Sooners Plan to Spread Responsibility for Bush

Lance Mitchell of Oklahoma would not be the first college football linebacker to awake from a cold-sweat dream in which he was lined up in pass coverage against USC tailback Reggie Bush.

Mitchell, though, said he was sleeping well this week, knowing he won’t have to handle Bush alone.

“We’re all going to have to point him out,” Mitchell said. “We all have to be aware where he is at all times. It’s not going to be just me.”

Washington State Coach Bill Doba said earlier this season that you might as well start playing the USC fight song when the speedy Bush is lined up on a linebacker.

As Mitchell says about Bush, “It’s not just linebackers that he runs past.”

Oklahoma, however, plays a zone defense that tries not to put its skill players in one-on-one situations.

“I’ll have help,” Mitchell said.

Arizona, which is coached by Mike Stoops, brother of Oklahoma Coach Bob, used a similar defensive scheme to contain Bush in USC’s 49-9 win over Arizona on Nov. 13.

Bush was held to 45 yards rushing, 19 yards receiving and no touchdowns.

Mitchell also knows that keeping Bush out of the end zone is a play-by-play proposition.

“The thing about playmakers is you can hold him all game until that crucial part of the game and then he breaks one,” Mitchell said.

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If you don’t think college players have short memories, think again.

Mitchell, who grew up in San Francisco, said he signed with Oklahoma not knowing anything about the school’s storied football history.

He’d never heard of Barry Switzer?

Or Billy Sims?

Or Bud Wilkinson?

Or Brian Bosworth?

“Nothing,” Mitchell said. “Nothing at all.”

Mitchell’s first impressions of Norman?

“Cold, wide open, kind of flat, nothing to do,” he said.

Yet, Mitchell signed anyway.

Actually, he wanted to attend USC and was wowed by Trojan Coach Pete Carroll during his recruiting visit, but he did not qualify academically.

Mitchell played at San Francisco City College, where he was a teammate of USC senior cornerback Ronald Nunn.

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Some Oklahoma players were left wondering what impact conference partner Texas Tech’s 45-31 win over California might have on Tuesday’s BCS title-game matchup against USC.

Here’s the thought process: Oklahoma easily handled Texas Tech, 28-13, earlier this year while USC was generally outplayed in a six-point win over Cal at the Coliseum.

So that means Oklahoma should beat USC, right?

“I wasn’t surprised,” Mitchell said of Texas Tech’s win over Cal. “I knew Tech would come out and at least put up some points.”

Added Oklahoma defensive end Dan Cody:

“I’ve never played an offense that wears you out more than Texas Tech, there’s no question about that. Maybe it caught them [Cal] off guard, I don’t know.”

Brent Venables, the Sooners’ co-defensive coordinator, says Cal’s loss to Texas Tech has no bearing on the Orange Bowl.

“I think our guys understand that game means nothing to us and nothing to USC,” Venables said. “ ... That’s for the media, that’s for the fans to talk about, all the ramifications of what happened [Thursday] night.”

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Things were going so badly for the Oklahoma secondary against Texas A&M; at College Station on Nov. 9, the Sooners were forced to burn the redshirt season of freshman cornerback Marcus Walker.

Oklahoma gave up 360 passing yards against Texas A&M.;

“We gave up just some crazy plays,” Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator Bo Pelini said in explaining the move to put Walker in the game.

“I turned to him and said, ‘You’re in.’ He had been beating down our doors to get on the field.”

Walker’s play, combined with the return of injured cornerback Antonio Perkins, has solidified what once was a shaky Sooner secondary.

Oklahoma’s defense gave up only six points in its last three wins against Nebraska, Baylor and Colorado.

Perkins was injured against Texas on Oct. 9 and sat out four games before returning to the lineup against Nebraska.

“It was real hard for me,” Perkins said of the playing time he missed. “I was supposed to be leading the secondary. I was a senior returning starter and I thought coming into the season I was going to be the leader of the secondary.

“I had to sit out four games with a knee injury, but now I’m back and I feel comfortable and confident in myself and my teammates.”