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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners Look to Regroup After TCU Loss
September 04, 2005 | Football
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- By eliminating Adrian Peterson, TCU made Oklahoma look nothing like a team that was ranked seventh in the country and had been to back-to-back BCS title games. Instead, the Sooners were just plain ordinary.
After setting an NCAA record with 1,925 rushing yards as a freshman, Peterson ran for only 63 yards in Oklahoma's 17-10 loss to the Horned Frogs on Saturday. On only one drive did he resemble the Heisman Trophy runner-up from a year ago.
"We didn't care if he was Adrian Peterson or not," TCU defensive end Tommy Blake said. "Whoever was running the ball, we just planned to stop the run and make them pass the ball."
TCU held Oklahoma below 100 yards rushing for only the second time in its last 14 games, and quarterbacks Paul Thompson and Rhett Bomar were unable to keep the Frogs off Peterson's back. Bomar said the Frogs blitzed often and played eight men in the box with a priority on stopping the run.
O-Zone Coverage
Oklahoma Post-Game Press Conference
Oklahoma-TCU Game Highlights
Coach Stoops with Sooner Sports Radio Network
Coach Stoops Answers Questions from Media
Coach Venables on the Defensive Effort
Coach Long on the Offensive Struggles
Rhett Bomar on Mistakes That Lost Opener
Paul Thompson Expresses Disappointment
Clint Ingram on the Season Opener
Davin Joseph on Team Pulling Together
"We didn't take advantage of that and beat them deep passing the ball," Bomar said. "That kind of killed us."
Thompson, who beat out Bomar for the starting job, threw for 109 yards on 11-for-26 passing and had one interception and one fumble. He was noticeably off target several times, including on the opening play of the game. After faking a handoff to Peterson, Thompson overthrew Travis Wilson as he streaked wide open on a post pattern down the left hash. Wilson laid out to try to make the catch, but it still sailed over his outstretched arms.
Bomar started strong with a 28-yard run on his first snap, but didn't fare much better overall. He was 2-for-5 for 19 yards and also fumbled to set up TCU's winning score.
Fingers could be pointed elsewhere, too. In addition to the ineffective quarterbacks, coach Bob Stoops said the Sooners didn't run the ball consistently and didn't protect the passer. He also questioned the team's toughness and attitude.
Defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek said the defense gave up big plays at inopportune times and had players out of position.
"We never got tough, and we never had the attitude we needed to win," said Dvoracek, one of the team's four captains.
The offensive line, which lost three starters from last season and had starting right tackle Akim Millington surprisingly quit five days before the opener, received a lot of criticism. Of Peterson's 22 carries, he didn't get past the line of scrimmage on eight. Despite being held to the second-lowest rushing total of his career, Peterson wasn't prepared to criticize his front line.
"Our guys are still learning. This is their first time playing together," Peterson said. "As the season progresses, they're going to be good."
Davin Joseph, who moved from right guard to left tackle in the offseason, said execution -- and not attitude -- was the Sooners' main flaw.
"I think there's a lot of small things we have to improve on," Joseph said. "We have to catch the ball. We have to make conversions. We have to get yards on first down.
"We have to do a lot of the small things to make us a good team. That's something we used to be good at in the past, and that's something we have to dedicate ourselves to in the future."
Joseph said players needed to be willing to put in extra time and make the adjustments necessary to make the team better. Thompson said it might help for some players to get angry about the loss, but that can't be all that they do.
"Mad isn't going to do much," Thompson said. "You've got to study harder. You've got to be more physical and have a lot more determination, a lot more focus. Try to beat the guy in front of you every play."
None of the Sooners were ready to call the team a lost cause.
"We still have a chance of attaining a lot of our goals," Joseph said. "We still have a chance to win the conference and possibly be in a BCS bowl.
"We might be behind the eight ball right now, but we're nowhere near a losing team."
After setting an NCAA record with 1,925 rushing yards as a freshman, Peterson ran for only 63 yards in Oklahoma's 17-10 loss to the Horned Frogs on Saturday. On only one drive did he resemble the Heisman Trophy runner-up from a year ago.
"We didn't care if he was Adrian Peterson or not," TCU defensive end Tommy Blake said. "Whoever was running the ball, we just planned to stop the run and make them pass the ball."
TCU held Oklahoma below 100 yards rushing for only the second time in its last 14 games, and quarterbacks Paul Thompson and Rhett Bomar were unable to keep the Frogs off Peterson's back. Bomar said the Frogs blitzed often and played eight men in the box with a priority on stopping the run.
O-Zone Coverage
Oklahoma Post-Game Press Conference Oklahoma-TCU Game Highlights Coach Stoops with Sooner Sports Radio Network Coach Stoops Answers Questions from Media Coach Venables on the Defensive Effort Coach Long on the Offensive Struggles Rhett Bomar on Mistakes That Lost Opener Paul Thompson Expresses Disappointment Clint Ingram on the Season Opener Davin Joseph on Team Pulling Together"We didn't take advantage of that and beat them deep passing the ball," Bomar said. "That kind of killed us."
Thompson, who beat out Bomar for the starting job, threw for 109 yards on 11-for-26 passing and had one interception and one fumble. He was noticeably off target several times, including on the opening play of the game. After faking a handoff to Peterson, Thompson overthrew Travis Wilson as he streaked wide open on a post pattern down the left hash. Wilson laid out to try to make the catch, but it still sailed over his outstretched arms.
Bomar started strong with a 28-yard run on his first snap, but didn't fare much better overall. He was 2-for-5 for 19 yards and also fumbled to set up TCU's winning score.
Fingers could be pointed elsewhere, too. In addition to the ineffective quarterbacks, coach Bob Stoops said the Sooners didn't run the ball consistently and didn't protect the passer. He also questioned the team's toughness and attitude.
Defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek said the defense gave up big plays at inopportune times and had players out of position.
"We never got tough, and we never had the attitude we needed to win," said Dvoracek, one of the team's four captains.
The offensive line, which lost three starters from last season and had starting right tackle Akim Millington surprisingly quit five days before the opener, received a lot of criticism. Of Peterson's 22 carries, he didn't get past the line of scrimmage on eight. Despite being held to the second-lowest rushing total of his career, Peterson wasn't prepared to criticize his front line.
"Our guys are still learning. This is their first time playing together," Peterson said. "As the season progresses, they're going to be good."
Davin Joseph, who moved from right guard to left tackle in the offseason, said execution -- and not attitude -- was the Sooners' main flaw.
"I think there's a lot of small things we have to improve on," Joseph said. "We have to catch the ball. We have to make conversions. We have to get yards on first down.
"We have to do a lot of the small things to make us a good team. That's something we used to be good at in the past, and that's something we have to dedicate ourselves to in the future."
Joseph said players needed to be willing to put in extra time and make the adjustments necessary to make the team better. Thompson said it might help for some players to get angry about the loss, but that can't be all that they do.
"Mad isn't going to do much," Thompson said. "You've got to study harder. You've got to be more physical and have a lot more determination, a lot more focus. Try to beat the guy in front of you every play."
None of the Sooners were ready to call the team a lost cause.
"We still have a chance of attaining a lot of our goals," Joseph said. "We still have a chance to win the conference and possibly be in a BCS bowl.
"We might be behind the eight ball right now, but we're nowhere near a losing team."
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