Sooners staying balanced
OU football
OU succeeds with run, pass

By Scott Wright

Published: November 15, 2006

NORMAN — In the last two weeks, the Oklahoma offense has accounted for 363 rushing yards and 348 passing yards.

Almost perfect balance, which the coaches speak so highly of.

How the Sooners achieved that balance is the interesting part — 39 passing yards against Texas A&M and 309 through the air against Texas Tech.

While those numbers don't say much for balance, they speak strongly to the Sooners' ability to do what they need to do to move the ball, score points and win games.

Coach Bob Stoops found the uneven numbers at Texas A&M to be a little troubling — not too troubling, considering the Sooners won.

"We got away from the balance that we've been so good at," Stoops said of the 39 passing yards, OU's lowest total in his eight seasons.

"I'm not second-guessing what we did. We won a good football game away from home in a different style. But we're capable of throwing the football well."

That comment came after the Texas Tech victory in which quarterback Paul Thompson — with the third- and fourth-string tailbacks playing because of injuries — completed 24 of 31 passes and had his first career 300-yard passing game.

Some of the success goes back to the coaching cliché of "taking what the defense gives."

More than that, in the last two weeks, the Sooners have been put in a situation where they've had to succeed at times with a one-dimensional style. They've done it.

Texas A&M backed out of its usual run-stopping defensive scheme and often dropped five players into pass coverage. The Sooners ran and won.

Texas Tech's strong defensive front virtually eliminated the OU run game early. The Sooners fell behind by 14 points, went to the air and came back to win, despite rushing for a season-low 139 yards.

"We always want to have a mix," OU passing game and co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin said. "But if a defense has said ‘We're gonna take this away today,' then we have to be proficient enough in what we're doing to be successful, either running or passing the ball."

Maybe the Red Raiders were set on stopping the run. Maybe they wanted to pressure the backup running backs. Maybe they wanted to see if Thompson could beat them without a running attack to bail him out.

"After the A&M game, some people might have believed our passing game is pretty much dead," Thompson said. "(The Texas Tech) game shows, as well as previous games, you just can't focus in on one thing. We're definitely two-dimensional, and that's gonna help us, as far as making big plays offensively."

Following a 39-yard passing game with a 300-yard game should squelch any negative representation of the Sooners in the recruiting world as well.

For the Sooners to develop an image of a run-heavy offense wouldn't help them land a top-tier passer.

And Thompson, despite his three completions in 12 attempts, isn't convinced the OU passing attack couldn't have been more useful at Kyle Field.

"We still could have thrown it against A&M," Thompson said. "The way the game went, what they were giving us with the high safeties, we ran the ball and had more of a running mindset.

"We could have thrown on them."

Thompson sees similarities in the defensive schemes of Texas A&M and Baylor, and he doesn't plan on another 39-yard day.

"We're going to have the same mindset we had last week. We want an even, balanced attack," Thompson said. "The plays that we have in are going to take advantage of some of their weaknesses.

"There's little things that we need to take care of and try to get further ahead in these games instead of making them as close as they are."