⚡ CFB Dashboard

Jayden Jackson has been one of Oklahoma's better players through the first two games of the season. Still, after the Sooners' 17-10 loss at Michigan, the junior defensive tackle wasn't spending much time talking about what went right. Instead, Jackson's focus was on what Oklahoma's defense left on the field and how it can respond Saturday night against New Mexico. "We could have definitely played better," Jackson said. "We all know that, that goes up and down the whole entire defense. Just the little things, fundamentals, just doing too much at the end of the day. We should just stick to the basics." Jackson has been a steady piece in the middle of Oklahoma's defensive front early this season, but even he pointed to some of his own mistakes in Ann Arbor. "I was mainly frustrating myself, doing the wrong thing, being in the wrong gap," Jackson said. "We got to be better and that showed." That was really the theme of Jackson's availability Monday. Oklahoma's defense wasn't necessarily bad against Michigan. The Sooners gave the offense plenty of chances in the second half and allowed 75 yards over Michigan's final five possessions. But there were still enough mistakes for Jackson to come away frustrated. "Just doing our job," Jackson said. "Like, I keep saying the little things because that is what we lacked at the end of the day. We got to be better and we've all seen it." Now comes New Mexico. The Lobos enter Saturday night unbeaten, and Jackson made it clear Oklahoma isn't looking at this week as some sort of automatic bounce-back opportunity. "They're not feeling sorry for us," Jackson said. "We got to come back in, have the same mentality. Flip the next page. They just blew out both of their teams they played. They're a really good offense, really good defense, so it's going to be another challenge." For Oklahoma, that challenge once again starts up front. The Sooners have continued adding depth to the interior defensive line, and Jackson believes the group is in a good spot behind himself and David Stone. "The depth is really good," Jackson said. "We have a lot of guys that have been in the playbook, been consistently grinding. They know what to do and I trust them with everything. Stone trusts them with everything. Bates trusts them with everything." That includes Braxton Fely and Danny Saili, two later additions to the room who are still working their way into Oklahoma's defensive system. "We had some new guys come in," Jackson said. "Braxton, I'm excited to see what he can do. Danny's been flashing here and there, so we have a lot of guys that are hungry." Jackson has been particularly impressed with how quickly Saili has worked to catch up. "It's impressive, but you guys don't see his work, what he does outside of what everyone sees publicly," Jackson said. "He's in there with Bates every single day. Him and Braxton are trying to get in the groove as quick as they can." Saili's previous SEC experience has helped with recognizing blocks and formations. The bigger adjustment, Jackson said, has been learning Brent Venables' defense. "We know how BV's scheme is," Jackson said. "It's pretty exotic. It's pretty different." That depth is going to matter as Oklahoma moves deeper into its schedule. After the loss at Michigan, the focus is simply on fixing what went wrong and making sure those same mistakes don't show up again Saturday. "A loss is a loss at the end of the day, but we got to move on to the next opponent," Jackson said. "We know we're about to face hard teams coming up, but it's a faceless, nameless opponent. It's the same opponent every single week… Playing for a championship every single week." Jackson has already played well through the first two weeks. Now, Oklahoma needs the rest of its defense to take another step with him. "Just focusing on the little details and what we didn't do as a defense," Jackson said. "Honing in on things that we may have messed up." Saturday night against New Mexico will be the first chance to show those corrections. "How can we be better?" Jackson said. "How can we put our next foot down? How can we just keep moving forward?"