a Big 12 championship and their first BCS bowl appearance.

Pick to click: The secondary has heard for the last two weeks about how the "sharks" moniker needs to go away. The group responds with an inspired game. Led by Jamell Fleming, OU's secondary will cause at least two turnovers.
- Bob Przybylo