Sooners' Full Focus is on Ball State

NORMAN, Okla. -- Coach Stoops and Oklahoma players met with the media Tuesday in advance of this week's game against Ball State. The Sooners and Cardinals kick off at 6 p.m. (CT) on Owen Field. A limited number of tickets are still available, and the game will be televised on a pay-per-view basis.

For complete coverage throughout the week, details on attending the game and broadcast options for following from around the world, visit Sooner Gameday Central.

Head Coach Bob Stoops

Opening comments:
"Recapping game last week's game against Missouri, it was the first conference game of the year so it was good to win that game and I believe Missouri is an excellent football team that is going to go on to have an excellent year. It was good and pleasing to win.

"Offensively, Landry Jones throws for 450 yards and three touchdowns. He is pretty special. He knows there are some things he needs to do as he moves forward, but it was still a great night. Ryan Broyles had around 150 yards, 13 catches and three touchdowns. It was another special day for him. Dominique Whaley and the run game were there for parts of the night, but at other times the run game was a little inconsistent. I credit this to Missouri though, they are a physical team. Dominique had seven big plays and 10 knockdowns. That's most we have had from a running back. Dominique Whaley and Ryan Broyles were our co-offensive players of the game. Jaz Reynolds and Dejuan Miller really stepped up which is not too surprising. I knew they would both play well. They had good springs, good summers and hopefully they will just continue to build on what they did last week. Michael Hunnicutt was our special teams player of the game. He really came in at the middle of the week and hit the ball well. His field goal and extra-point kicks were very solid.

"Defensively we started off we some bad coverage. They beat us early and we made some adjustments. We were able to get some different coverages and play really well up until the last two drives. It was disappointing, but the middle part of the game to be up by 17 points in the fourth quarter meant we were doing a lot of things right. I was just disappointed that we didn't finish the game the way we had been playing throughout the middle half of the game. One guy that really played great was Frank Alexander. He has really had three fantastic games in a row. He is getting in there and being really disruptive. Demontre Hurst had another great night also. He was good about covering people and getting to a deep ball. Frank Alexander and Demontre Hurst were our defensive players of the game. Jamarkus McFarland, Ronnell Lewis, Travis Lewis and David King also played well.

"It was a good solid win and we are anxious to hopefully make some improvement here through the week and play Ball State here this weekend."

On Dominique Whaley:
"His (physical testing) numbers are very similar to Adrian Peterson. He is a powerful guy. We will see where it goes from here, but we are very excited about the things he has been doing. We hope that he continues to do what he is doing. He is not on scholarship at this point. In our eyes Dominique is a starter, but so is Brennan Clay."

On filling the hole on the offensive line without Ben Habern:
"We will be moving Gabe Ikard over to center. He is a very smart player and he is snapping well. We will have to bring some other guys along like Adam Shead or maybe Bronson Irwin to fill those holes. They will have the chance to get more snaps and more work. There is even the possibility of getting Jarvis Jones in there at the guard spot on occasion. Ben will be back. He is a great, strong leader. He hasn't been able to be around, but he will be."

On the defensive disappointments:
"The way the defense played on the last two drives really bothered me. We got some bad positions. You want to play better technique than that, but Missouri is going to make some plays. They are a good football team and will put yards up on everybody. I just felt we settled in and played really well toward the middle of the game. Our defense was finally able to get game control, but then we didn't finish sharp. That shouldn't happen with our defense. Missouri is going to make their plays. They have a lot very good players and they are a good team. Hopefully this was a wake up call for them."

On overall teams play:
"Just last week we really weren't as sharp as we normally are. In practices we didn't look the way we normally do. For whatever reason that was the case during practice and it carried over into the game. If we are going to have any kind of year here our players are going to need to focus on making improvements each week. Those better teams that we've had in the past were anxious to make improvements each and every week. They were always pushing themselves to be better. It's a long road and the good teams get better. We didn't perform maybe up to our standards, but Missouri is a good team and they made their share of plays. We will see if we can't make some improvement."

Junior DE David King

On hangover from Florida State's physicality carried into Missouri game:
"I hate to say it, but I think there was a little bit. We were so amped up about going down there and beating Florida State and then we just came back and went through the motions, and it showed on Saturday."

On approach going into Ball State game after facing Missouri:
"We're approaching it like any other game. We can't go in there with the wrong mindset, that's how they beat you. But, we're not going to hold anything back. If anything, we're picking it up based on how we played last week."

On being No. 2 in the AP poll:
"It really doesn't matter. But, if you look at the way they've (LSU) played, they're a pretty good ball club. I mean, it is what it is. I don't care as long as we're number one at the end of January 9."

On the defense against Missouri:
"I was happy with the way we played in the second and third quarters, but in the first and fourth quarters, defensively we were awful. I don't think anybody was happy about that. We just have to go back and look at film and do all the little things that count."

On Ball State:
"They're pretty solid. Their offense works well together and they don't make many mistakes with their zone blocking and stuff. Their quarterback is pretty accurate and he puts it right on their receivers. We have to get to him and cause some kind of disruption. Their receivers catch everything, so it's going to be a big challenge."

Sophomore WR Jaz Reynolds

On contributing to the offense:
"It feels good to be back. There was a whole maturing process that I had to go through last year. Being back on the field for the first time in a year and a half is a good feeling. Everyone had confidence in me, I just felt like I had to get back out there and get the coaches trust again."

On gaining the coach's trust and getting back to this point as a player:
"I just had to do a lot of hard work in the weight room, go to class, make sure my grades were up, and basically work hard to get all the guys trust and Landry's trust. Also, to get all the older guys to help me work harder."

On having two receivers out for the Missouri game:
"We have a lot of experience with Trey (Franks), Dejuan (Miller), Kenny (Stills), Ryan (Broyles) and myself. We have all played before and know what it is like to be out there. The experience really showed on Saturday how we just stay poised and didn't really panic because Kenny (Stills) went down."

On playing in the slot now:
"It is just about knowing the offense. The year I took off, I was just focused on learning the whole offense and I learned the slot as well. Now, Ryan (Broyle) can go to the outside and be more of a threat from the outside instead of the slot."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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