Tag: Jeff Lebby

5 takeaways from the Sooners’ 27-24 loss to Oklahoma State

Oklahoma lost 27-24 in the last Bedlam game. Here are our five takeaways from the loss.

Oklahoma, for the first time since last year, finds itself on a two-game losing streak. OU lost the final matchup of Bedlam on Saturday, 27-24, in controversial fashion.

The Sooners entered the game looking to bounce back quickly after losing a close game on the road against the Kansas Jayhawks.

Oklahoma played much better collectively this week. Ultimately, the result was the same. Now, Mike Gundy and his Oklahoma State Cowboys will have the distinction of owning the last win in the Bedlam series before it takes an indefinite pause.

The Sooners had every chance to put themselves in a position to win the game but failed multiple times to either extend their lead early in the fourth quarter or avoid big mistakes. As the dust settles, it’s time for our five takeaways from the game.

Oklahoma Sooners land another in-state product in a surprise commitment

Oklahoma got some good news in a surprise commitment from in-state 2025 product.

The [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners 2025 recruiting[/autotag] is absolutely on fire right now. The Sooners didn’t land just one but two players on Thursday night.

Marcus James from Carl Albert in Oklahoma City, Okla. was the one everyone knew was coming as he scheduled his announcement for 6:30 p.m. CT that day. But shortly after, his teammate, 2025 3-star athlete [autotag]Trynae Washington[/autotag], also committed to the Sooners.

Washington is a 6-foot-3, 195-pound do-it-all player for Carl Albert. He plays both wide receiver and safety. Washington told OUInsider (subscription required) in an exclusive interview the plan was for him to play tight end and wide receiver at Oklahoma.

Washington is the fourth Carl Albert player to commit to Oklahoma this calendar year, joining [autotag]Marcus James[/autotag], three-star 2024 running back [autotag]Xavier Robinson[/autotag] and four-star 2025 quarterback [autotag]Kevin Sperry[/autotag]. But they aren’t done, as Washington admits he has his eyes set on teammate, 2025 defensive back [autotag]Trystan Haynes[/autotag] to join the crew.

As for what sold Washington on Oklahoma, he told OUInsider, “They are a big family, and make sure that you feel welcome there. The atmosphere there is great as well, the coaches getting involved just as much as the players. They were reaching out to me and trying to get me more involved, more than other colleges were.”

The Sooners didn’t land their first 2024 commit until March of this year when Jeremiah Newcombe broke the ice. As of right now the Sooners already have seven 2025 commits, with some more potentially on their way soon.

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 Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

5 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners victory over Oklahoma State in Bedlam

5 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The Oklahoma Sooners head to Stillwater for one final time as they get set to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The vibes surrounding each team are strikingly different. Oklahoma is coming off of their first loss of the season, to Kansas, no less. That loss was preceded by a scare at home from UCF coming out of their bye week.

Meanwhile, Mike Gundy has his Cowboys on a four-game winning streak and isn’t lacking in things he needs to say to motivate his team for this particular game.

Oklahoma will lose this game if they play like they have the last two weeks. In a rivalry game, mistakes are magnified.

There is nothing more Oklahoma State fans want more than to beat Oklahoma as the Bedlam series comes to a close with the Sooners’ departure to the SEC.

The last two games have shown us Oklahoma is improved. However, they are still capable of losing games if they don’t bring their best.

What do the Sooners need to do to come away with a win. Here are five keys to this week’s matchup.

‘Just ultimately couldn’t finish’: Dillon Gabriel talks final drive of the Kansas Jayhawks game

The Sooners couldn’t pull out a lackluster performance against the Jayhawks, but they know there is still a lot more to play for.

With 47 seconds left in the game against the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] this past Saturday, [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] trotted onto the field with the Oklahoma Sooners down five. Gabriel, a Heisman candidate, had only attempted 13 passes up to that point in the game.

The question now was if Gabriel could lead another miraculous comeback like he had earlier in the season. This drive wouldn’t go like the one in the [autotag]Cotton Bowl[/autotag].

