Missouri QB presents challenge for Sooners

Tuesday, October 1st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma's defense pressured South Florida quarterback Marquel Blackwell several times last week, only to see him slip away and buy more time before throwing the ball.

The No. 3 Sooners may face an even tougher test this week in Brad Smith of Missouri.

Smith threw for 213 yards and ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns in a victory over Troy State last week. He comes into Saturday's game ranked second in the Big 12 in total offense, at 317 yards per game _ 98.5 on the ground, 219 through the air.

``What's impressive as you watch him is not just his athletic ability, but his presence and his calm demeanor as a redshirt freshman,'' coach Bob Stoops said at his weekly news conference Tuesday. ``He plays awfully well in everything that he does _ makes good decisions, takes care of the ball, runs with it well, has a good arm.''

Co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables said quarterbacks such as Smith cause teams to ``pick your poison.''

``As soon as you force them into a passing situation and drop back and you've got everybody covered, they drop down (and run) and move the chains. That can be frustrating,'' Venables said.

``You have to take some calculated risks sometimes. The flexibility of having a quarterback with that type of diversity and ability to improvise on the perimeter once he does pull it down will give not only us problems, but anyone they play.''

Smith has directed the Tigers to just their third 3-1 start since 1983. They are one victory away from matching their total of a year ago.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Smith has completed about 55 percent of his passes, with four touchdowns and only one interception. He averages 7.6 yards per carry. Missouri has had 23 plays cover at least 20 yards this season, and Smith has been responsible for 21 of those.

Linebacker Lance Mitchell said that in defending quarterbacks such as Smith, it's important to stick to the coaches' assignments.

``You get out there and do what you want to do, then they can make you look a little silly,'' he said.

Oklahoma (4-0) beat South Florida 31-14, a performance that had Bob Stoops unhappy. The Sooners failed to run the ball effectively, the offense produced just 47 yards in the second half, the punt game was inconsistent and the reserves gave up both touchdowns in the closing minutes.

Stoops said his team will need to play much better this week in its first real road test. He also said there is no danger of his players peeking ahead to next week's game with No. 2 Texas.

``Not in the least,'' he said. ``Our players are really excited to go to Missouri. They're anxious to play.''