November 27, 2021 Issue, Page 4 of 10

Page Text

Sp November 27, 2021 ‘We feel very comfortable with him’: How OU’s Key less“When than 118 yards per game. (Brooks) has played er conference team is allowing Lawrence has become a secondary safety net good, we've played pretty good,” OU head coach Lincoln Riley said. “It'll be important. Justin Martinez, The Okla- once more. shake it off and he’s right back Oklahoma State isn’t known comfortable with him back He and our run game are obvi- homan Fortunately for Sooners, up.” for airing out the football. The there.” ously a big part of what we do.” Lawrence is prepared for the Lawrence returned to the Cowboys only rank seventh in Bank on Brooks NORMAN — Key Lawrence challenge. Brooks’ production is even second unit once Graham and the Big 12 in passing yards per Kennedy Brooks could only more crucial considering Ca- was just waiting to get his foot Lawrence made his first ca- Washington returned, but an- contest (218). be contained for so long. in the door. reer start at cornerback against When the sophomore de- Kansas in Week 8 with Graham other opportunity to fill in pre- But when Oklahoma State running back entered leb quarterback Spencer Sanders lastTheSaturday’s Williams’ recent passing struggles. fensive back transferred from and Woodi Washington out, sented itself last week against does let it fly, he normally tar- game against The freshman quarterback Tennessee to Oklahoma this and he thrived at the new po- Towa State. gets Tay Martin. The 6-foot-3 Towa State on a cold streak. has gone 17-for-36 for 229 past offseason, he found him- sition. He collected a season- Graham exited the game in senior has team-highs of 765 Brooks had failed to record self having to fight for every high seven tackles, includ- the first quarter, and Lawrence receiving yards and six receiv- more than 80 rushing yards in passing yards, one touchdown rep as a member of the second ing two tackles for loss and a finished with a modest three ing touchdowns this season. OU's last three games. and three interceptions in OU's string. forced fumble. tackles, but he sparked the big- Martin presents a challenge ‘That changed against the Cy- last two contests. But that wasn’t a problem “He might be one of the gest play of the day right be- for OU’s secondary, but the ex- clones. “(Brooks) obviously helps for Lawrence, who has since most confident people I've fore halftime. perience Lawrence has gainedBrooks ran for 115 yards on with a young quarterback,” Ri- become a safety net for the ever met,” Graham said of Cyclones quarterback Brock at cornerback this season 17 carries to help the Sooners ley said. “There’s nothing like Sooners’ secondary due to var- Lawrence. “Not only that, his ious injuries at the position. Purdy rolled out to his left and should prove valuable. earn a 28-21 win, and he'll now being able to run the football Saturday's game against physical ability. He jumps like was rocked by Lawrence, who “(Lawrence) had some flash try to carry that momentum at a high level on the road... Oklahoma State is no differ- 40 inches or something like fumbled. Defensive lineman plays this past weekend,” OU into a tough matchup against It'll probably one of the keys to ent. Cornerback D.J. Graham's that. If he’s in trouble, he can Jalen Redmond scooped up the defensive coordinator Alex Oklahoma State. the game.” status is up in the air after he make it up with his speed. He loose ball and ran for a 42-yard Grinch said. “(He’s) a guy who ‘The Cowboys’ defense is only Brooks has a strong track re- suffered an undisclosed injury can make the plays on some touchdown to help give OU a has played three games now at allowing 84.9 rushing yards cord against Oklahoma State. against Iowa State, creating a balls with his jumping ability. 14-7 lead with nine seconds corner, so it’s only going to get per contest, which ranks first He's averaging 162.5 rush- need for Lawrence's services “If he has a bad play, he'll left in the second quarter. better as we go... We feel very in the Big 12 by a mile. No oth- ing yards and two touchdowns in his two career Bedlam ap- pearances. The end of an era? Gundy doubtful about future of Bedlam series Injury updates Riley provided an update on Hallie Hart, Stillwater has doubts about the possibil- division opponents every year. and games you win in football then, their showdowns have a pair of sophomores on Tues- NewsPress ity of scheduling a nonconfer- Add four non-division games is a huge revenue avenue for existed at the center of college day. ence game against the Sooners and three _nonconference your athletic department and football in Oklahoma. If Mike Gundy had his after they leave for the SEC. games, and that would make your university because the Andrew Raym exited the OSU could have a chance to choice, the original Big 12 “I don’t think it’s a realistic it a 12-game season, Gundy more you win in football, the face the Sooners twice this sea- game against Iowa State on Conference with two divisions thing that is going to happen theorized. wallet goes up. That’s a fact. Saturday with an undisclosed would have stayed intact. based on the business side of Many of those nonconfer- Marketing money goes up. son. If OU wins Saturday and/ Gundy, who played quarter- Power 5 conference football, ence matchups are already “There’s a huge amount of or Baylor loses to Texas Tech, injury, but Riley said that the back for Oklahoma State in the the Big 12, or the SEC” Gundy set. The Cowboys build their money involved in that. ... If then the Cowboys will have Sooners’ starting center is ex- Big 8 before coaching the Cow- said. “That’s just my opinion.” schedules far in advance — for we were running a company, with the Sooners pected to play against OSU. boys in the Big 12, describes Gundy said no one has told example, they've already estab- and you’re in a business stand- ain rematch the Big 12 Championship Graham's status remains un- himself as a traditionalist in him that the Bedlam series lished a series against Alabama point, somebody would have to certain. The standout corner- terms of conference structure. will stop, but he made this for 2028 and 2029, as well as make a decision if you want to Game. When