Sooners Outlast UAB in Season Opener

September 3rd, 2006

In the much anticipated 2006 season opener, the Oklahoma Sooners looked better in some areas than expected and looked below potential in others.

With much of the focus this spring on the loss of last year’s starting quarterback Rhett Bomar, many college football experts expected the Sooners offense to be the biggest question mark. Most experts agreed that the Sooners would have one of the nation’s best defensive units.

While the Sooners offense, led by fifth year senior Paul Thompson, looked better than expected overall, the defense was average at best. The Sooner defense allowed Alabama-Birmingham to pile up nearly 300 yards of total offense and dominate much of the time of possession battle. Although most of the OU defensive struggles appear to be correctible, like poor tackling and position problems, the performance was still a surprise.

Offensively, the Sooners showed signs of promise. Facing an above average UAB defense, the Sooners controlled the line of scrimmage and were able to successfully work the field through the air and on the field.

In the first half, Thompson picked apart the UAB secondary while driving the Sooners up and down the field. Due to three first half turnovers, the Sooners were only able to score one touchdown while losing the ball twice inside the UAB 20 yard line. At halftime, the game was tied 7-7.

Oklahoma star running back Adrian Peterson took over in the second half. After getting off to a slow start in the game, Peterson had much of his 200+ yards of all purpose yardage in the closing half. UAB head coach, and former OU offense coordinator, Watson Brown said Peterson may be the best player he’s ever coached against.

Due to another turnover and poor defensive tackling, the Sooners trailed the game 17-14 when Peterson took a short pass from Thompson and broke lose for a 69 yard touchdown reception. The Sooners scored again on a late field goal to secure the final 24-17 margin.

Entry Filed under: Oklahoma Sports,Sooners