What We Learned vs. ULM

NORMAN ? There's no telling exactly what the Oklahoma football team learned from a 59-17 demolition of ULM in its home opener Saturday night.

If nothing else, a record crowd of 87,037 ? the largest gathering ever to witness a sporting event in Oklahoma ? had an opportunity to sharpen their arithmetic skills as the Sooners amassed monstrous numbers in the first half.

244 yards passing + 215 yards rushing = 459 total yards ? 44 plays = 10.4 yards per play
Six touchdown drives required a combined nine minutes and 54 seconds, which breaks down to 99 seconds per scoring drive.

All before halftime.

Then again, what can you ascertain against a team coming off a two-win season? The Sooners took a 42-0 lead with the aforementioned numbers while holding the Warhawks to 145 total yards.

Backups played the entire second half for the OU offense and nearly the entire second half on defense. After struggling on both sides in the third quarter, the reserves eventually calmed down and essentially managed a second-half draw ? 17-17 on the scoreboard and 205-181 in total yards in ULM's favor.

As for OU's opponents so far this season, it's been the best of teams and the worst of teams. The Sooners went from playing a team that potentially could go unbeaten during the regular season to playing a team that is predicted to finish with more losses than wins.

The elevator returns to the penthouse next Saturday when No. 3 Ohio State visits Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for a 6:30 p.m. contest.

"I was pleased overall with our execution in the first half... Some of the things we didn't do so well the week before."
? Head coach Bob Stoops

Despite the mismatch against the Warhawks, OU coaches and players said they were able to glean something from the experience.

Sooners coach Bob Stoops had a laundry list of priorities following his team's 33-23 season-opening loss at Houston one week earlier. "I understand levels of competition."?Stoops said after upping his record to 17-1 in home openers Saturday night. "I was pleased overall with our execution in the first half, controlling some of the things we can control, and that's being smart with penalties, playing clean, playing smart, blocking the right people, being in the right positions on defense, taking care of the football ... keeping it tight. Some of the things we didn't do so well the week before."

OU had one turnover and four penalties for 30 yards.

The Sooners have learned from their losses ever since Stoops arrived. They haven't lost back-to-back regular season games since he arrived in 1999 and have now won 35 straight in the regular season after a loss.

Saturday night seemed particularly pleasing to OU offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, who was highly critical of himself after the Houston loss. "I was just happy with how our guys responded," Riley said when asked how he gauged the first-half domination against the Warhawks. "We all were incredibly disappointed with our performance in the second half last week (148 total yards on 37 plays), and we've got to make improvement. Whether we had won the game in Houston or not, you've got to make jumps if you're going to be where you want to be at the end of the season and have a chance to play in some really meaningful games. Our group made a really good jump this week. They responded to all the things we put forth."

Riley admitted coaching the offense "incredibly aggressive" during practice leading up to the home opener. "He just kind of pushed the tempo and the intensity," junior quarterback Baker Mayfield said of Riley. "We had to get better and make improvements from the get-go and move on, kind of forget about last week, just make the changes we needed to make the next step."

"Whether we had won the game in Houston or not, you've got to make jumps if you're going to be where you want to be at the end of the season."
? Offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley

Mayfield was sacked five times at Houston and admittedly struggled with his decision-making, but he was far more decisive against ULM. Mayfield completed 14 of 20 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns in the first half prior to being benched in favor of true freshman Austin Kendall, who completed 12 of 15 passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns while earning high praise from his head coach. "I thought Austin Kendall was excellent," Stoops said.

Stoops said his decision to sit Mayfield the entire second half, "As much as anything, (was about) keeping Baker healthy in the situation we're in. Austin is a true freshman and needs to play or, as much as anything, getting him quality snaps, and he got them and will grow from them. That was the biggest issue."

Defensively, the Sooners could be credited with a quasi-shutout given the 42-0 halftime score before a gaggle of backups took the field. Of ULM's 205 yards after intermission, 116 came on touchdown passes of 73 and 43 yards.

"We went in with a limited package today just so we could let our players play and execute," OU defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. "Overall, I feel great for all the players who got the opportunity to play. I think we will learn from those mistakes."

No matter the quality of opponent or the outcome through the first two weeks, Mike Stoops said he knows precisely what he has defensively. "For me personally, in my eyes, I know what we need to get better at, regardless of the opponent ? whether it was Houston or Louisiana Monroe," Stoops said. "I don't need either one of those games. I see it every day (in practice), the areas we need to improve on, things that work for our players and adjusting our scheme to fit our players and that's coaching, too."

So in that regard, the Sooners learned what they already knew with Saturday night's convincing victory.