College Football...

[dantheman]

Words were unnecessary to deliver the message. A whistle did just fine for Oklahoma offensive line coach Kevin Wilson at practice Monday.
“He emphasized to stay on blocks. Block until the whistle,” said OU right tackle Jammal Brown. “Usually, he doesn’t have a whistle out. Today he did.”
The shrill message to OU’s big men up front was clear: The top-ranked Sooners could have been better running the football in a season-opening 37-3 win against North Texas. And they need to be better in a much tougher setting at 6:47 p.m. Saturday, when they line up against Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“It’ll be a great test Saturday, and we need to be a lot better up front,” said Wilson, also OU’s run game coordinator.
Alabama’s rush defense ranking fourth in the country last year at 80.2 yards per game. The Tide helding South Florida to 51 yards rushing in a 40-17 win last week.
Those numbers don’t bode well for the Sooners if they don’t improve. OU averaged 3.3 yards on 32 carries against North Texas.
More importantly, OU didn’t move the ball on the ground in key situations. On a first-quarter drive, the Sooners had first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. But on first down, Kejuan Jones lost 2 yards and on second down and he got only a yard of it back. On third down, OU gave up on the run, and Jason White passed 3 yards to JeJuan Rankins for a score.
Such ground-game failures from a unit hailed as the best of the Bob Stoops era draw coaches’ ire.
“Our offensive line did not play to its billing,” Stoops said.
The Sooners also failed in another short-yardage situation that stopped a promising drive short of a touchdown on the first possession Saturday.
OU moved to the North Texas 18-yard line after several solid runs by Renaldo Works. But on second-and-2 from the North Texas 18-yard line, Works was held to no gain. On the next play, Jones lost 2 yards. The Sooners settled for a field goal.
“That isn’t good football,” Wilson said.
Early running failures could be blamed on the loss of Quentin Griffin, the super senior tailback from a year ago. But there’s a problem with that argument: Griffin wasn’t part of OU’s short-yardage “jumbo” unit last year. That was Jones’ domain, and he rushed for 14 touchdowns.
“I just kind of think we were a little out of sync,” said Jones, who rushed for 51 yards on 15 carries against North Texas. “At times, we didn’t come off the ball real well.”
Wilson said the goal for called running plays is 4.8 yards per carry, a number derived by studying other championship-caliber teams’ performances. The number doesn’t include quarterback carries. Against North Texas, Sooner running backs had 27 carries for 94 yards — an average of 3.5.
“I just didn’t think we knocked them down and played as physical,” Wilson said of the line. “That was the only thing, is just come off the ball a little bit harder.”
Wilson said North Texas committed to stopping the run, which is one of the reasons White had such a big game passing. OU’s offense took what was offered. But short-yardage failures remained distressing.
“We just felt we should have been more aggressive,” said center Chris Bush. “We should have run it better.”
So, out came the whistle at practice. Linemen stayed on blocks until the shrill.
“Sometimes they tune you out talking,” Wilson said. “So it’s not talking. There’s a way you practice to play well.