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SPORTS BRIEFS
Football studentathletes honored A trio of OU football players were named to ESPN’s Academic All-District VI team Thursday. Senior offensive lineman Brian Lepak, sophomore defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland and sophomore defensive back Demontre Hurst were eligible for consideration with at least a 3.30 grade point average while starting or performing as important reserves. They advance to the Academic All-American ballot, and the team will be named at the end of the season.
Duo earns 2nd straight award Junior hitters Suzy Boulavsky and Caitlin Higgins were named to the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic AllDistrtict team Thursday. Boulavsky, named to the first team, has a 3.95 grade point average in journalism. Higgins, named to the third team, has a 3.42 grade point average in multidisciplinary studies. It’s the second straight year the pair have been named to the student-athlete team.
Sooner earns Big 12 distinction Wednesday senior Ellen Mueller was named the Big 12 Golfer of the Month for October. Mueller won her first career individual title Oct. 13 at the Dale McNamara Invitational in Owasso, where she also broke the program record for 54 holes by two strokes. “It’s an incredible honor,” Mueller said. “There are so many talented golfers in our conference, and it feels very gratifying to be awarded this title.”
OU cross country men take fifth The men’s and women’s cross country teams finished fifth and 12th in the Big 12 Championships on Saturday in Stillwater. Four OU men’s runners earned All-Big 12 honors. —Daily staff reports
Tennis pair wins at indoor tourney Senior Ana-Maria Constantinescu and freshman Alice Radu won their first doubles match Thursday at the USTA/ ITA Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing, N.Y. The pair face the tourney’s No. 2 seed pair — Mari Anderson and Jana Juricova from the University of California — today. The men’s team is in Austin for the Texas Invitational, which starts today. —Jenni Cochran/The Daily
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Friday, November 5, 2010 • 5
OUDAILY.COM ›› Women’s basketball players, including senior guard Daniellee Robinson (right), share their expectations for this season
FOOTBALL
James Corley, sports editor dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666
SOCCER
New QB, same challenge Team seeking
historic victory
After poor performances this season, quarterback Jerrod Johnson benched CLARK FOY The Oklahoma Daily
The key road game at Kyle Field OU had circled to start the season looks very different now than it did in August. Texas A&M senior Jerrod Johnson, a preseason first team All-Big 12 quarterback and an early Heisman candidate, was benched last week in favor of junior Ryan Tannehill, who converted from QB to wide receiver and now back again. “Well, [A&M] went from having a great quarterback to a great quarterback,” junior linebacker Travis Lewis said. “Jerrod was a great player, and they just added another great player. Nothing changes with the offense.” After being so hyped in the preseason, Johnson amassed nine turnovers in just two games earlier this season. In his first start last week, Tannehill put up a schoolrecord 449 passing yards against Texas Tech. Both quarterbacks have
For second appearance in Big 12 semifinals, OU facing formidable foe
Big 12 Conference Semifinals Schedule
TOBI NEIDY
» OU vs. Texas A&M 5:30 p.m. today
The Oklahoma Daily
FILE PHOTO/THE BATTALION
Texas A&M junior wide receiver Jeff Fuller (8) pulls in a touchdown Saturday against Texas Tech in College Station, Texas. leaned on junior wide receiver Jeff Fuller to fuel the offense this season. “The strength of their team is always in their offense,” Lewis said. “They have a great one. I know they have lost a few games, but they were still putting up points and still moving the ball.” For Lewis and the Sooners, Saturday is more than just one game; they’re looking
to prove they can win away from Norman. “We just want to prove it to everybody. We feel we play good, but not great, on the road,” Lewis said. “It comes down to those two tough games on the road at the end of the year and this one. A&M is a great team, and if we don’t watch our back and play on the road well, we’re not going to win those games.”
» Nebraska vs. OSU OU soccer (11-7-2, 5-4-1 8 p.m. today Big 12) continues the team’s stint in the postseason with » Championship Game a matchup against Texas Noon on Sunday A&M (15-3-2, 8-1-1) in the Big 12 Championship semifinals at 5:30 tonight Of the four teams left, OU is in San Antonio. The Aggies the only program without a hold a 14-1 all-time record conference championship. over the Sooners. OU’s only win over the Aggies came in 2009, when the Sooners routed then-No. 13 A&M 3-1. Earlier this season, the Sooners lost a close 2-1 match to the Aggies in double overtime. OU’s sophomore forward Caitlin Mooney scored her sixth goal of the year to give the Sooners the 1-0 lead in the second half before the Aggies forced overtime. A&M’s senior midfielder Alyssa Mautz netted the game winner in the 105th minute to give the Aggies the important conference win. OU’s last trip to the Big 12 semifinal game in 2000 ended with a 1-0 loss to Texas A&M. During that year, the Sooners also downed the Longhorns 2-0 to advance to the semifinals stage. A win over the Aggies tonight would propel the Sooners into the championship final at noon on Sunday. No Sooner team has made it past the semifinal stage.
COLUMN
OU must stop Tannehill to win at Kyle Field The OU football team’s upcoming game against Texas A&M has been on the radar as a dangerous test since the schedule was released in the spring. The S o oners haven’t been terribly impressive a w a y f r o m No r m a n i n 2010, and lost to Missouri in their only tr ue road game so far this season. Saturday they’ll play a Texas A&M team that has been energized by a recent quarterback change. College Station, Texas, is a hostile environment, and the Aggies will be favored to win, but an A&M victory this weekend is far from guaranteed.
STAFF COLUMN LUMN
Aaron Colen olen
THE SOONERS WILL WIN IF… THEY PUT PRESSURE ON A&M’S QUARTERBACK For OU to win, its defense must put pressure on junior quarterback Ryan Tannehill. He threw for more than 400 yards in his first career start at quarterback last week against Texas Tech. For most of this season, the Sooners expected to be facing senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who was picked as the preseason Big
12 Offensive Player of the Year, but he has had a disappointing season and was recently benched. Now they’ll go against Ta n n e h i l l , w h o s u re l y gained confidence from his successful first start. The OU defensive front can’t afford to let him get comfortable in the pocket and should make a point to prevent him from getting into a rhythm early. While he isn’t as mobile as Johnson, Tannehill can still move around in the pocket. If the Sooners decide to blitz, they must get to Tannehill and not allow him to extend the play. Lack of pressure on the
quarterback was an issue in OU’s loss to Missouri, and if they don’t get to Tannehill on Saturday, they could be facing another loss.
THE AGGIES WILL WIN IF… THEY STOP OU’S SWING/ SCREEN PASS OFFENSE Sophomore quarterback Landry Jones has completed 67.2 percent of his passes this season, including a 30-of-34 (88.2 percent) performance against Iowa State. Jones’ high percentage is partly because of a low-risk offensive strategy that incorporates swing and screen passes — primarily to junior wide receiver Ryan Broyles and senior running back
DeMarco Murray — that often yields gains of 5-10 yards. The swing/screen pass game has become an extension of OU’s rushing attack and has become the foundation of the team’s offense, setting up big passing plays and deep threat potential of Broyles. If Texas A&M finds a way to neutralize this offensive tactic OU has come to rely on so heavily, it will make the offense one-dimensional and greatly improve the Aggies’ chances of upsetting the Sooners. —Aaron Colen, journalism senior