Sooners still struggling with passing attack

Norman, Okla. ? With all of his team’s struggles establishing a passing game, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops says the Sooners don’t need to simplify what they’re doing for redshirt freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar.

But he says opening up the playbook isn’t the way to go, either.

Instead, he sees the solution to Oklahoma’s passing woes in getting his quarterback, receivers and offensive line all functioning properly at the same time. No matter what play the Sooners (2-3, 1-1 Big 12) are running, it just won’t work if all three parts aren’t doing their jobs.

“If we hit a receiver in the chest with the football, we can’t bobble it and let them get it. If we have a guy wide open, we can’t put the ball in the dirt. If we have a guy wide open, we’ve got to be able to protect the quarterback for three seconds so he can get the football off and get it to him,” Stoops said. “At different times, one of those breaks down.

“It doesn’t take a lot for a play on either side of the ball to look bad.”

Entering Saturday’s game against Kansas University (3-2, 0-2) at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., the Sooners rank 112th out of 119 Division I-A football teams in passing offense, averaging a meager 128.8 yards through the air. To make matters worse, KU has the third-best run defense in college football, so keeping the ball on the ground throughout might not be a sensible solution to the aerial woes.

Oklahoma Freshman RHett bomar has struggled, and OU ranks only No. 112 (out of 117) nationally in passing offense.

After he didn’t attempt a pass in the second half against Tulsa, Bomar seemed to be making progress with solid games against UCLA and Kansas State. He went a combined 32-for-51 for 380 yards, threw his first career touchdown pass and didn’t have a single interception.

But Stoops felt his young starter took a step backward against Texas last week, throwing for only 94 yards on 12-for-33 passing in the Sooners’ 45-12 loss. When he wasn’t getting driven into the Cotton Bowl grass, his passes were frequently skipping off of it or being dropped by Oklahoma receivers.

“We still are very encouraged that he’s capable of it,” Stoops said. “For whatever reasons, he wasn’t as effective or as consistent.”

Offensive coordinator Chuck Long said Bomar’s throws were coming up short because he was throwing off of his back leg.

“It’s a chronic thing that quarterbacks go through. … They lock that front leg and don’t get through the ball, much like a golfer not getting his hips through on a golf shot,” Long said. “It’s a mechanical thing that can be corrected.”

The passing problems are a new challenge for Stoops’ staff. Since Stoops took over in 1999, his quarterbacks have had the six highest passing totals in Oklahoma history.

Josh Heupel set the school’s passing standard with 3,850 yards in 1999, and the Sooners had a quarterback with at least 2,400 passing yards each of the next five seasons. At his current pace, Bomar would finish this season with less than half that total.

The fact that he follows Jason White, the most prolific passer in Oklahoma history, only draws more attention to the struggles.

The past two seasons, White had 75 touchdown passes and threw for 7,051 yards in leading the Sooners to back-to-back BCS title games.

But what he, Heupel and Nate Hybl had that Bomar doesn’t is experience. For Bomar, the game is still moving fast, Long said.

Plus, he’s throwing to a receiving corps that includes three freshmen, a redshirt freshman and a quarterback who switched to wideout less than a month ago. Two more freshmen and a redshirt freshman are receiving regular playing time on the offensive line.

“He has a lot of youth around him, Long said. “We’re playing a lot of true freshmen at wide receiver. We look at it as a bright future. Let’s let them all grow up together.”

“We’ve got some young linemen in there at times. : It’s been a little rough, there’s no question. But the future looks great.”