teams such as Nebraska prediction based on his analy- one against Nebraska in 2034 risk some of that.” After that, the future of Bed- back did not suit up in the sec- and Missouri trickled out of sis of business-related factors. and 2035. This would make it This choice will have to be- lam is unclear. Gundy said he ond half against the Cyclones the Big 12, Gundy wasn’t a fan Over the next few years, the tricky to throw Bedlam into come a reality in the near fu- hasn’t been involved in discus- due to undisclosed reasons, of the changes, he said. Big 12 will experience a mas- the mix, especially because ture. The Sooners’ media rights sions about what will happen About a decade later, the sive shakeup. OU and Texas teams don’t usually want to contract expires in 2025, but next, but if his forecast is cor- and Riley said that he’s consid- departures continue, and this are planning to head to the play most of their nonconfer- they could exit the conference ered questionable against the time, it means the Cowboys’ SEC, while the conference will ence matchups against tough before then. rect, then a 117-year rivalry Cowboys. biggest rivalry might come to expand to include Cincinnati, Power 5 opponents. On one hand, as Gundy said, will dissolve. Linebackers Danny Stut- anend. BYU, Houston and UCE. “If you're going to go back there could be business risks “That would be my guess,” OSU caps its regular season Gundy welcomed the new into this game, you would be connected to a nonconference Gundy said. “But I’m gonna do sman and Shane Whitter also with a home matchup against members, describing their ad- willing to play 11 (Power 5 op- Bedlam series. On the other what (President) Dr. Shrum didn’t take the field against Oklahoma at 6:30 p.m. Satur- dition as a “home run.” It's a ponents) out of a 12-game sea- hand, there’s the theme of tra- tells me to do, and I'm gonna Towa State due to a coaching day in Boone Pickens Stadium, way for the conference to re- son, which would be extremely dition — which Gundy likes — do what (athletic director) decision, but Grinch said on and Gundy said he expects it to turn to its old ways with a two- difficult,” Gundy said. “And running through the rivalry. be the last edition of Bedlam in division structure. In this case, from a business standpoint, we ‘The Cowboys and Sooners first Chad Weiberg tells me to do ifI Tuesday that he fully expects Stillwater for a while. Gundy the Cowboys would face five all know this: the more success faced off in 1904, and since go on down the road.” them to play Saturday. — THE GRAHAM JAM ~{ Pure (Ritec’ ‘Bliss’ on the East Coast By Graham Dudley Word came down late last week that Thunder head coach gled from the field, too, but finally extended its Mark Daigneault wouldn’t be accompanying his team on its precarious lead on a Giannis turnaround fade- three-game road trip, as Daigneault’s wife Ashley was soon away with half a minute to go. expecting their first child. So the team tapped assistant Dave SGA finished the night with 17 points, a Bliss, a nine-year vet of the Thunder organization, to lead OKC team high, but had a tough shooting night at just through its Eastern Conference swing. 5 for 20 overall and a paltry 2 for 12 from long Bliss, a University of Georgia product who cut his teeth distance. under Shaka Smart at VCU, joined the Thunder staff in 2010 as Mike Muscala again proved crucial for a video analyst and player development coach. After three sea- OKC’s hopes against Milwaukee, as he neared sons with the New York Knicks, Bliss rejoined Oklahoma City a double-double with 14 points and nine as an assistant in 2018 and served as head coach for its summer rebounds in just over 20 minutes off the bench. league squad in 2019, (He’s not related to the disgraced former Looking to bounce back against Boston the Baylor coach of the same name.) next night, the Thunder dug themselves yet Bliss has been well-prepared for a head coaching opportuni- another hole. This time they got down by 25 ty, but he got a challenging draw for his first go. Coming off a points in the third quarter, only to cut the game home win over lowly Houston on Wednesday, the Thunder to just four in the fourth behind a 3-point bar- played Milwaukee and Boston on back-to-back nights to begin rage. the road trip. With about 50 seconds left and up by nine, Both games were losses, but the Thunder acquitted them- Boston subbed out all its starters. But it was selves well against the Eastern Conference powers. forced to reinsert them when the Celtics’ bench Jeremiah Robinson-Ear. ‘Though it trailed by as much as 20 in the contest, Oklahoma. unit tumed the ball over twice in a row and (Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports) City made it close Friday night when it visited the defending OKC cut the score to 109-105. champion Bucks. The Thunder cut the deficit to just two points The Thunder fought hard but ultimately even though it’s a short time.” in the final minutes, but it felt as though a lid was on the basket dropped that game 111-105, falling to 6-10 for the season. Bliss’s final game in charge was the Monday contest against as the Thunder missed chance after chance to even the score or Before Saturday's game, Bliss said he was learning a lot dur- Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. The Thunder now return pull ahead. ing his brief stint as the head honcho. “We preach it all the time: to Oklahoma City, where they'll take on Utah this Wednesday, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl netted the Thunder's final points Grow through experience. We're trying to put these guys in Nov. 24. The homestand continues on Black Friday versus with a made 3 just before the 2:30 mark. But Shai Gilgeous- experience situations. It’s the only way to get better at the high- Washington, and the Thunder will take the weekend off before Alexander missed three consecutive 3-point shots in the ensu- est level,” Bliss told the media. “Same thing for me. Just being facing the Rockets in Houston on Monday, Nov. 29. ing plays, and turned the ball over on another. Milwaukee strug- able to get that experience and grow as much as I can from it, Until next week — Thunder Up! HERE COME THE