As usual, Barry Switzer was right. Barry tweeted that he keeps getting the question, “Am I going to El Paso?” Barry’s reply: Hell no. My friend, Marty Robbins, got his [butt] shot last time he was out there. Against UTEP,…
At last year’s end I suggested Landry Jones should go pro because he couldn’t improve any more at the college level.
I was wrong. Had Jones not improved his mobility and ability to handle the pass rush during the off season the Sooners would have lost late Saturday night/Sunday morning in El Paso. Instead the Sooners won 24-7.
A good example of Jones’ improvement was the 68-yard pass play to Kenny Stills that got the Sooners on the board in the first half.
The O-line, which is obviously impacted by the loss of Ben Habern and Tyler Evans even more than we had thought, let a tenacious Miners pass rush chase Jones out of the pocket.
Jones actually got flushed, instead of crushed, drifting to his left and looking to his right.
Jones saw Kenny Stills near the opposite sideline.
Oklahoma’s opening game in El Paso was more like a 10 rounder between a highly-promoted prize fighter and a tough-nosed gym rat that went the distance.
But, the Sooners managed to outlast the UTEP Miners 24-7 in what most Oklahoma fans would just call a plain old ugly brawl marred by inconsistent offense and kicking game miscues.
The game did establish receiver Kenny Stills (6 receptions for 121 yards) as QB Landry Jones’ (21 of 36 for 222 yards) go-to guy.
In the first quarter Jones showed greater mobililty from last year when he rolled left and threw to the right sideline, where Stills streaked in for a 68-yard touchdown.
But, it took three quarters before the Sooners quarterback found WRs Justin Brown and Trey Metoyer with any consistency.