Saturday evening in Norman brought a fascinating twist. Instead of the high-octane, offensive shootout we all expected, we were treated to a defensive struggle most of the game as the Oklahoma Sooners beat the SMU Mustangs 28-11.
Oklahoma seemingly refused to put their foot on the gas as an offense, opting for a run-heavy attack.
Oklahoma came out with a game plan to dominate the line of scrimmage and control the ball. The plan seemed competent at times, but the scoreboard didn’t reflect an offense firing on all cylinders.
Oklahoma took advantage of a blocked punt by five-star freshman safety [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag]. The Sooners opened the scoring on a busted coverage by SMU, opening the door for a 29-yard pass from [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] to [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag] for his first touchdown as a Sooner.
The Sooners defense stood firm in the first half, only allowing 3 points.
The Sooners allowed the Mustangs to get to the 50-yard line numerous times but on a number of occasions, the Sooners forced punts shortly after. Oklahoma entered the half up 14-3.
After the half, SMU and OU traded punts before the Mustangs got the ball back.
Jaylan Knight gashed the Sooners’ defense for what looked like a momentum-stealing play before [autotag]Key Lawrence[/autotag] stripped the ball to force a turnover. [autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] kept the ball from skirting out of bounds and [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] got the recovery.
The Sooners drove 43 yards in eleven plays only to be stood up on 4th down when SMU stopped freshman quarterback [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] short of the line to gain on fourth down.
SMU rode that momentum down the field and scored their only touchdown of the evening on a [autotag]Preston Stone[/autotag] pass to Jake Bailey. The Mustangs also scored on the two-point conversion to make it 14-11.
Oklahoma had to answer and did.
Dillon Gabriel orchestrated an 11-play, 75-yard drive down the field, culminating in a 21-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Jalil Farooq. That gave the Sooners a 21-11 lead with 9:11 remaining in the game.
On the ensuing drive, SMU was aggressive, going for it on fourth down deep in their own territory. A pass breakup from true freshman safety Peyton Bowen gave the Sooners the ball on downs.
Three plays later, [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] caught a pass from Gabriel and matriculated down the sideline on the way to paydirt, giving Oklahoma a 28-11 with 6:40 remaining on the clock.
Oklahoma’s defense capped off a solid effort with a Justin Harrington interception late in the fourth to seal the game with one last stop.
It was far from an aesthetically pleasing win like the Sooners had against Arkansas State. But the defense stepped up to the plate and played well for four quarters against a talented SMU offense. And in the second half, the offense made enough plays to pull away.
Oklahoma’s defense held the SMU Mustangs to 355 yards and gave up just 11 points. Offensively, the Sooners tallied 365 yards and had no turnovers.
Dillon Gabriel wasn’t asked to do a whole lot on the evening but completed 70% of his passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns.
[autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] led the way on the ground for OU with 21 carries for 117 yards. Walker also had three receptions for 25 yards, proving to be Oklahoma’s lead back through two weeks. Andrel Anthony was the leading receiver with seven catches for 76 yards and a touchdown catch.
Danny Stutsman had a huge game for the defense, totaling 17 tackles, (five solo), a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a quarterback hit. [autotag]Kip Lewis[/autotag] was second on the team in tackles with nine total tackles.
Oklahoma (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) will now turn its sights to in-state foe Tulsa. They’ll travel to Tulsa to play the Golden Hurricane as the road team in a sold-out venue next Saturday. SMU (1-1, 0-0 AAC) will host Prairie View A&M in Dallas next week.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.