NORMAN, Okla. -- There might be a silver lining in Oklahomas season-opening loss.Houston quarterback Greg Ward shredded the Sooners in a 33-23 victory that knocked Oklahoma from No. 3 to No. 14 in the AP poll , but the Cougars might have done the Sooners a favor by showing them what they need to fix in the secondary with Ohio State looming on Sept. 17. Oklahoma will start the process Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe.When you lose, its hard to look at some of those positives for us, Oklahoma defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. In the long run, Im sure it will pay off, we hope. We recognize that when you play a team like that (Houston), it exposes some of your weaknesses immediately.Stoops said there could be changes in the secondary. Ward passed for 321 yards and two touchdowns, and the Sooners got beat deep at times and struggled to tackle. Dakota Austin and Parrish Cobb, in particular, got picked on. Stoops said P.J. Mbanasor and former receiver Michiah Quick could get serious looks this week.Its pretty open right now, Stoops said. Well see who is the most consistent player out there. We need somebody to be consistent. You arent going to win every 50-50 ball, but you have to win your share. When they (the other team) win every time, that becomes a problem.Oklahoma will face another versatile quarterback on Saturday. Louisiana-Monroes Garrett Smith passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 150 yards and another score in a season-opening win over Southern. With Houstons success through the air, Stoops said, Oklahomas defensive backs can expect to be tested Saturday.The ball is going to keep coming, Stoops said. Thats one thing they ought to be ready for because its going to keep coming, so you just have to take it on as a personal challenge. To me, thats your pride and technique and thats why you are here. Were going to be challenged, and you have to be up for it. Well find out who is man enough for the challenge and who isnt.Houston avoided Oklahoma star cornerback Jordan Thomas and targeted the others. That makes the need for a cornerback other than Thomas to become a consistent playmaker critical.Its huge, Thomas said. That way, they (the other corners) dont feel like theyre in the hot seat. They dont have that much more stress on them to play perfect or to make a certain play here or here. I feel like its really, really crucial to our defense.All was not bad against the Cougars. Houston, a prolific running team a year ago, managed just 89 yards on 40 carries. Ward, who rushed for 1,114 yards last season, managed just one yard on 18 carries against the sooners.If you would have told me wed have held that team to 80 yards rushing and lost, I would have thought you were crazy, Stoops said. But its still finding the balance between putting all that pressure on guys that maybe cant handle it, finding ways to help.Stoops hopes the players learned a valuable lesson about preparation after falling short in that area before the Houston game.If you get too full of yourself -- and you can be overly confident and not prepare the right way -- then youre going to get humbled, he said. In this game, youre always one game, one play away from always getting humbled. Thats why you have to always stay the course and always prepare and work at it.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAPCheap Nike Tanjun Shoes . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Cheap Air Force 1 Black . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. http://www.airforce1shoesireland.com/ .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Cheap Air Force 1 Ireland .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Cheap Air Force 1 Mens Ireland . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace.LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraskas Caleb Lightbourn has taken the punting job he didnt want yet and run with it.Lightbourn expected to spend this season as the understudy to one of the nations best punters in Sam Foltz. But Foltz was killed in a car crash in Wisconsin in July, and Lightbourn was named his successor following a five-day competition in preseason practice.After up-and-down performances the first two games, Lightbourn was named Big Ten freshman of the week for shutting down Oregons powerful return game in last weeks 35-32 victory in Lincoln.You could always see the upside with this kid, special teams coach Bruce Read said. I thought if we could play him, he could get better and better. He has a great mindset, hes a very determined young man, hes a pretty mature kid. He does a nice job of being able to focus and block out the distractions.There have been lots of distractions.Foltz was another in a long line of small-town kids who walked on at Nebraska and made it big. He was beloved by fans, and his death continues to be mourned statewide and throughout the college football community.Lightbourn, from Washougal, Washington, is the first Nebraska punter since 1995 to come in on scholarship, so there were going to be high expectations no matter when he made his debut. But the circumstances for his first appearance would be almost unfathomable for any freshman.It came on the first series in the opener against Fresno State. Before he jogged onto the field, Nebraska lined up in a 10-man formation in an emotional tribute to Foltz.I almost came to tears when I was going out on the field because it was such a special moment, said Lightbourn, whose 29-yard punt was not returned. I was just glad to get the ball off and get my college career rolling, and doing it for Sam.Lightbourn struggled with the swirling wind the next week against Wyoming, and he made an ill-advised decision when he took off running on a fourth-and-10 and was stopped well short of a first down.But on a near-perfect afternoon against Oregon, Lightbourn averaged 47.2 yards on his five punts. His last three were all inside the Oregon 20, including one at the 3. The Ducks Charles Nelson, who entered the game ranked 11th nationally in punt returns, never got an opportunity to run one back.ddddddddddddI got a lot more confidence through that game and that experience, Lightbourn said.Lightbourn actually was a better kicker than punter in high school, said Read, who worked with him at Oregon State summer camps for three years before coming with coach Mike Riley to Nebraska. Lightbourn had a knee injury his senior year at Camas High, and he received no offers from any school except Nebraska.The 6-foot-3 Lightbourn is listed at 220 pounds, but Read said hes closer to 240. His father, Edgar Lightbourn, was an elite high jumper. His mother, Marjie Van Der Laan, was a nationally ranked rower in high school.He gets his power from her. He gets his explosion from his dad, Read said. He never really punted all that much. Knowing the bloodlines, and having the history of working with him behind the scenes, we took a shot at him. We were confident he could be a real good player someday. We just didnt know when.Read said Lightbourn should excel in the Big Ten, where cold and strong winds become bigger factors as the season progresses.Guys who dont have pop arent able to deal with this conference very well, so you need big, powerful guys, which is a reason he was a real fit for us, Read said. I figured with a year, we could work and groom him into being that guy. It just happened to come on a lot faster than we thought.Lightbourn arrived at Nebraska in June with the plan to take a redshirt year and learn from Foltz. The two worked together when time allowed, and Lightbourn sensed Foltz taking him under his wing.He told me he wanted me to do the best I possibly can. He told me right before he went to Wisconsin, a few days before that, to kick how you know how to kick and dont let anything influence you too tremendously, Lightbourn said. I think going out there and doing the best I possibly can is what would make him happy.---Online:AP college football website: http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '
