The Oklahoma Sooners hung on to beat the UCF Knights 31-29 in a game that came down to the wire.
The Sooners’ defense started it off with a three-and-out but after a dropped direct snap and dropped pass by [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag], the Sooners’ offense also went three and out.
The Sooners’ defense forced another three and out after a 3rd down sack by [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag]. UCF shanked the punt, and the Sooners started their next drive at UCF’s 40-yard line.
The Sooners offense couldn’t get anything going after a first down and [autotag]Zach Schmit[/autotag] missed a 38-yard field goal. While Sooners’ offense has looked out of sync, the defense has looked solid again as they forced another three and out. After another bad punt, the Sooners’ offense started the drive at the UCF 45-yard line.
Oklahoma cashed this time as [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] found [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] for a 29-yard score. The defense forced another three and out and had great field position again. But the offense couldn’t capitalize once again and Schmit once again missed the 43-yard field goal.
The Knights responded with a big run that put the ball first and goal on the Sooners’ one-yard line. Oklahoma’s defense came up big again and forced the Knights into a 4th and goal at the 2, but [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag] was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty giving the Knights a first down. [autotag]John Rhys Plumlee[/autotag] tied it up at seven with his touchdown run.
After an Oklahoma punt, the Knights had a 1st and goal from the six but the Sooners’ defense held and forced a field goal. The Knights took a 10-7 lead late in the second quarter.
The Sooners finally got something going on offense as Gabriel hit Anderson again this time for a 42-yard touchdown pass.
[autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] got caught playing the run instead of the run-pass option, and UCF threw an 86-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead.
Gabriel led a great drive before the half, where Schmit finally cashed in with a field to tie it up at 17 going into halftime.
The Knights outgained the Sooners 232 to 226 in the first half.
The Sooners started with the ball, and Gabriel threw it to [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag], who got hit as he was trying to catch it, which resulted in an interception. The defense forced a three-and-out, but the Knights were already in OU territory and kicked a field goal to take the 20-17 lead.
For a lot of the second half, the Sooners couldn’t get much going on offense. Their first four drives of the second half ended with an interception and then three straight punts.
UCF added another field goal to make it 23-17 going into the fourth.
With 11:24 to play in the game, the Sooners finally got something going in the run game. Gavin Sawchuk picked up 23 yards on three carries and Marcus Major had two carries for 26 yards to help the Sooners get down the field before Drake Stoops took the screen pass from Gabriel for a touchdown.
With the score 24-23, the defense would get a stop after a huge sack by [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] to force a UCF punt.
The Sooners’ offense would take over and bleed the clock before Sawchuk busted it for a 30-yard touchdown run to put the Sooners up 31-23 late in the 4th Quarter.
UCF marched down the field and scored on a 4th down pass but the Sooners held on the two-point conversion to stay up 31-29.
The Sooners survived to remain unbeaten. The offense gained 442 yards of offense and held UCF to 397 total yards.
Dillon Gabriel had another solid day in the win, throwing for 253 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 66% of his passes and ran for 22 yards. Nic Anderson led the Sooners in receiving with five catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Drake Stoops caught seven passes for 60 yards and the go-ahead score.
On the ground, Marcus Major, who was apparently dealing with a shoulder injury coming into the game, carried the ball 18 times for 80 yards. Gavin Sawchuk, who got the start, rushed 10 times for 60 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Danny Stutsman led the way with 12 total tackles and a forced fumble. Key Lawrence had nine total tackles, including seven solo tackles in the win. Ethan Downs continued his strong 2023 season with six total tackles and a sack. In total, Oklahoma had three sacks and 13 tackles for loss.
Against one of the best run games in the country, the Sooners held the Knights to just 3.6 yards per carry and 149 yards rushing on the day.
It wasn’t a clean win, but the Oklahoma Sooners stayed undefeated. Now they get ready for a pair of road games in Lawrence to face the Kansas Jayhawks and then in Stillwater to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
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