It wasn’t always pretty on either side of the football. Still, the Oklahoma Sooners got the win on Saturday in a sometimes dominant, sometimes sloppy 40-28 victory over the Tulane Green Wave.
The second quarter was the difference in the football game as the Sooners outscored the Green Wave 23-0. In the other three quarters, Tulane either tied or outscored the Sooners.
After an interception on the opening drive, the Green Wave took a 7-0 lead. They traded touchdowns in the first quarter, highlighted by Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams 1-yard touchdown runs.
In the second quarter, the Sooners came to life. The defense was dominant, forcing three turnovers, and the offense scored 23 points to take a 37-14 lead into halftime.
However, the second half was a different story as the Tulane Green Wave roared back to life and outscored the Sooners 21 to 3 to make it a game late in the fourth quarter.
The Sooners had a chance to put the game away late in the fourth quarter after Spencer Rattler was bailed out by a pass interference call that overturned an interception.
After scoring with 2:18 left to go, the Green Wave recovered an onside kick that gave them a shot to take the lead in the final minutes.
On the final series of the game for Tulane, the Sooners forced incompletions on the first two plays of the drive. Then after Nik Bonitto and Perrion Winfrey combined for a sack, Tulane faced a 4th and 13.
On the fourth-down play, Michael Pratt was forced to leave the pocket after facing pressure from the Sooners pass rush. As he scrambled to find space, Pratt decided to run for the first down. With about five yards to go, he was tripped up by the Oklahoma defense and was forced to dive for the first down marker, coming up a yard short, turning the ball over on downs to the Oklahoma Sooners.
After picking up the first down, the Sooners were able to kneel on the ball to run down the clock and seal the victory.
Michael Pratt was fantastic in the loss, showing toughness and determination to will his team back from 23 points down. He finished the day 27 of 44 for 296 yards and three touchdowns. Spencer Rattler was 30 of 39 for 303 yards, one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown, and two interceptions.
The Oklahoma Sooners have to feel fortunate to come away with the victory. There’s plenty to work on as they get ready to host Western Carolina in what will be their official home opener.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.