The name game

Despite losing many household names, OU's defense remains strong

Senior defensive end Dan Cody remains a big-time pass rusher for the Sooners' defense. Brian Bahr/Getty Images

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Ever since Oklahoma's return to the national elite in 2000, the Sooners have become almost synonymous with names like Nagurski, Butkus and Thorpe. From Roy Williams and Rocky Calmus to Tommie Harris and Derrick Strait, Oklahoma defenders have racked up nearly as many accolades as HBO has Emmys.

But when the Sooners take the field for Tuesday night's Orange Bowl against USC, they'll do so with a far less heralded defense than in their previous four seasons. With the exception of senior defensive end Dan Cody, there's nary a household name on the unit. That, combined with the departure of co-coordinator Mike Stoops late last season and a couple of uncharacteristic performances, left many around the country speculating that Oklahoma had lost its defensive dominance.

If so, it could be a long night Tuesday trying to stop Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and the rest of the Trojans' explosive offense. The way the season has played out, though, it's looking more and more like those two infamous games -- Oct. 30 against Oklahoma State and Nov. 6 against Texas A&M -- were the exception, not the rule.

"I wouldn't say it's fallen off any," said senior defensive end Jonathan Jackson. "We still have some great players on the field."

For the record, OU allowed just 280.2 yards per game on the season, ninth best nationally and nearly identical to the Sooners' 2000 national title season (280.6). Their last three opponents, Nebraska, Baylor and Colorado, managed three, zero and three points, respectively. They shut out the nation's sixth-ranked team, Texas.

But there have also been times when the Sooners showed chinks in their armor, specifically giving up the kind of big passing plays rarely seen by opponents in years past, and they came to a head in consecutive conference road games down the stretch.

In the second half of a 38-35 win over Oklahoma State, Cowboys QB Donovan Woods completed passes of 50, 47, 39 and 31 yards. OSU came within a missed last-second field goal of sending the game into overtime. The next week against Texas A&M, Aggies QB Reggie McNeal burned the Sooners for touchdowns of 71 and 46 yards, leaving Jason White to rally OU in a 42-35 shootout.

"Just busted coverage," Sooners co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables said of the long completions. "It's a matter of consistency, not having busted assignments. You can't do that."

There was also the matter of who was missing those assignments. At the time, Oklahoma was without star cornerback Antonio Perkins, known more as a punt returner but, as the Sooners found out the hard way, also a valuable cover corner, who missed four games with a knee injury. In his absence, opponents feasted on cornerbacks Eric Bassey and Chijioke Oneyenegecha.

Midway through the A&M game, co-defensive coordinator Bo Pelini made a controversial but fruitful decision: Pull the redshirt off vaunted freshman cornerback Marcus Walker, who immediately replaced Bassey. "He had been beating down our doors to get on the field," said Pelini. "We were giving up just some crazy plays, and I turned to him and said, 'You're in.'"

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Walker has started ever since, and Perkins returned the next week against Nebraska, and not coincidentally, the Sooners allowed a mere 253 passing yards over their last three games. However, it's hard to say how much of that was the personnel changes and how much of it was their opponents' lack of firepower compared to the Cowboys and Aggies.

"It's amazing when you're playing consistently and not giving up big plays, the perception is now all of a sudden you're playing dominant defense," said Venables. "But over the long haul, in time you're going to give up some plays here and there."

Those two games aside, Oklahoma's defense has performed remarkably well considering the massive amount of change the unit endured from last season. Mike Stoops, co-coordinator with Venables since Bob Stoops' 1999 arrival and the unquestioned emotional leader of the defense, left for Arizona. All-America defenders Harris, Strait and Teddy Lehman left for the NFL, and veteran tackle Dusty Dvoracek was dismissed from the team in September. All were core members of a defense that absolutely dominated its first 12 opponents last season en route to another national title game.

"The way we played defense last year," said Cody, "it doesn't happen that often like that."

Pelini's arrival from Nebraska, where he led a remarkable defensive turnaround from the previous season, didn't cause the Sooners to change much defensively. They still rely heavily on head coach Stoops' favored zone blitzes and nickel packages, though Pelini's main wrinkle was increased use of a third linebacker on early downs.

Nevertheless, Venables says there's no question this season has felt different, if for no other reason than the lack of star power. That said, there's no shortage of talent. Cody is a big-time pass rusher, and Jackson has had some big games over his career. Linebacker Lance Mitchell, who missed most of last season with an ACL tear, has returned to being the rock at middle linebacker. And safeties Donte Nicholson and Brodney Pool are two of the best in the country.

Their goals Tuesday are obvious: Get pressure on Leinart, contain physical Trojans receivers Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith, and, of course, never lose sight of elusive scat back Bush. Oklahoma rarely has trouble stopping the run, but where the secondary was able to get away with blown assignments earlier in the season, any such miscues against USC would be hard to overcome.

"Whether recognized nationally or not, we still feel we have a defense that's got a lot of very, very good players and some of the best at their positions in the country," said Venables. "Hopefully on Tuesday night you'll be able to see that."

Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com.