Gabriel ended up going 3 of 6 on the drive for 62 yards. A holding penalty on the first play of the drive, set them back from the jump. The Sooners would need to go 85 yards to win the game. Gabriel gave them a shot, but the mini-hail mary couldn’t get the Sooners into the end zone. Immediately following the game, questions surrounded the game plan.

Gabriel talked to reporters after practice this week about his confidence level on that final drive of the game. “I knew we had a shot,” Gabriel said. “Whenever you have a chance, that’s all you really need to make something happen. I felt we had a good chance at getting down there. Just ultimately couldn’t finish.”

Going into that final drive, Gabriel had completed only four passes that gained more than 10 yards. That lack of aggression has been called into question, even addressed by [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag].

“Score from afar” is the motto [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] has talked about, but the Sooners looked more like a team content with “three yards and a cloud of dust.” The Kansas defensive backs were almost daring OU to take deep shots, yet the Sooners refused to do so.

It’s that kind of game plan that gets you beat and, if not corrected, will get you beat more than once this season. This week against an Oklahoma State defense that ranks 92nd in the nation in passing yards allowed but is 33rd in completion percentage allowed, the Sooners need to find more balance in their offense than they had a week ago. Namely, they need to let their quarterback have a hand in the outcome unlike last 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 Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

‘We do need to maintain an aggressive mentality’: Brent Venables feels the offense needs to keep an aggressive mentality

The Oklahoma Sooners need to bring back an aggressive mentality as they travel to Stillwater this weekend.

The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off their first loss of the season, falling to the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag]. This one was a heartbreaker as the team had every chance to win but never was able to pull it out.

Ethan Downs picked off [autotag]Jason Bean[/autotag] with around 2:30 left in the game and returned it into Jayhawks’ territory. At that point, it looked like the Sooners once again were going to pull out a victory. They needed one first down to win it, and instead of being aggressive and putting the ball in your Heisman candidates’ hands, [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] ran the ball three times, and the Sooners punted it away.

The Jayhawks would end up scoring and winning the game on their final drive. [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] took a lot of the blame for the loss in his post-game press conference, but this game falls back on the lack of aggression on the offensive side of the ball. [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] had 13 passes before the final drive. He threw the ball six times on the final drive and looked pretty good doing so. His quarterback counterpart threw the ball 32 times in the game.

Venables talked in his press conference this week about the lack of deep shots and aggression by the offense. “I think the opportunity was there,” Venables said. “Wishing is not going to do anything, but we do need to maintain an aggressive mentality. There’s always that balance when you try to be efficient and protect the football, but at the same time, at the right time, take your shots. We’ve got good players who can run past people and go up and make competitive plays.”

The Sooners are going to need that aggressive mentality and play-calling this weekend with arguably the hottest team in the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] is waiting. If they have another lackluster performance offensively and aren’t aggressive once again, the Sooners could be in some serious trouble.

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 Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Report Card: Poor grades all around as Oklahoma loses to Kansas

Oklahoma struggles nearly across the board areas but how did each position group grade out in the loss to Kansas?

Oklahoma took their first loss of the season on Saturday, falling to the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] on a rainy and disgusting day in Lawrence. From the first play from scrimmage, it appeared Oklahoma would be in for a fight. And sure enough, that’s precisely what happened.

Oklahoma fell victim to another slow start on both sides of the ball. The Sooners were never able to get their passing game going. Due to the weather conditions, they relied heavily on their offensive line and running backs to generate offense.

The sooners will try and figure things out as they get set to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys in what will be the last Bedlam for quite some time.

OU played a rough game on all fronts. Some things were encouraging, but a lot of the performance put forth was not good enough. We broke it down by position group below.

Social media reacts to the Sooners frustrating 38-33 loss to the Jayhawks

The Sooners suffered their first loss of the season in frustrating fashion to the Kansas Jayhawks and here’s how Social media reacted.

An 18-game winning streak over the Kansas Jayhawks went up in smoke on a cold, wet day in Lawrence on Saturday. The Sooners fell 38-33 in frustrating fashion to the Jayhawks and are now 7-1 and 4-1 on the season.

