What was said during the players-only meeting in Oklahoma

Within 24 hours of their hated rival embarrassing them in the Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma’s players rallied without coaches present to ensure that result would not be repeated.

Top-ranked Texas defeated the Sooners 34-3 on Saturday. The offense failed to reach the end zone. The defense gave up more points than it had all season.

“I mean, obviously you kind of know what the mood is going to be,” the OU linebacker said Danny Stutsman said. “It’s kind of self-explanatory. I actually just talked to the team, you know? I mean, it is what it is. We caught it on tape, we filmed it, and of course you’re going to be disappointed by it. At this moment you can’t really say much. I think everything was said at halftime, before the game. We just didn’t really do this moment justice.”

Then Sunday came and after 24 hours there was apparently even more to say. Stutsman, a captain, told reporters Monday after practice that the team had a players-only meeting on Sunday.

“Yeah, I mean, right after something like that happens, it’s very easy for guys to blame each other,” Stutsman said. “And there are a thousand excuses you can make, but the options you will have are limited. I think straight after that we had a players’ meeting where all the boys got together and that’s a really positive thing to see. I actually aired it and got it all out there. We did that (Sunday), so now it’s a new week, a new mindset, a new opponent. We were really excited, we learned from it and we just came back together as a team.”

Stutsman’s defense started this season outstandingly, holding non-conference teams to 11.3 points per game. But during the SEC slate so far, that number has increased to 26.7 against conference opponents.

However, most of the problems have occurred on the other side of the ball lately, which has played into the question of whether there is discord in the locker room or whether OU’s defense is frustrated and trying to close the gap on the other side of the ball close. The Sooners average 15 points per game against SEC defenses. Statistically, they rank near the bottom in most offensive categories, including total offense, where OU ranks in the bottom 10 among all 133 FBS teams.

“I don’t feel like there’s ever a separation,” defensive lineman said Gracen Halton said. “We have to stress that in the locker room. We’re all in this together. We all go to the same locker room after the game and before the game. No matter what happens, we have (their) back. We just have to keep working. I’ve stepped up and that’s just the love for the boys. I love the space and the team I have and respect BV. I know he’s looking down and looking for people who will do that. So I know I have to improve.”

So what was said during OU’s players-only meeting after we lost two of our last three games and were eliminated from the rankings?

“The message is that we have to get it right,” Halton said. “We worked hard for this. We know what everyone in our room has been through leading up to this moment. We just can’t stop now. So throw positive words into the guys’ heads and just make sure we get back to work and make sure we have the same mindset.”