Postgame Takeaways From Oklahoma Sooners' Narrow 16-12 Victory Over the Houston Cougars
Well, that game certainly happened. The Oklahoma Sooners sleepwalked to a 16-12 win over the Houston Cougars in a game that lacked any sort of energy or attention to detail. It was one of those games that you ideally burn the tape on and move on to next week. There's nowhere to go but up […]
Well, that game certainly happened. The Oklahoma Sooners sleepwalked to a 16-12 win over the Houston Cougars in a game that lacked any sort of energy or attention to detail.
It was one of those games that you ideally burn the tape on and move on to next week. There's nowhere to go but up here.
The Offense Failed The Standard
I was willing to write off last week's performance due to rust, a new scheme, receivers hurt, a wet field, and first-game jitters. The problem is? Those are supposed to go away as time goes on. Instead, the offense regressed this week.
Here are OU's drives in this game:
- 3 plays, 0 yards, PUNT
- 1 play, 10 yards, TD
- 5 plays, 19 yards, PUNT
- 8 plays, 81 yards, TD
- 6 plays, 16 yards, PUNT
- 4 plays, 13 yards, PUNT
- 3 plays, 0 yards, PUNT
- 9 plays, 34 yards, INT
- 3 plays, 1 yard, PUNT
- 4 plays, 4 yards, missed FGA
- 11 plays, 34 yards, PUNT
- 5 plays, 17 yards, PUNT
That's nowhere close to an acceptable standard for Oklahoma. The offense simply refused to get out of its own way all game.
I would also like to register a concern about the situational play-calling. Oklahoma's offense repeatedly got into third and longs, a worrying trend with a shuffling offensive line and a young quarterback.
For a perfect example: On one drive, the Sooners quickly found themselves in a third and 11. They called a QB draw to make it fourth and manageable, something they did with a six-yard gain. The issue was? They opted to kick a long field goal there that kicker Tyler Keltner missed wide left.
Head coach Brent Venables said after the game that they called the draw there to go for it. And then they…didn't.
This is the sort of dysfunction that just simply shouldn't happen. The offense was just jumbled across the board. Jackson Arnold had the growing pains you'd expect of a young quarterback who was pressing to try and will the offense into big plays, and constantly being in these ridiculous situations didn't help him in the slightest.
The defense just might be for real, though
We've seen in numerous seasons Oklahoma's defense will look good in the opening non-conference games before tumbling apart as the season.
However, the fundamentals of this unit stand out from these other units. They're getting to the opposing quarterback, they are closing on run lanes quickly, taking good angles out in space, and limiting the big plays that plagued previous Sooners' defenses.
Oklahoma tallied two sacks and seven tackles and a smooth interception from safety Robert Spears-Jennings that helped clinch the game.
The only touchdown they allowed was a busted coverage on a play right after an interception that got nullified by a questionable pass interference call. Outside of that, Oklahoma's defense kept Houston in check and closed the gates in the second half.
I remarked after the game that this was the only Oklahoma team of seemingly the last decade that could win a game with just 16 points. There's truth to that, and it's a testament to their defense to be able to will the Sooners to the win here tonight.
