OU's unselfishness paying off

Watching Oklahoma’s 49-14 win at Nebraska, there were quite a few plays that stood out for the Sooners offense.

The Dillon Gabriel 61-yard touchdown run was a career long rush and got the ball rolling. The Brayden Willis touchdown pass to Marcus Major put offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby’s stamp on a dominant first half.

You see the big picture results, but it took doing the little things to make it all possible.

“We’ve got a great culture locker room right now and inside the building all because of Coach V and how he sets the standard and how we operate every single day,” said Lebby at his Monday press conference. “Unselfish play is a big part of who we are and who we’re going to be and those guys have exemplified that and proud of them for it.”

Like to set up the Willis touchdown pass, you needed tight end Daniel Parker to fight for a first down on third-and-five when he caught it before the sticks. Lebby called that one of the biggest plays of the game.

Or Gabriel’s run is a nice gain and a first down until receiver Jalil Farooq and Willis take it to that next level to allow to become something special.

“The thing I want to point out is if you watch Jalil Farooq on that play, watch Brayden Willis on that play,” Lebby said. “That is championship strain. Those guys are playing so incredibly hard that it gave Dillon a chance to not just get the first down, a chance to make a huge play. And it did. It flipped us. It gave us a ton of energy, gave us great momentum. A heck of a play all the way around.”

It’s something a lot of players have stated in the first month of the season. You don’t need to be the No. 1 highlight of every play. If you do your job, then there’s going to be a lot of celebrating to go around. You’re going to be recognized.

That has been a key component to OU’s 3-0 start.

Defensive plans vary

That’s back-to-back weeks now where the OU defense has thrown out a new wrinkle. And it might just be a one-game wrinkle, but it gives you an idea of how much preparation is being put into every single detail.

Against Kent State, OU substituted out linebackers Danny Stutsman and David Ugwoegbu for Justin Harrington and Damond Harmon.

At Nebraska, it was a three-man defensive front. After the Huskers drove right down the field on the first drive, didn’t look like it would work. But it dominated the rest of the game, keeping the Huskers off balance and confused about where OU was attacking.

“Every week is its own week. That’s what we decided to do last week from a gameplan standpoint,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “We got punched in the mouth the first series, but I was proud of how our guys responded.”

It’s just refreshing for OU fans to see those type of adjustments being made and realizing how you scheme one week can change the next.

Gray putting in the work

Coaches have been quick to say the running back room is led by Eric Gray, and now he’s starting to put up the production to suggest it’s more than just being the locker room leader.

Gray rushed 11 times for 113 yards and his first two touchdowns of the season in Lincoln and now has back-to-back games of rushing for more than 100 yards.

“I think the best thing was just him being able to get into space and win his one-on-one’s,” Lebby said. “He did a great job at the second and third level at winning. But again, Eric’s been a pro. And he’s been incredibly consistent on and off the field since we’ve gotten here.”

Gray’s moves in open space are just ridiculously good, and he showed it again vs. the Huskers.

Taking care of the ball

It wasn’t the defense that let Kansas State down in the surprising upset loss to Tulane, and the Wildcats have been able to make their mark in the takeaway department.

KSU has seven interceptions this season. Contrast that to Gabriel’s zero in three games. And, well, something’s gotta give.

“He has to continue to trend that way,” Lebby said. “It’s all about the ball. It’s going to start and end there. We have to take care of it. They’ve done a great job of creating turnovers, with the seven picks. Dillon has to continue to take care of the rock. If we continue to do that, we have a chance to like where we’re at.”

Gabriel hasn’t committed a turnover this season.

Depth, depth, depth

You need to play well to figure out what sort of depth you have, and the Sooners have been able to learn a lot defensively in the first three games.

The twos and even the threes have seen snaps to begin the season, and it’s allowing the staff to know exactly who they can trust going forward.

“Every rep counts. It also helps from a develop standpoint,” Roof said. “Because you develop certainly practice but you develop by playing as well. So that was really beneficial and provided we use it the right way, which I’m sure we will.

“From a preparation standpoint and develop some depth where it’s not three or four reps at the end of the game, that’s critical. And guys that work hard deserve that, too. We were fortunate to be able to do that and at the same time, to take some reps off the guys that start and play the most.”

A lot of defensive positions are becoming interchangeable parts, where who is starting doesn’t exactly matter because so many guys are going to play meaningful snaps.

Quotable

“You're talking about one of the nation's best running backs in Deuce Vaughn. In the run game, he's got great hips and feet and vision. He's got a lot of patience too. He'll stay back there, wait for somebody to get nosy and jump out of their gap and then here he goes. At the same time, he's a weapon in the throwing game as well too. They get very creative in how they get him the ball. We have a lot of respect for him.” – Roof on KSU’s Deuce Vaughn