Lincoln Riley is 'Frustrated, Disappointed,' but Says 'We're Close ... Don't Write Us Off Yet'

Sooners head coach said the expectations at Oklahoma are high, but he wasn't necessarily "shocked" the they came out so flat Saturday at Kansas.

NORMAN — Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said Tuesday he’s “disappointed” and “frustrated” that his football team came out so flat on Saturday at Kansas.

But he’s not exactly shocked.

“I don’t get shocked at football games very often,” Riley said during his weekly press conference. “Anything can happen.”

Riley said the Sooners got KU’s best shot — as everyone does, he said — but he was pleased that the team found a way to focus in late and win 35-23 with five second-half touchdowns.

"One thing I learned at OU, and I had to learn this being here,” he said, “ … you take how we feel about as a fan base, people that watch the program, how do we feel about going to play Texas? That week feels different. Everybody that plays us, that’s how they feel about us. That’s the world we live in.”

Riley said it’s a common occurrence for the opponent to play harder, sharper and better against OU then they do in other games — other games that the team studies on film.

“It’s not the same opponent we’re gonna play,” he said. “That’s just the nature of the beast.”

He said the team’s 8-0 start shows how they’ve overcome occasional doldrums. When one side of the ball plays poorly, he said, the other side “has been really, really good.”

That didn’t happen at KU, he said, until the end.

“We haven’t had the knockout blows,” Riley said “ … but we’ve had enough to win the games.

“Frustrated, disappointed. yeah,” Riley continued. “But we’ve obviously identified … one side carries the other or makes up for the other. It’s a great quality to have.

“But we realize we’ve got to string together some quality football, like we have at times this year.”

The No. 4-ranked Sooners (8-0) host Texas Tech (5-3) this week. It’s Riley’s alma mater, and his old friend and teammate, Sonny Cumbie, was elevated to interim head coach after the school fired Matt Wells on Monday.

It’s the last game of October, meaning what Riley refers to as “Championship November” is just around the corner. OU hasn’t lost a game in November in four seasons under Riley, but it’s worth asking if this team has shown enough steady improvement to keep that streak alive.

Has there been a disconnect this year?

“I don’t think there’s a disconnect,” Riley said. "I just think we’re kinda on our journey. I think in a lot of areas we have improved, and w’ell continue to improve. Every journey is different. Every year is different, every scenario is different.

“When I watch the tape, I still see improvements, and I still see things that get me real excited about what this team can be. … We haven’t put them all together, but we’re closer than you guys think. We’re closer than the fan base, nationally, all this.”

Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch acknowledged on Tuesday that "Championship November" is coming and the lack of visible improvements week to week is troubling.  

"I think it's alarming," Grinch said, "just because you're running out of time."

Riley said perception is one thing, but reality is something else entirely.

“You keep winning, things tend to work themselves out,” he said. “We’ve won eight games, we’ve got the longest winning streak in the country, The sky is not falling. Don’t write us off yet.”