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David Stanley Ford

OU football: Sticking to game plan key in stopping Tebow

By Jake trotter    Comments Comment on this article19
Published: December 27, 2008

Wondering how Oklahoma plans to defend Tim Tebow and the Florida offense?


Tim Tebow hands off during the second quarter of the University of Florida versus the University of Hawaii game Saturday, August 30, 2008 on Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. ( Brandon Kruse/The Gainesville Sun )

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Well, it may not be all that dissimilar from how teams used to defend Barry Switzer’s wishbone offenses.

"A lot of what they do, you see it, it’s basically almost like running the wishbone,” Sooner coach Bob Stoops said. "Tim Tebow is the quarterback, they motion guys in and they’re running the zone read, the option off of it.”

The emphasis for the Sooner defenders in preparation for Florida will be reading their keys and sticking to their assignments.

"You’ve got to account for, just like the days of defending the wishbone, they’re going to run the veer inside, he’s going to pull the ball and then the quarterback is going to have it with the blocker in front of him or a guy to pitch to,” Stoops said. "You’ve got to be disciplined when you defend them.”

Easier said than done.

The Gators have scored like Switzer’s offense used to, ranking third nationally in scoring at 45 points per game.

By Jake Trotter

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David Stanley Ford





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BOB has won big games before! Whose to say he cant win this one. You win some, you lose some.... And the Sooners win this one 38-30! Boomer Sooner!
cooter and joe SUX!, duncan - Dec 28, 2008 at 8:25 am
As far as OU losing to Texas, Texas was ranked just a little bit higher than Mississippi, and Dallas is no more neutral than West Berlin was in East Germany, before the wall came down. Everything North of the Red River is Oklahoma home turf, everything South is Enemy territory as far as I'm concerned.
KEITH, North Charleston - Dec 28, 2008 at 8:06 am
Have yet to hear any gator fans explain to me how lowly Mississippi beat Florida in the Swamp with all that home field advantage. How Superman Tebow couldn't run 1 yard on 4th down, etc ..... All I hear are crickets in the Swamp. Do the gators have lock jaw on the anwer for this? OU fans would like to hear the expaination.
KEITH, North Charleston - Dec 28, 2008 at 8:02 am
I agree with Danney. The greatest offensive machine in the history of college football is not going up against the greatest defense. The matchup leans way towards OU, no matter how you slice it. The media just loves Tebow and is still trying to stifle OU's success because of the poor post-season performances of late.
Shepard, Stonewall - Dec 28, 2008 at 7:49 am
I'd like to remind Florida Gator fans that Clown College is still in Florida and that I think it must be part of Univ. of Florida and not Florida State. I think Bozo and Pee Wee Herman were both Florida Grads.
KEITH, North Charleston - Dec 28, 2008 at 5:17 am
It will be a good game and OU will win, period! Oklahoma Sooners 2008 National Champs!
Jeff, Tulsa - Dec 27, 2008 at 7:22 pm
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Look, Superman is good, real good, but he is SLOW. If there is a chance in winning, you have to stop him. If not, game over.
john, fort myers - Dec 27, 2008 at 6:36 pm
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OU has not a chance to beat Tebow and the Gators. Might as well give up now and just not show up. The Gators are super human and our little team will get killed. The Big 12 has never seen an off or def. like the Gators have. Poor us!
Robert, Denver - Dec 27, 2008 at 6:23 pm
This game is a mystery because the teams now days do not play many quality opponents outside of their conference. This will be a great game. O. U. has lost the last 4 bowl games. Part of the problem is they played teams that a probably as good or better than any they faced in the big 12. The tendancy of the fans is to favor our local teams. We tend to exaggerate their ability. We fans love to argue and that is the fun of it. It will all come down to game day and not the person that wins the verbal debate.
David, Ponca City - Dec 27, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Obviously Mississippi wasn't intimidated that day in the Swamp. I have yet to have a gator fan explain that game and why Tebow couldn't get a 4th and 1. All I hear are the crickets in the swamp on that subject. Gators must have lock jaw when I ask that question.
KEITH, North Charleston - Dec 27, 2008 at 5:05 pm
What all the experts (including those at the DOK that have mancrushes on Tebow) fail to remember is that OU has already faced the kind of offense that Tebow runs. We beat OSU, MU, KU and Baylor who ran basically the same thing and one might argue that Zack Robinson is just as good of an athlete as Tebow.

On defense, OU already slaughtered the #2 defense in TCU. Not to mention that no one in the SEC runs the no huddle or has the speed or talent that OU has. I live in SEC land and I am here to tell you that FU ain't all that.
steve, nicholasville - Dec 27, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Danney, I hear what you are saying. The talking heads at ESPN are saying "give FLorida month to prepare and they are going to figure this OU offense out" Yeah, well I take just the opposite approach by saying give Wilson and the o a month and they will figure out out to exploit a defense. I just hope the offense maintained its conditioning over the break to make the no huddle as affective as possible. ABout the debate raging about SEC offenses and defenses. One line of logic is the reason why the offenses were so poor was the fact the defenses were so good. But that lends to the thought that perhaps the offenses were so bad that the defenses looked better than they really are. All I know is that stats don't mean squat when the bowl season hits. Too many teams that should win (ask us OU fans about this one) don't and vice versa. I think the key is OU has got to jump on them early. The "kicked in the nuts" shock factor, ala OU vs USC, I think will be devastating for Florida, especially if Tebow gets frustrated. But one thing that is for certain there is no quit in Florida, they will have to be reckoned with for four quarters. OU wins this one if they are ahead at halftime.
Richard, Visalia - Dec 27, 2008 at 11:07 am
Oh I can only hope the same defense that showed up against Texas Tech, decides to make an appearance Jan. 8. If by chance they do then Florida is in for a long game. Defense shows up to play, 62 - 14 OU! #8 on the 8th for '08
David, Oklahoma City - Dec 27, 2008 at 10:45 am
Keith, well put. There will be a "shock" factor involved that the Gators will to weather if OU scores quick, as they have on this run. The OU defense has been verbally challenged and I feel will play as well as they did against Texas Tech, or probably better.

OU rolls!!..
Jim, Fort Worth - Dec 27, 2008 at 9:33 am
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OU offense has to help Florida with turnovers and 3 and outs for them to win. Stop Tebow running and passing, Florida is dead in the water. Watching the no huddle on film isn't playing it. You may be lucky to guess what's coming, but in the end the mismatches are fatal. The last 6 team's defensive coordinators knew what their defenses had to do, but failed to stop OU. Texas most likely wouldn't be able to stop this offense now. This isn't the same offense on that October day. Toe to toe offensively Florida does not want a shootout track meet. OU will run them off the field. Any lead OU gets > 10 points is too steep a hill even for Tebow to climb. OU defense really doesn't have to force Florida into turnovers. 3 and outs would do the trick. OU only has to play their game. Florida can't hold the ball long enough to keep OU from scoring. OU has to help Florida, but Florida doesn't necessarily have to return the favor.
KEITH, North Charleston - Dec 27, 2008 at 8:30 am
F**k Tim Tebow
Hank, Norman - Dec 27, 2008 at 7:45 am
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What kind of player is the Flordia right defensive end?
tom, Lawton - Dec 27, 2008 at 3:03 am
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Everyone is so concerned with Tim Tebow and the flordia d,'OU hasn't seen an defense like this all year.' WHile this might be true and im not taking away from those things, but why is everyone ignoring the white elephant in the room? OU has the greatest offense in the history of College Football! Florida played a bunch of pathetic offensive teams all year long in the SEC, they have never seen an attack so greatly directed by Sammy B, ever. They should be afraid, they should be saying 'How can be slow the OU offense?" If they do a great job and hold OU to only half of its scoring average thats still over 30 points! I'm not predicting OU hanging 60+ but florida is going to have to score atleast 6 touchdowns to stay in this game. The sec is so great at defense becasue out of 12 teams, only 2 have a decent qb (Tebow, Stafford!) I'm sorry, I would be willing to say that the state of OK has better quality quarterbacks than the entire SEC (Bradford, Robinson and David Johnson!)
Danney, Oklahoma City - Dec 27, 2008 at 2:01 am

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