West Virginia scored in the final minutes of the game to prevent an embarrassing loss to the FCS school William and Mary, 24-17 on Saturday. Wendell Smallwood scored on a 2-yard run with 3:22 left for the go-ahead winning touchdown.…
The Sooners defense had not earned a shutout since holding Iowa State scoreless in 2010.
That changed Saturday, when Oklahoma blanked Louisiana-Monroe 34-0 on a sweltering night in Memorial Stadium in Norman.
Defensive captain Corey Nelson manned the middle of the field all night for the Sooners, recording eight tackles, one sack and two tackles for a loss.
The improvement from last year’s defense was notable. But, Nelson and his teammates maintained they have much to prove.
“We’re not satisfied at all, and I’ll make sure that the defense won’t be satisfied with this win that we got,” Nelson said. “Especially with a shutout, we have to continue to stay hungry and stay humble.”
In some ways it was a retro Sooner offense. A running quarterback. The option. Pitches. Sweeps. Power runs.
But it was the improvement on defense that gave Oklahoma control in their 34-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe to begin the 2013 season on Owen Field on Saturday night. It was the first shutout since 2011.
Redshirt freshman Trevor Knight had a shaky start, at one time 1 for 7 on his passes. But after halftime he returned to the field with more pizzazz and accuracy, finishing the game 11 of 28 for 86 yards, 103 yards rushing, and three touchdown passes.
The 16th-ranked Sooners rushed for 305 yards as a team with running back Damien Williams adding 66 on 16 carries.