Oklahoma Football: Monday Press Conference Notebook

Notes and observations from Monday's press conference with OU coach Bob Stoops and players. 

Monday, November 10th 2014, 2:17 pm

By: News 9


Saturday was a low point for the Oklahoma Sooners, who were dealt a crushing 48-14 loss by Baylor at Owen Field, the worst home loss in the Bob Stoops era. Monday, Stoops and players met with the media to talk about the loss and where the Sooners go from here.

-Stoops was as honest as I have seen him in my three seasons covering the team. While he didn't throw anyone under the bus or throw out names of players who performed poorly, he readily admitted there were problems the Sooners needed to fix, starting with his coaching. He took responsibility for the loss, as well as specific mistakes during the game, such as his failure to make it clear to specials teams coach Jay Boulware he didn't want a punt block on when the Sooners roughed the Baylor punter in the second quarter. There was still some feisty Bob Stoops in the mix, but he was very honest, which was surprisingly refreshing.

-Stoops said Trevor Knight will not practice on Monday and will be evaluated later this week. Knight's MRIs and X-rays have all come back clean so far, so it's simply a matter of Knight being able to manage the soreness and recover completely. If Knight is unable to go, Cody Thomas will start and Blake Bell will be the backup.

-As for the other injuries, Stoops said it wasn't clear if Sterling Shepard would be able to play against Texas Tech. Stoops also said Julian Wilson, who broke his thumb in the first half on Saturday, would be evaluated later this week. Jordan Thomas would start in his place if he is unable to go. Stoops also said Baker Mayfield can't travel with the team, but would probably find his own way to Lubbock for Saturday's game.

-The Oklahoma secondary was torched on Saturday because it consistently gave too much cushion to the Baylor receivers. Stoops said the cornerbacks have the ability to play bump-and-run coverage if they want from time to time, but there are situations where the coaching staff instructs them not to. There were also times on Saturday where the Sooners played zone in an effort to allow the corners to jump some routes. Obviously, nothing really worked.

-Stoops said after the game he “didn't care” about the reaction of fans on social media. He clarified that statement on Saturday, saying he meant he didn't care specifically about social media. He said he and the team is very appreciative of the fans' support and understands the expectations that come at a place like OU, including those that have been formed thanks to Stoops' success over the past 15 years.

-When asked if he was discouraged by being ranked in the top-five three of the past four preseasons, then failing to make it back there by the end of the year, Stoops said he wasn't and that he was always encouraged. He said the state of the program is perfectly fine, saying “some are better than us and we're better than most.” It's hard to argue with that, but the expectation at Oklahoma (from the fans at least) is to be the best, not better than most.

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