5 takeaways from Oklahoma’s devastating loss to the Kansas Jayhawks
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.
No offensive identity
Oklahoma’s loss on Saturday was a total team effort even though they still had a shot to win the game at the end.
At the root of it all, the Sooners still don’t have a concrete offensive identity in 2023. They adapted to the flow of the game and its environment, relying heavily on the run game because it was all that was working, or all that the coaching staff trusted to work. The weather dictated as much, but when the Sooners needed to come up with one or two first downs to ice the game after an Ethan Downs interception with 2:29 left, they had nothing. They wouldn’t let their Heisman-contending quarterback throw the football and that played a big factor in the loss.
This team has to figure out what they want to do offensively and what they can rely on when games tighten up.
Poor tackling is back
For a team that was rock solid in the tackling department through the first five or six games of the season, the last two weeks have been horrible for Oklahoma on that front. In many ways, it feels like shades of last year. Against Kansas, the Sooners had five missed tackles… in the first quarter alone.
The missed tackles eventually resulted in extended drives and ultimately led to points for the Jayhawks. Oklahoma has to get back to the basics there.
Game management regressed
Oklahoma entered this game doing a terrific job with game management, but much like everything we saw on Saturday, things were not as crisp as they needed to be. With 53 seconds left and three timeouts before halftime, Oklahoma opted not even to try and get in scoring range.
With 2:29 left in the fourth quarter, after Ethan Downs’s interception, the Sooners opted to crawl into a shell and play to drain the Jayhawks’ timeouts instead of respectably forcing the issue to get a first down. The result of that? Kansas got the ball back with more than enough time and scored the game-winning touchdown.
For a man who had been exquisite in that department after struggling in his first year as head coach, Brent Venables and this staff fumbled on Saturday.
Tawee Walker should be the starter for the remainder of the season
Tawee Walker is by no means some athletic freak who will blow you away with blazing speed or cat-like quickness, but he’s strong, not afraid of running behind his pads, and embodies a level of physicality this offense is missing. On Saturday, he was the bell-cow back, tallying 23 carries for 146 yards and one touchdown.
There is no reason why he shouldn’t be the number one guy when the Sooners head to Stillwater for what will be final Bedlam for the foreseeable future.
Big 12 title quest still on the table
As disgusting of a game as that was, this program’s goals are still in front of them. The Sooners will remain the number-one team in the conference. They have a significant gut-check game on the road against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Pokes would love for nothing else but to derail Oklahoma’s season by beating them in the final matchup of these in-state foes.
It won’t be easy, but Oklahoma has four games left to book a trip to Arlington to play for a Big 12 title. They’ll need to put this loss behind them and lock in down the stretch.
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