CINCINNATI (AP) So far, the Sooners don't mind sweating them out.
Oklahoma's 31-29 win over Cincinnati on Saturday night came down to the final minute, when the Sooners recovered an onside kick to remain unbeaten after four games.
Much better than a year ago.
Oklahoma (4-0) couldn't win the close ones on the road last season, losing four times by a touchdown or less. The Sooners seem to have outgrown that penchant for crumbling at the end. Three of their four wins this season have been by a touchdown or less.
"We're still young, but we're more experienced than we were a year ago and it's helped," coach Bob Stoops said.
Their youngsters had a lot to do with staying perfect.
Sophomore Landry Jones completed a career-high 36 passes in 51 attempts for 370 yards and a pair of touchdowns, the last one a 5-yard throw to freshman fullback Trey Millard with 4:31 to go. Jones' second TD pass put the Sooners in control.
Freshman Kenny Stills had four catches for 72 yards in an offense that did a little bit of everything, leaving Cincinnati (1-3) unable to catch up. Junior James Hanna, a reserve tight end, recovered D.J. Woods' fumble on a punt return at the Cincinnati 7-yard line, setting up that clinching touchdown pass.
"We have true freshmen out there playing as hard as they can, making plays for us," Jones said. "I'm really proud of those guys, especially Trey getting into the end zone on that very last play. That was a huge play. Also, James Hanna recovering the fumble at the end. That was probably the play of the game."
There were many game-turning plays on both sides. Cincinnati finally got its act together, moving beyond tough losses at Fresno State and North Carolina State. The two-time defending Big East champs cut it to 31-29 on Zach Collaros' third touchdown pass with 58 seconds left.
Ryan Broyles recovered the onside kick, allowing the No. 8 Sooners to survive another close call.
"I definitely think we're a different team this year," Jones said. "We're a lot tougher mentally than we were last year. When we need plays, everybody starts to buckle down and focus in and kind of just force big plays when we need them."
The defense had a few of those, too.
Safety Jonathan Nelson had two huge plays in the opening half. He ran down Woods at the end of a 73-yard catch-and-run in the first half, punching the ball loose from behind at the 5-yard line. It rolled into the end zone and the Sooners recovered.
"Huge," Stoops said. "That was a great hustle play and great effort on his part. Jonathan's got great speed and hustle and he's playing well."
Nelson also intercepted a pass in the end zone late in the first half, the first time that Collaros was picked off this season. The two heady plays helped the Sooners take a 17-9 lead into halftime.
Cincinnati ended up with four turnovers, undercutting a breakthrough game by its offense.
"I think you saw a team that fought and showed passion and emotion against a great football team," first-year coach Butch Jones said. "Our team came of age. There are no moral victories. Our backs have been to the wall. What I saw tonight was leadership step up. We took great strides."
So have the Sooners.
Last year, they lost their opener against BYU 14-13 in Arlington, Texas. After a couple of blowout wins at home, they lost at Miami 21-20. Later, they lost to Texas 16-13 and at Nebraska 10-3. setting them on course for an unsatisfying 8-5 finish.
So far, it's so much better.
"Let's face it - four games into a year ago, we weren't in this position," Stoops said. "We lost how many games by one point? We were sitting there thinking about one or two plays that if we make them, we have a chance to change the complexion of our team and what we look like.
"And we've made them this year. So we'll see where it goes. It's still way early and we've got a long way to travel."
Up next is rival Texas, which lost to UCLA 32-12 at home on Saturday in one of the most shocking upsets of the day. Texas (3-1) lost its first home game since 2007 and scored its fewest points at home since 2006.
