Sooners’ Stoops has praise for Willingham

Published 11:30 pm Saturday, September 13, 2008

SEATTLE — In college football, winning coaches usually say nice things about their counterparts on the losing side.

But on Saturday afternoon, minutes after his Oklahoma team finished a 55-14 thrashing of Washington, Sooners head coach Bob Stoops went out of his way to praise UW head coach Tyrone Willingham.

Stoops, it would seem, recognizes that Willingham’s job status beyond this season is far from certain. And Willingham’s fate was hardly enhanced by a lopsided and generally embarrassing showing against the third-ranked Sooners — one that had many UW fans already heading for the exits at halftime.

“I’m complimentary of coach Willingham and his staff,” Stoops said in the early moments of his post-game remarks to the media. “Those guys do a great job and I really mean that.”

As evidence, Stoops pointed to Brigham Young’s 59-0 victory over UCLA on Saturday. A week earlier, Washington lost to BYU 28-27.

“We knew watching the tape all week how good BYU was,” Stoops said. “We felt they were really good, and yet there they (the Huskies) were a week ago with a chance to tie the game at the end, and then an unfortunate call (against UW quarterback Jake Locker for unsportsmanlike conduct) and they didn’t.”

Still, he went on, Willingham and his staff “do it the right way. Everything they do with their schemes is sound, it’s good, it’s solid. So I have great respect for him and his staff. For all of us coaches (in college football), Tyrone has been a great role model with how he handles himself and how he runs this program.”

Saturday’s win was No. 100 for Stoops at Oklahoma, where he is in his 10th season.

“I’m not here to talk about me,” he said when questioned about the milestone. “There’s been a ton of people that are responsible for it. We have a great administration, a bunch of assistant coaches who have been fabulous to work with and a great bunch of young men we get to see every day that work so hard. I feel fortunate every day, believe me, to be in such a quality place with such good people. I’m blessed and fortunate.”

Stoops has a 100-22 record at Oklahoma.

Mishap snaps: On a day when few things went right for Washington, nothing was more inexplicable than a series of errant snaps by senior center Juan Garcia when quarterback Jake Locker was in a shotgun formation.

Several of the snaps trickled or bounced back to Locker, and one midway through the second quarter could not be retrieved and was recovered by the Sooners at the UW 24-yard line. Five players later, Oklahoma scored a touchdown.

Garcia was not available for comment after the game, but UW offensive coordinator Tim Lappano could only shake his head with disbelief.

“We’ve got to get the snaps fixed,” he said.

Garcia had trouble with shotgun snaps two years ago, Lappano said, “but we got it fixed last year. And now it’s back. … I don’t know if it’s because the (Sooners nose tackle) was pretty good and (Garcia) was trying to get down low to get underneath the guy (for blocking). But the ball was coming out low and we’ve got to get that fixed.”

Future pros: There’s a reason the Sooners ran the ball with success — 274 yards, 5.8 average per carry — against Washington, and it has something to do with a stable of outstanding running backs.

It also has something to do with a terrific offensive line, said UW defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.

“It pretty much looked to me like that front can all play at the next level,” he said, referring to the NFL.

Huskies still sackless: Through three games, Washington’s defense is still without a sack. The Huskies put a few hits on Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, but never got to him before he could get off a throw.

Washington quarterbacks, on the other hand, have been sacked 11 times this season.

Injury report: The Huskies appear to have escaped a painful loss without too much actual pain.

Cornerback Quinton Richardson left the game with what Tyrone Willingham classified as a knee contusion, though the Husky coach said that injury wasn’t serious.

Jake Locker left the game briefly after taking a hard hit late in the second quarter, but he only had the wind knocked out of him and was able to return.

Freshman receiver/kick returner Jordan Polk had to be helped off the field after injuring his ankle on a return, but he returned to the game.

Kicking away scoring opportunities: A blocked kick cost the Huskies a week ago, but in this game, accuracy was the issue.

Jared Ballman, who handles longer field goal attempts, missed right on a 47-yarder in the second quarter, then missed left on a 48-yard attempt in the fourth quarter. Ryan Perkins missed a 28-yard attempt at the end of the first half.

Quite a debut: Redshirt freshman tailback Brandon Yakaboski made his college debut Saturday night, and had the biggest play of the day for the Huskies.

After Ronnie Fouch scrambled to avoid a sack, he heaved a pass into the end zone that was intended for Alvin Logan. Logan and Oklahoma safety Nic Harris both went airborne for the ball and tipped it into the air. Yakaboski, who was downfield running a rout, caught the tipped ball for a 38-yard score.

“It’s definitely a cool moment,” Yakaboski said.