After missing the previous two Oklahoma Sooners home games due to vacation/Oklahoma Hockey-related things, “From the Student Section” is back for OU’s home finale.
The Sooners’ 28-13 victory over Oklahoma State was one of the most satisfying victories I have had the pleasure of watching. Knocking the No. 22 Cowboys out of the rankings entirely after the pass-interference-related shenanigans in Stillwater last year was cathartic.
This was the first Bedlam I had ever attended. Well, at least in football, it was, and it was one to remember. I was slightly concerned about the turnout, both in the student section and otherwise, but I was pleasantly surprised. Oklahoma Memorial was a sea of crimson, and the student section was the best it’s been all year.
But hey, don’t take my word for it. What did Brent Venables think?
I will get to the performances of the offense and defense in a bit. For now, let’s take a look at what this game means for the OU football program as a whole.
Michael Turk had quite a night; in more ways than one. The superstar punter had over 500 punt yards on the night and downed three punts inside the 20-yard-line. However, the best part of his night was most likely proposing to Oklahoma Softball’s Grace Lyons. She said yes.
That’s two wins on the night for the crimson and cream.
Firstly, the Sooners are finally bowl-eligible, and not a moment too soon. Thank the lord. Had they lost to Oklahoma State, the Sooners would have needed to win in Lubbock in primetime to make it to a bowl. That’s not an ideal situation.
I went into this game expecting a classic Big 12 matchup. I thought that by the evening’s end, the scoreboard would read 47-42 or something to that effect.
I was incredibly, deeply, and extremely wrong.
Perhaps I underestimated OU’s defense or overestimated Spencer Sanders coming off an injury to his throwing shoulder. Either way, the OU defense played lights out for 60 minutes, something they hadn’t done in Big 12 play. Credit is due. They were phenomenal.
That is what a Brent Venables defense is supposed to look like. They were physical, they swarmed to the football, and they were just plain mean. Sanders’ jersey had more green than orange on it by the end of the game.
Mobile quarterbacks have been a bane to this defense all year, and while Sanders did get loose a few times, he wasn’t nearly as much of a pain to OU as Garrett Greene was just one week ago in Morgantown. That being said, Sanders looked off.
I have nothing to back this up, but Spencer Sanders looked like he was playing hurt. He wasn’t as explosive as he typically is in the running game, his throws were off, and he made some very bad decisions with the football. The Sooners jumping out to a 28-0 lead didn’t help, but there’s no way the Pokes planned on Sanders throwing the ball 67 times.
Considering that the defense got no help from the offense for about 45 minutes, their performance is all the more impressive.
I’ve long complained about Jeff Lebby’s clock management, but it has never been worse than it was against Oklahoma State.
The Sooners had every opportunity to go into clock control mode and ice this game, but for whatever reason, Jeff Lebby kept running tempo, and Dillon Gabriel kept snapping the ball with 20 seconds or more on the play clock. When it’s working, by all means, continue to run up the score. That first quarter was excellent. But every OU drive in the second half lasted less than two minutes of game time. They punted eight times in the second half.
Jeff Lebby gave Oklahoma State every possible opportunity to win this game, and the defense bailed him out. It’s that simple. Oklahoma State ran 102 offensive plays. They were held to 13 points. That’s not a reasonable thing to ask your defense to do week in and week out.
I don’t know if it’s a refusal to adapt or a lack of situational awareness, but Jeff Lebby has some changes to make with this offense in year two. When it’s working, this offense could go toe-to-toe with anyone else in the country. When it’s not working, the defense better be ready for a long day.
I don’t mean to shred Jeff Lebby. He’s a brilliant offensive mind, but this offense can be so much better than it has been.
This win against Oklahoma State means much more for the future of OU Football than it does in the Big 12 standings. After the game, OU received not one but two projections to flip Notre Dame commit Peyton Bowen. Five-star Texas A&M commit David Hicks and 2024 five-star David Stone were also in attendance. The Sooners could land all three.
In lighter news, Mike Gundy now has the dubious honor of losing to three different OU head coaches: Bob Stoops, Lincoln Riley, and now Brent Venables.
A lot has been made over whether or not Venables was the right hire for the OU program. These questions were asked far too soon. The team is fine. Recruiting is more than fine. The Sooners will be a lot more than fine in the seasons to come.
This could be the last From the Student Section for OU Football for a while, so I’ll end this with one final message: Keep the faith, Sooners fans. Great things are coming.
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