Questions & Answers

Published: October 30, 2006

Coffman ran between two Oklahoma defenders — Lendy Holmes and Darien Williams. None of the coaches said which player busted his assignment, but both were biting on a receiver screen play, which Missouri has used well this season.

"They're so good at running their screens," OU coach Bob Stoops said. "They ran the old fake your screen and run the wheel. We bit on it. You get lucky. We got lucky on that one for sure."

True freshman Trent Williams played well in his debut, and redshirt freshman Brian Simmons played well as a reserve at both guard spots.

Simmons entered for Duke Robinson, who suffered a minor injury in the third quarter. Later, when Brandon Walker came out, also with a minor injury, Robinson returned and Simmons flipped to the other side.

Overall, the line held up well. Quarterback Paul Thompson was sacked only once and rarely pressured. And the Sooners logged their highest rushing total of the season with 231 yards.

Many fans were surprised by the absence of Brown, who came out of redshirt last week against Colorado to be the Sooners' third-string tailback.

Add offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson to that list.

Wilson said Brown had a good week of practice and was prepared to play.

Running backs coach Cale Gundy manages the use of the tailbacks during the game

"In the flow of the game, I guess he felt good about the two guys he had in there. And they both played OK," Wilson said.

Wilson added that Gundy is one of the best coaches on the staff at judging when a player is tired or needs to come out. Also, the situation — a close game on the road — might have led to the youngster being held out.

"Maybe us as coaches were being a little cautious, I guess," Wilson said.

More than anything, it's been his hard work on the practice field.

Chaney began to see meaningful playing time against Texas on Oct. 7 and caught his first career touchdown Saturday at Missouri.

"He's a talented guy who's been inconsistent," Wilson said. "But about five or six weeks ago, we started saying, ‘You're practicing well, keep doing it.'

"When it's not going good, you've got to make it good. I'm proud of the way he kept battling through adversity."