Saturday was one of the most head-scratching performances from an Oklahoma team in quite some time. There were a lot of bad things to take away from the game. Most notably, the performance or lack thereof from the Sooners offense. The good thing and the most important thing is that the Sooners found a way to escape with a 16-12 win over a Houston team that gave them everything they had and then some.
It is hard to quantify how weird that game was and how unexpected that performance was for Oklahoma’s offense based on what we have come to expect out of Sooner offenses for the last 20 years.
However, Brent Venables would never trade an ugly win for a pretty loss, and you’d be certain the rest of the Sooners locker room feels the same.
Oklahoma needed a few players to step up and show up to win that game, and for that reason, we have our three stars from the win below.
Danny Stutsman, LB
On a night where defense ruled the day, the best defensive player on the field had to be present and great for Oklahoma to win. Danny Stutsman was that and more for the Sooners on his way to tallying 15 tackles, 12 of which were solo and one for a loss. That gave him his 11th career game with double-digit tackles.
Stutsman earned an excellent run defense grade from Pro Football Focus, the best on the team.
Robert Spears-Jennings, S
There was simply no better defender on the field for either team than Robert Spears-Jennings. The junior safety, a local kid from nearby Tulsa, has been the highest graded Sooner in back-to-back weeks. Last night, he was incredible, once again. He was really good against the run and was fantastic in coverage as well.
Spears-Jennings’ third-down interception, while Houston was driving at the beginning of the fourth quarter, was also a monumental play in the game. He showed up and showed out, all while contributing to special teams as well.
Luke Elzinga, P
You simply don’t win a 16-12 game without incredible special teams play, and that is precisely what the Sooners received from punter Luke Elzinga. He’s probably going to need a little extra time in the cold tub today for that sore leg, but he deserves it.
He punted eight times for 352 yards, good for an average of 44 yards per punt. Five of the eight punts were downed inside of the 20, which was pivotal in a game where field position became gold by the second half. In particular his second to last punt of the night, which OU downed at the Houston five, set up Gracen Halton’s safety that sealed the win for the Sooners.
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