Houston Travels To Sold-Out Oklahoma

The No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners are set to host the Houston Cougars in week 2 of the college football season tonight.

Sooners coach Brent Venables announced Wednesday that they will be wearing an alternate jersey to honor late Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson:

Oklahoma Shows Versatility

Last week, Oklahoma defeated Temple 51-3 as the Sooners had 378 all-purpose yards. The Sooners rushed seven different players, including both quarterbacks, for a total 220 yards. Running back Taylor Tatum led the way with 69 rush yards on five attempts and one touchdown. The offense looks to have a few mistakes, but cleaned up, could be a sleeper in the SEC.

https://twitter.com/OU_Football/status/1829706308519674118

Although the Sooners were able to show offensive depth, the defense stole the show with six sacks, two interceptions and four recovered fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Venable said the defense took what it practiced during the preseason camps and was able to execute at a high level:

The Sooners will look to continue the defensive dominance against a Houston team that lost last week 27-7 at home to UNLV. This Houston team looks different as only about half of its players from last season return. The Cougars look to improve the run game against Oklahoma as they only rushed for 38 yards last week.

Oklahoma Focus

Venable emphasized he was less than pleased with his team’s lack of efficiency on third downs.

“The common thread was, it wasn’t good,” Venable said.

The Sooners went 1-12 on third down vs. Temple. This will have to be a priority for the team to improve before it gets into conference play on Week 4. The Sooners start SEC play by hosting Tennessee on Sept. 21:

Kickoff

Today’s game is set for a 7:45 p.m. ET start, with the SEC Network providing coverage.