Allen Confident Sooners Will Finish

NORMAN, Okla. -- As the Sooners prepare for their final regular season game at Baylor, the hoopla surrounding the BCS race continues to grow.

Senior linebacker Gayron Allen insists that this team is zeroed in on its motto: Finish. The Sooners want to focus on Baylor and the Big 12 Championship Game before thinking about bowl possibilities.

Allen went out with a bang in his final game at Owen Field. The senior finished with eight tackles, including one for loss, and an interception against the Cornhuskers.

How exciting was it to start against Nebraska?
It was good. It was Senior Day so that was the reason that I was starting off. It felt good though. It was long overdue, I'd been sitting on the sideline and watching. But I've always been ready to go if either Lance (Mitchell) or Rufus (Alexander) went down. So yes, it felt pretty good to start off the game and also have a good game.

You seem to excel against the run. Do you think that had anything to do with your success against Nebraska?
I don't know, it probably could have had something to do with it. I'm good in the run and the pass, but it's basically just what the coaches see and what can help the defense. But I feel pretty good on both.

Talk about Coach Stoops' prediction...
That felt pretty good. I came out Wednesday just doing the same routine, going hard and just trying to get some good looks and get things done. I just happened to get three interceptions in practice and Coach was like 'Oh, you got three of them, you're going to be due for one in the game'. So just being lucky enough -- the ball came to me (against Nebraska). That was pretty neat.

What led up to the interception?
The pick played out pretty well. We were just in a basic defense -- I read the play action and spread in to my drop and he just threw it right to me. Antonio (Perkins) was actually right there cutting off the slant and he was behind it. So, if I hadn't gotten it, he would have.

It seems like Perkins is always around the big play...
(Laughs) He's always around the ball.

Why do you think Nebraska chose to run the ball?
I think they probably just wanted to change it up and come out and try something new and see what kind of success they would have with it.

With the current BCS situation, is winning and going undefeated good enough?
Coach has told us over and over to not even worry about that. We just want to finish up the season strong because we didn't finish last year. Our main goal this season is just to finish -- whether it's BCS or not.

How much of a disappointment would it be to go undefeated and not play for the National Championship?
Of course there would be a little disappointment there. We can't throw the whole season down the drain though. We could still be undefeated, but we would be disappointed because we feel that we can match up with anybody. All that's not going to get us down and draw our focus away from Baylor or the Big 12 Championship.

What offensive threats does Baylor pose?
It's going to be a little different scheme than we faced (against Nebraska) because they are more of an inside zone team. They will throw a little boot in there. They get in the empty and throw motion in there and they will also have a couple of little tricky routes. It's nothing too difficult, like a Texas Tech team. It will just be a little different for us this week, but it shouldn't be too bad.

In hindsight, has it sunken in yet that you have played your final game at Owen Field?
You know what, it kind of did. I was walking the other day and I thought, 'Wow, that was it'. I was on Coach Stoops' show last Sunday and it did kind of sink in when he was asking me how it felt to have been here for five years with this being the last one. So it has kind of sunken in, but it was a great run. It was a great way to go out.

How important for you was it to play so well on Senior Day?
I felt it was important because we seniors wanted to come out and make a statement. We wanted to come out and win our last home game. We did want to play well and for me personally, I wanted to play well because I had something to prove to myself in that I could get it done.

What will be your greatest memory of playing football at Oklahoma?
The camraderie with my teammates. On the field and off the field -- they are great. You couldn't ask for anything more, just joking and being with the guys. That's the thing that I will miss the most, just the camraderie that the team has. We're like brothers. Being here for five years I have gained the best friendships you could ever have.

Any players in particular?
Particularly with my old roommates Darren Stephens and Brandon Shelby. They're probably my two closest friends.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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