OU football notepad: While there's room to grow, Lebby 'proud of' offensive line's improvement

Sep. 13—Oklahoma's offensive game plan against Kent State last Saturday was pretty simple.

Run the ball early and often.

It was successful against UTEP the week before, though it didn't work as well against the Golden Flashes. The Sooners ran the ball nine times for zero yards in the first quarter as the offensive line struggled to win the battle of the line of scrimmage.

The Sooners finished the half with seven rushing yards, their fewest in a half since the Kansas game last season.

Things weren't much better in the passing game until Dillon Gabriel's 36-yard touchdown to Marvin Mims right before halftime. Gabriel completed 3-of-5 passes for 49 yards in the first quarter and was sacked twice. The Golden Flashes finished with three sacks in the game.

While the offense was much better in the second half in the Sooners' 33-3 win, OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby acknowledged there's a lot of room for improvement on the offensive line. However, he's not too concerned.

"The thing that I saw Sunday morning, watching the tape, was we played incredibly hard up front," Lebby said. "We strained, we striked, we finished. We did a really good job. The stats don't tell that story. But after watching the tape, man, proud of how much improvement we made in just finishing and how hard we played up front.

"The biggest thing is making sure we're not taking unnecessary sacks... So many people want to talk about the big boys up front, from a sack standpoint. and really all three of those [sacks] didn't have anything to do with the O-line."

There weren't many issues in the third quarter, however, as the Sooners found success both running and throwing. The team finished with 134 rushing yards, while Gabriel completed 21-of-28 passing attempts for 296 yards and three touchdowns.

Running the ball is going to be a staple in the Sooners' offense — the team has ran it 74 times compared to 51 passing attempts — but Lebby took the blame for forcing the issue in the first half.

"I think the biggest thing is I probably should have been a little more aggressive throwing the football," Lebby said. "I wanted to establish the run game, was a little stubborn about that early on. That was something we wanted to get going. Again, I should have probably thrown the football a few more times. but creating great balance and running the football is going to be a huge thing for us and who we are from an identity standpoint. It was on me not throwing the ball around a little more to create some errors in the defense."

Wanya Morris update

With the starting right tackle out the first two games, the Sooners have been forced to move players around on the offensive line. Anton Harrison again started at right tackle Saturday with Tyler Guyton starting at left tackle.

After last Saturday's game, OU coach Brent Venables said he's hopeful that Morris, who's been dealing with an off-the-field issue, will make his season debut against Nebraska.

"He's another guy that brings experience," Lebby said. "He's played in a bunch of games. He's incredibly athletic. He has great understanding of the game and the schemes. Looking forward to possibly having him back and [getting] ready to roll."

Scott Frost fired at Nebraska

The Cornhuskers announced Sunday that the head coach was fired following the team's 45-42 loss to Georgia southern. Nebraska (1-2) also lost its season opener to Northwestern, 28-21.

Frost posted a 16-31 record during his Nebraska tenure.

Associate head coach Mickey Joseph will serve as the team's interim head coach against the Sooners this Saturday.

While it's a big change for the Nebraska coaching staff, OU defensive coordinator Ted Roof made it clear that the Sooners' game plan won't change.

"Our approach is that we expect everyone's best," Roof said. "We expect to get their best. I know this — they've had a great season offensively, they're scoring points, moving the ball. [Nebraska offensive coordinator] Mark Whipple's had a lot of success wherever he's been calling plays. So we expect their best, and we've got to make sure to give our best."

New captains

The Sooners announced Michael Turk, Drake Stoops, Anton Harrison, Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman will serve as team captains against Nebraska.

The team has selected new captains each week this season and that will continue through the end of the regular season.

Gabriel wins Big 12 Newcomer of the Week

The Sooner quarterback was selected as the conference's newcomer of the week Monday.

Gabriel has completed 36-of-51 passes for 529 yards and five touchdowns this season. He's the first OU player to win a weekly award this season.

Kickoff time set for Kansas State game

The Sooners will open Big 12 play against the Wildcats at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports.

Up next

The Sooners travel to Nebraska for an 11 a.m. kickoff Saturday on Fox sports.

Jesse Crittenden is the sports editor of The Transcript and covers OU athletics. Reach him at jesse@normantranscript.com or at 405-366-3580