[autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] has done a good job of carving out his own legacy at the University of Oklahoma. But he had never had a 100-yard receiving game.
That was until Saturday. Stoops had a career day with 12 receptions for 134 yards and a touchdown. In the two biggest moments of the game, Stoops was the target. With Oklahoma down six with just over two minutes to play and facing a 3rd and 12, Gabriel lofted a ball to the end zone for Stoops, who drew a lot of contact but the official failed to throw the flag.
With the game on the line, the Sooners faced a 4th and 5, and Dillon Gabriel and Jeff Lebby trusted the team’s most reliable receiver on the day.
Stoops caught the ball but, unfortunately, was about two yards short of the sticks. The Sooners turned the ball over on downs, and the game was over. But that wasn’t the only moment where the Sooners had a chance to put the game away.
After taking a 21-17 lead, the Sooners’ offensive drives went downs, punt, fumble, field goal, and downs to end the game. Stoops spoke with the media about why they weren’t able to extend the lead, a problem they’ve faced all season for the most part.
“I feel like it’s a lot of things,” Stoops said. “Lack of discipline in some areas. Presnap penalties putting us behind the chains. Not executing when it matters the most. Just the whole team not playing complementary football at times. We get a turnover and we go three and out or we go and score a touchdown and then we give up a long touchdown for them. You’ve got to play complementary football if you want to be a good football team and beat other good football teams.”
Too many times, drives were killed by a presnap penalty by the Sooners when they would get around midfield. In their last two games, both one-score losses, the Sooners have had 19 penalties for 156 yards and six turnovers combined.
That’s not only how you get beat against inferior opponents, but it’s also how you find yourself on the outside looking in at the [autotag]Big 12 Championship[/autotag] race.
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