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After a series of goal line failures, No. 19 Oklahoma has a deeper understanding of ''The Longest Yard.''
The 19th-ranked Sooners (7-2, 3-2 Big 12) were stuffed inside the 2-yard line on three separate drives in a 33-19 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday night, leaving them a game behind rival Oklahoma State in the Big 12 South standings and out of the national championship race. Twice, Oklahoma had multiple chances to score from the 1-yard line and couldn't come up with any points.
''It got down there close enough, you thought we could've punched it in, should have punched it in and just got beat in our schemes as far as the execution of the blocking,'' offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. ''We'll look at what we're doing, if we want to make any adjustments in the weeks to come and as we attack the opponents.''
Wilson said Oklahoma ran just about every running play it could down close - from going off-tackle to handing it to fullback Trey Millard. Nothing worked.
That left him questioning afterward whether he should have tried having Landry Jones pass it more, but at the time he said coaches ''decided not to because it's so close.''
''It's only a foot, a half a yard. We ought to be able to punch it in,'' Wilson said. ''To me, the game always starts up front, and we got beat up front (Saturday night) and especially in those situations.''
The Sooners fell behind 9-0 in the opening 3 minutes after snapping the ball out of the end zone on their first play and then allowing Texas A&M to drive for a quick touchdown. Their first chance at a response came up empty after a second-and-goal at the 2. Millard picked up 1 yard on second down, and DeMarco Murray was stuffed for no gain on the next two plays.
The Aggies' defense also held after Oklahoma got third-and-goal chances from the 1- and 2-yard lines in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma was down by 14 points and went for it on fourth down both times.
''It's not rocket science and a difficult deal. We'll keep looking at what we do, we'll keep trying to have some mix but also as a team we've got to execute,'' Wilson said. ''That was just a total offensive lack of execution from my part all the way down to the players. Whatever we did, it definitely didn't work.''
Murray did have a 1-yard touchdown run, but even that came on a second chance after being stopped on first-and-goal from the 1 in the third quarter.
''We've got to do a lot better whether running, passing, inside, outside. When you get down there close - as close as you are - coach (Bob Stoops) is not about kicking field goals and particularly not on the road,'' Wilson said. ''You need to get seven points.''
Wilson said the goal line struggles are only a microcosm of a larger problem for the Sooners, who lead the nation with 791 offensive plays run this year but rank 24th in scoring at 33.9 points per game. Oklahoma is next-to-last in the Big 12 in red zone offense, scoring in 75.5 percent of their trips inside the 20.
''We have been a team that we have moved the ball and we've got way too many plays not to have points for what we're getting done. That's always a concern,'' Wilson said. ''That's something you're trying to eliminate or flip that the other way. You want more points than you want plays or yards and all that stuff.''
