Jones says Sooners are "as good a football team as I've seen on film"
When the University of Cincinnati Bearcats traveled to Norman in 2008 to play Oklahoma, their football program was on the rise, having just come off a 10-3 season in 2007, their first under Brian Kelly.
They left town nursing a 52-26 defeat and dealing with the loss of starting quarterback Dustin Grutza to a broken right leg.
But the Bearcats recovered from the loss and the injury to Grutza and went on to win the Big East that year, followed by last year?s 12-0 regular season and another Big East title in 2009.
?They are definitely a strong and good program,? said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. ?We recognized that when we played them a couple of years ago. They?re won a bunch of games since then and have proven to be an excellent football team.?
Two years later, as the Bearcats prepare for the rematch at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday, UC is struggling to maintain the success it has enjoyed the past few years. The Bearcats have lost two of their first three games under Butch Jones and have looked bad in both of those losses.
And while a date against the eighth-ranked Sooners (3-0) would seem to be exactly what the Bearcats don?t want at this juncture, it could also prove to be the tonic they need to play well.
Jones , of course, is assuming nothing, not with an offensive line that has surrendered 15 sacks in three games ? most in the nation ? and certainly not against a team that could make that 52-26 loss in 2008 seem like a close game if things get out of hand early. The Sooners knocked off then-No. 17 Florida State, 47-17, two weeks ago.
?We?re playing a great, great football program,? Jones said, ?a very storied program that has a lot of tradition This football team is as good a football team as I?ve seen on film.?
The Sooners, who will be playing on the road for the first time this season, are coming off a 27-24 victory over Air Force, having allowed 351 rushing yards to the nation?s top rushing team.
But the Oklahoma coaches dismissed all those rushing yards, saying they weren?t an indictment of their defense, but an indication of how difficult it is to prepare for a team that runs the wishbone.
?We played a very untraditional offense a week ago,? Stoops said. ?Now you?ve got to get back into your groove of mixing your coverages and mixing your blitzes, things we?re used to doing.?
That could be bad news for UC because that?s what North Carolina State did last Thursday in its 30-19 win over the Bearcats in Raleigh, resulting in five more sacks of beleaguered UC quarterback Zach Collaros.
Finding a way to keep Collaros in one piece will be paramount this week as the Bearcats prepare for the Sooners, who have sacked opposing quarterbacks eight times this season.
The last thing UC wants is another injury to its starting quarterback compliments of the Oklahoma defense.
The return of running back Isaiah Pead, who has been limited the past two weeks with a knee injury, should help. Jones said that Pead is back at full strength.
Meanwhile, Jones must keep his players? spirits from lagging. So far, so good, he says.
?There?s a lot of people in our program, from coaches to players, that are experiencing some different kinds of emotions that they haven?t felt for a long time,? Jones said. ?The only thing you can do is get back to work, and not waver in your belief.?
Jones said the situation at UC is similar to what he inherited at Central Michigan when he took over for Kelly in 2007. The Chippewas lost three of their first four games before recovering to go 7-2 the rest of the way to win the Mid-American Conference title.
?There?s a number of parallels with where the program is,? Jones said, ?the things we need to do to continue to build the program and get better. The great thing is, like we keep saying, we?ve been through this. We?re not going to waver in what we believe in. We?re going to be coaching and teaching every day.?
When the University of Cincinnati Bearcats traveled to Norman in 2008 to play Oklahoma, their football program was on the rise, having just come off a 10-3 season in 2007, their first under Brian Kelly.
They left town nursing a 52-26 defeat and dealing with the loss of starting quarterback Dustin Grutza to a broken right leg.
But the Bearcats recovered from the loss and the injury to Grutza and went on to win the Big East that year, followed by last year?s 12-0 regular season and another Big East title in 2009.
?They are definitely a strong and good program,? said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. ?We recognized that when we played them a couple of years ago. They?re won a bunch of games since then and have proven to be an excellent football team.?
Two years later, as the Bearcats prepare for the rematch at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday, UC is struggling to maintain the success it has enjoyed the past few years. The Bearcats have lost two of their first three games under Butch Jones and have looked bad in both of those losses.
And while a date against the eighth-ranked Sooners (3-0) would seem to be exactly what the Bearcats don?t want at this juncture, it could also prove to be the tonic they need to play well.
Jones , of course, is assuming nothing, not with an offensive line that has surrendered 15 sacks in three games ? most in the nation ? and certainly not against a team that could make that 52-26 loss in 2008 seem like a close game if things get out of hand early. The Sooners knocked off then-No. 17 Florida State, 47-17, two weeks ago.
?We?re playing a great, great football program,? Jones said, ?a very storied program that has a lot of tradition This football team is as good a football team as I?ve seen on film.?
The Sooners, who will be playing on the road for the first time this season, are coming off a 27-24 victory over Air Force, having allowed 351 rushing yards to the nation?s top rushing team.
But the Oklahoma coaches dismissed all those rushing yards, saying they weren?t an indictment of their defense, but an indication of how difficult it is to prepare for a team that runs the wishbone.
?We played a very untraditional offense a week ago,? Stoops said. ?Now you?ve got to get back into your groove of mixing your coverages and mixing your blitzes, things we?re used to doing.?
That could be bad news for UC because that?s what North Carolina State did last Thursday in its 30-19 win over the Bearcats in Raleigh, resulting in five more sacks of beleaguered UC quarterback Zach Collaros.
Finding a way to keep Collaros in one piece will be paramount this week as the Bearcats prepare for the Sooners, who have sacked opposing quarterbacks eight times this season.
The last thing UC wants is another injury to its starting quarterback compliments of the Oklahoma defense.
The return of running back Isaiah Pead, who has been limited the past two weeks with a knee injury, should help. Jones said that Pead is back at full strength.
Meanwhile, Jones must keep his players? spirits from lagging. So far, so good, he says.
?There?s a lot of people in our program, from coaches to players, that are experiencing some different kinds of emotions that they haven?t felt for a long time,? Jones said. ?The only thing you can do is get back to work, and not waver in your belief.?
Jones said the situation at UC is similar to what he inherited at Central Michigan when he took over for Kelly in 2007. The Chippewas lost three of their first four games before recovering to go 7-2 the rest of the way to win the Mid-American Conference title.
?There?s a number of parallels with where the program is,? Jones said, ?the things we need to do to continue to build the program and get better. The great thing is, like we keep saying, we?ve been through this. We?re not going to waver in what we believe in. We?re going to be coaching and teaching every day.?
