Stoops: Two-touchdown victory nothing to sniff at

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ No. 1 Oklahoma has not played at its best in the past two weeks, and coach Bob Stoops will admit as much. <br><br>That doesn't mean Stoops is wringing his hands over the subpar

Wednesday, November 22nd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ No. 1 Oklahoma has not played at its best in the past two weeks, and coach Bob Stoops will admit as much.

That doesn't mean Stoops is wringing his hands over the subpar performances. After all, he pointed out Tuesday, the Sooners still won both games.

``I'm not concerned as much as I want them to understand these are factors that we've got to correct,'' he said at his weekly news conference. ``That's what coaches are supposed to do. We're supposed to continually get better and correct mistakes.

``But I'm not going to neglect the fact that we've done some awfully good things to still win.''

Two weeks ago, Oklahoma (10-0, 7-0 Big 12) rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Texas A&M, 35-31. Last weekend, the offense didn't score until the tail end of the second quarter _ the longest drought in a game this season _ in a 27-13 victory over Texas Tech.

That game included 11 penalties and four turnovers. The 27 points were a season low, as were Josh Heupel's 248 yards passing.

Given that Oklahoma had played several big games, is it possible the emotional tank just wasn't as full for the Red Raiders?

``No, I don't believe that's a factor,'' Stoops said. ``Having it in the tank I don't think has anything to do with dropping the football. If we don't drop the football and make a couple foolish penalties, the game's a little bit different story.

``But it's still a pretty darn good game. You still win by 14 points. That's nothing to sneeze about when you just beat a team that's got seven wins and is in a bowl game and is very familiar with how you play.''

Oklahoma closes out the regular season Saturday at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys (3-7, 1-6) would love nothing more than to beat their in-state rival, put an end to Oklahoma's national championship hopes and send departing coach Bob Simmons out in style.

Oklahoma, on the other hand, wants to finish the Sooners' first 11-0 season since 1987 and then get ready for the Big 12 title game the following week against Kansas State.

``We understand what the other team's motivation is, but I kind of like our motivation as opposed to some of the others' motivation,'' Stoops said. ``I'd choose ours, probably, instead of some of theirs. I think that's fair to say.''

SOONER NOTES: Stoops made a point to mention punter Jeff Ferguson, offensive tackle Frank Romero, tight end Matt Anderson, defensive tackle Bary Holleyman and safety Roy Williams for their play against Texas Tech. ``Matt Anderson, I thought, had one of his best games _ some great catches and then some great runs after the catch,'' he said. ... For the first time this season, Heupel was not at the weekly news conference. He was busy in another part of the building doing photo shoots for various magazines and newspapers. ... A victory Saturday would make Oklahoma the first South Division team in the Big 12 to go undefeated in conference play. ... The Sooners have intercepted at least one pass in 12 straight games.