How OU football plans to 'finish the play,' add to its sack total vs. Tulsa

NORMAN — Danny Stutsman blew past a defender and bounced off another as he kept his eyes on his target.

The junior linebacker burst through the line of scrimmage during the third quarter of OU's 28-11 win over SMU on Saturday. He was in pursuit of Mustangs quarterback Preston Stone, who had scrambled out of the pocket.

Stone tried to find some space on the sideline, but he quickly ran out of real estate as Stutsman pushed him out of bounds for a 2-yard loss.

The play went down as a sack for Stutsman. And even though it wasn't a traditional quarterback takedown, it still marked the first sack of the season for OU's defense.

"A lot of it was guys staying after it and coming free," defensive coordinator Ted Roof said on Monday. "Guys just eventually kept fighting and worked through it."

Stutsman's sack checked off the final box for OU's defense, which has seen success in just about every other statistical category through its first two games of the season.

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OU has allowed a total of just 11 points. And after shutting out Arkansas State in Week 1 for a 73-0 win, it wasn't until the third quarter of its game against SMU that it surrendered its first touchdown of the season.

The last time the Sooners didn't allow a touchdown through the first six quarters of a season was 2003.

"They’ve got big goals," head coach Brent Venables said of his defense on Saturday. "They understand that there’s a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice that’s in front of them for them to have the ability to achieve their goals. But I’m not surprised (by the strong start)."

Still, the biggest blemish on the stat sheet is OU's lone sack.

The Sooners struggled to get sacks last season, especially in Big 12 play. They only recorded 13 sacks during that stretch, which ranked last in the conference.

The hope was that OU would see more success in that department this season following the addition of Wake Forest transfer Rondell Bothroyd, Oklahoma State transfer Trace Ford, Texas State transfer Davon Sears and five-star freshman Adepoju Adebawore.

But that hasn't been the case for OU's defense due in part to the protection schemes it has faced. Both Arkansas State and SMU used seven-man pass protection schemes against the Sooners, who mostly rush four.

That means three OU defensive lineman are getting doubled. It also means OU's linebackers have to get involved and apply pressure, and Stutsman did exactly that on Saturday.

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"You just have to finish the play," Stutsman said. "It’s part of my game last year where it wasn’t really there. It's something I’ve worked on tremendously, making those opportunities when I’m coming off the edge or going into the interior. I saw a little bit of success, but I still have a long ways to go."

Even though OU's defense hasn't been able to record many sacks so far this season, it's still dominating the line of scrimmage.

The Sooners have only allowed 2.9 yards per carry. They've also held their opponent to a third-down conversion percentage of just 21.4%.

"I thought we did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage in the run game, and certainly conversion pass rush," Roof said. "I’ve seen guys being more disciplined."

OU concludes non-conference play with a road game against Tulsa at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Sooners should have plenty of opportunities to add to their sack total. The Golden Hurricane has allowed four sacks so far this season, and it allowed an AAC-leading 45 sacks last season.

A few sacks would go a long way for OU, which continues to polish its defense as it prepares for the start of Big 12 play.

"(It's) by no means a finished product," Roof said of his defense. "We’re just a work-in-progress that’s going to go out and grind every day. That’s the attitude that our staff and our players have. It’s all about incremental improvement."

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football: Sooners look to add to sack total in road game vs. Tulsa