Oklahoma still controls its own Big 12 title game destiny, but this loss stings.

Sure, they had a chance to win the game, but too many mistakes and poor play-calling also put them in a spot where they needed a last-second prayer to have a chance.

Tawee Walker was the bright spot in the game, but when he went down with an injury, the Sooners had no answers in the running game. And with a chance to ice the game with a one-point lead, offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby took the ball out of Dillon Gabriel’s hands when they needed a first down.

Credit is certainly due to the Kansas Jayhawks, but Oklahoma made enough mistakes to that they should feel as frustrated as the fan base with the loss.

And here’s how social media reacted to the performance.

5 takeaways from Oklahoma’s devastating loss to the Kansas Jayhawks

Taking a look at five takeaways in the aftermath of OU’s 38-33 loss against Kansas on Saturday.

Oklahoma’s final trip to Lawrence as Big 12 members was not a pleasant one. Lance Leipold’s Jayhawks pulled off the stunning upset on Saturday. Kansas came out on top 38-33 after standing firm as Oklahoma attempted one final prayer of a throw into the endzone.

The game was topsy-turvy from the very beginning, but it’s hard to argue that the better team on the day didn’t win. Kansas set the tone early, running through Oklahoma tackles with ease and disrupting the Oklahoma offense from the outset.

Some of the issues that have been underlying coming into the game resurfaced, and Oklahoma couldn’t overcome those. Additionally, the spirited play of the Jayhawks, who were determined to end the 26-year drought between their last win against the Sooners, made a huge difference in the outcome.

The result is hard to swallow, but now that the dust has settled, here are our five takeaways from Oklahoma’s first loss.

5 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners victory over Kansas

Can the Oklahoma Sooners extend their winning streak over Kansas on Saturday? Here are our five keys to the game.

On Saturday, No. 6 Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0) will take on Lance Leipold’s [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] (5-2, 2-2) for the final time as Big 12 foes.

Oklahoma needs to play a much better game on Saturday than they did against the UCF Knights. They looked to be sleepwalking through the game at times and could have been more crisp on offense. The offensive line had its worst game of the season in pass protection, and until the fourth quarter, the Sooners couldn’t expose a lousy run defense.

Defensively, two busted plays defined the day, as both led to UCF touchdowns. Those plays aside, it was an excellent day for an Oklahoma defense that continues to show improvement.

Kansas will present another challenge for this revitalized Oklahoma defense. The Sooners D continues to make opposing offenses look outmatched at times. Aside from the occasional busts in coverages, this unit is much better than the one that Kansas saw in Norman last year when Kansas quarterback Jason Bean threw four touchdowns.

The Jayhawks have two solid running backs, Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw Jr. They are as explosive as teams get and will provide Oklahoma with a challenge.

Ultimately, the Sooners still hold advantages at multiple spots. With their lackluster performance from UCF behind them, the Sooners should come out on fire.

The Jayhawks surely won’t go down without a fight, and Brent Venables will make sure the team knows that.

Kansas hasn’t beaten OU since 1997. The Sooners have won the last 18 matchups between the two sides. But what are the keys to Oklahoma closing out the 100-year series with a win? Here are this week’s keys to the game.

Five Takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 31-29 win over the UCF Knights

Oklahoma pulled out a nailbiter as they hung on to beat UCF 31-29 in Norman on Saturday. Here are our five takeaways from the game.

Oklahoma escaped by the skin of its teeth on Saturday as they downed Big 12 newcomer UCF 31-29. It was a game that came down to the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

Considering how well Oklahoma has looked all season, it was a jarring performance. Especially after the Sooners had a bye week to put the Texas win behind them. Yet, on Saturday, after a relatively solid start, a pair of missed field goals kept the door open for UCF to run through. Before long, Oklahoma was fighting for its life and the right to stay undefeated.

When the dust cleared, the Sooners came out on top. A late surge in the fourth quarter was enough for Brent Venables’ team to get it done.

Here are five takeaways from the Sooners’ win.