The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Oklahoma Sooners 52-21 win over Texas Tech

The\ Sooners put on a dominant performance, beating the Red Raiders 52-21. What stood out in this week’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?

The Bad: Isaiah Thomas was a Bad Man

It was a dominant performance from Isaiah Thomas in the first half of this game.

After Oklahoma was able to force a punt on the game’s opening drive, the Sooners’ offense stalled on their first possession, giving the ball back to Texas Tech.

The Red Raiders picked up a first down and looked to be getting something going but faced a third and 5. Quarterback Henry Colombi executed a short drop, looking to hit his tight end on a quick out to the flat. Recognizing that Colombi had reached the top of his drop and was looking to get rid of the ball quickly, Thomas pulled up from his pass rush and leaped into the air to knock the ball down as Colombi attempted to connect with Dalton Rigdon.

If connected, the play likely would have resulted in a first down, putting the Sooners’ defense on their heels. However, Thomas came through, as he did several times to stall Texas Tech drives or force a turnover.

Several series later, the Sooners were up 21-7. The Red Raiders needed a score to prevent Oklahoma from running away with the football game. Again, Texas Tech faced a third and medium situation, and this time it was Donovan Smith who attempted to hit his target again on a short pass. Thomas, who must have picked something up on film this week on Tech’s gameplan in third and medium situations, pulled up, jumped up, and deflected another pass. This time, it went into the air and came down into the waiting arms of Pat Fields.

Isaiah Thomas was already having a game when the Oklahoma Sooners had the game out of hand midway through the fourth quarter. But he decided he wasn’t done yet.

On first and 10 in Oklahoma territory, Isaiah Thomas quickly beat the right tackle with a club and arm-under pass rush and was able to knock the ball away from Smith before he could complete his throw.

It was a fantastic performance for Isaiah Thomas, who finished the day with three total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and two pass deflections.

After the bye when the competition steps up, the Oklahoma Sooners will need their captain to have more games like this for a defense that still has room to improve.

Up Next: The Ugly

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