Football
Associated Press 16y

No. 4 Sooners get two big wins, but Stoops seeking faster progress

NORMAN, Okla. -- Back-to-back wins over two of the Big 12's
top contenders have helped Oklahoma move back up the national
rankings. Coach Bob Stoops wants to see that kind of progress on
the field.

The Sooners (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) climbed another two spots to No. 4
in The Associated Press Top 25 and were in fifth-place in the BCS
standings Sunday after a 41-31 win against Missouri on Saturday.

Following a disappointing loss at Colorado, Oklahoma has bounced
back with consecutive wins over Texas and Missouri -- the preseason
favorites in the conference's North and South divisions.

That's not enough for Stoops, though.

"We're after more," Stoops said. "At this time of the year,
there's still some areas I know we can improve on. We've got to do
a better job coaching, they've got to do a better job listening and
executing, and we'll go back at it on Monday to try and do that."

Among the Sooners' mistakes Saturday were a pair of fumbles by
receiver Juaquin Iglesias that each led to Missouri touchdowns,
Garrett Hartley's fourth missed extra point of the season and
Reggie Smith's decision to backtrack and make an over-the-shoulder
catch on a punt at the goal line.

The Sooners also gave up more than 300 yards passing for the
third time in the past four games. Although all three of those
games resulted in wins, Oklahoma isn't accustomed to giving up that
kind of yardage. Oregon was the only opponent last year that went
over 300 yards passing.

"I think sometimes they listen to too many people tell them how
good they are, and we're really not where we should be," Stoops
said. "It's up to us to get to that point and keep pushing to make
improvement. We're just used to making more improvement at this
point in the year than I think we have."

Stoops would know. He led Oklahoma to the national title in 2000
and two of the last four BCS title games. With so many top 10 teams
joining the Sooners with one loss, the door to the national title
is creeping open more and more each week. In the first BCS
standings Sunday, Oklahoma was behind Ohio State, South Florida,
Boston College and LSU.

"Especially coming after the loss at Colorado, I think we've
really rebounded. We've shown the heart that this team has,"
quarterback Sam Bradford said. "We can't be satisfied with what
we've done so far. We've got to come out Monday and get better."

After averaging 216.2 yards rushing in its first six games,
Oklahoma was held to 30 yards on the ground through three quarters
against the Tigers. That left the Sooners heavily reliant on the
pass until tailback Chris Brown was able to come through with two
fourth-quarter TDs.

"We've got to be able to establish the run game and get things
going. We can't turn the ball over," Bradford said. "There's a
lot of things that we've got to improve on each week if we want to
be where we want to end up."

The Sooners entered the season with the unproven Bradford as the
team's main question mark. Now that the redshirt freshman
quarterback has emerged as the nation's top-rated passer, it's all
about reaching those lofty expectations.

"That is the frustrating part because I don't really feel we're
playing to our potential yet, so that's disappointing to me as a
coach," Stoops said. "I feel we should be playing better than we
are."

Still, Oklahoma has managed to come away with tight victories
the past two weeks in spots that have sent other national powers
toppling. The Sooners came up with two fourth-quarter takeaways and
converted them into points to send another budding national title
contender to its first loss.

"It says we're gaining ground. I think so much of the time --
whether its media or fans -- want to already place you in this great
place, and we're not there yet," Stoops said. "We have got to get
better in a lot of areas."

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