Jeff Lebby says Oklahoma's issue with PA announcer will get 'cleaned up'
This season, Oklahoma has implemented new wrinkles into it’s game day atmosphere. Some changes have been well received – others, not so much. One of the changes that have seemed to cause a problem on occasion this season involves the PA announcer.
When the Sooners gain a first down, the announcer will yell, “BOOMER,” and due to Lebby’s high-pace offense, sometimes the man behind the PA falls behind, and is still doing his first down chant when Jeff Lebby’s offense is snapping the football.
“I think, again, the frustration is in the fact that [we had] five offensive penalties, and they killed drives,” Lebby said. “We found ourselves. We were really bad on third down. We had five (plays) third-and-7 plus, where we didn’t convert a single one.
“Three of those five were because of pre-snap penalties, one of them was because of a drop. So you look at that and think, ‘Man, you got a chance to be a lot more efficient if those things don’t happen.’”
Various instances this season have seen the Oklahoma offense suffer due to the inconsistency of the new celebration. In Saturday’s loss to Kansas State, OU lineman McKade Mettauer was called for a false start after jumping the second the PA announcer hits his line.
“I think some of those things will get cleaned up,” Lebby said. “It’s just everybody getting used to how we’re playing.”
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Still, the offense and the Sooners’ PA announcer is not the reason for Oklahoma’ upset loss in Norman to the Wildcats. The Sooners defense looked the worst it has all season, surrendering 382 total yards and five touchdowns to Wildcats quarterback Adrian Martinez.
K-State won the battle up front, averaging 5.6 yards per carry to finish with 275 yards rushing as a team — the most OU has allowed all season by more than 100. Four of Martinez’s five total touchdowns came on the ground, and both he (148) and running back Deuce Vaughn (116) surpassed 100 yards rushing.