5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners’ win over Oklahoma State
It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t great, and it might not even have been good, but the Oklahoma Sooners held on to beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys 28-13 in Bedlam.
In what could possibly be the final Bedlam played on Owen Field, the Sooners stood tall on their senior day and finally achieved bowl eligibility with one game remaining on their schedule.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
The defense had their best Big 12 game of the season
Nov 19, 2022; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive back C.J. Coldon (22) intercepts a pass against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during a game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Bryan Terry-USA TODAY Sports
The defense had quite the night, and with a lot of big-name defensive recruits in the building.
No, they weren’t perfect, but Brent Venables’ unit had Spencer Sanders running for his life. The Oklahoma State quarterback was sacked six times and hurried 12 times. The Sooners forced four turnovers, all of them interceptions from Sanders. The OU defense also deflected seven passes to go along with those picks.
They gave up a lot of yards, but that didn’t end up mattering, holding Oklahoma State to 13 points in the game and just 7 of 24 on third and fourth down.
The defense has been trending in the right direction and that’s a great sign heading into their final game of the season. The defense played well despite little help from the offensive coordinator and the offense in the second half.
Jeff Lebby cannot manage a game clock
Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel (8) warms up before a Bedlam college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Jeff Lebby had his worst performance in clock management of the season against Oklahoma State.
With a two-score lead in the second half, the Sooners snapped the ball with 20 seconds or more on the play clock regularly. Instead of bleeding the clock, the Sooners opted to keep their possession time to a minimum and kept giving the Cowboys the ball back. Dillon Gabriel wasn’t throwing it well and Lebby kept calling his number late in the game instead of running behind Eric Gray and Jovantae Barnes, who had good days.
Head coach Brent Venables made no bones about how he felt about the clock management from the offensive coordinator and the quarterback in the second half.
“No actually, I wasn’t,” Venables said when asked if he was happy with the clock management. “You know, we gotta be better there. Make no mistake. Played 102 plays on defense. And really, for the most part, we’re getting, they got a couple of drives there, but we were dominating them. And so to continue to put the defense in that position, it’s not what you want to do you want to. You know, running the clock just to give them a little bit more time to recover and adjust. And I think that’s important that we, we do a better job of that.”
Yes, it’s Lebby’s style, but it wasn’t working, and it hasn’t worked all year. Had the defense not shown up, the Sooners would’ve blown a 28-0 lead.
The Sooners are finally bowl eligible
NORMAN, OK – NOVEMBER 19: Head coach Brent Venables of the Oklahoma Sooners reacts as his team stops the Oklahoma State Cowboys late in the fourth quarter of the Bedlam game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 19, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
After 11 long games, the Oklahoma Sooners are finally bowl eligible.
It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but going into Lubbock in primetime with only five wins didn’t feel like a very good situation to be in. The Red Raiders also won this week, so both teams will be 6-5 for the regular season finale.
When UConn is bowl eligible before you, you know it’s been a bad season.
Spencer Sanders is a warrior
Nov 19, 2022; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Spencer Sanders (3) walks off the field after an interception against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Bryan Terry-USA TODAY Sports
Credit where it’s due; Spencer Sanders gave it everything he had. His white jersey was covered in green by the end of a very long night.
With the running game going nowhere for the Pokes, Sanders was forced to throw the ball 67 times. Coming off an injury to his throwing shoulder, it’s unlikely that was the plan heading into Saturday night. But with Oklahoma jumping out to a big lead, the Cowboys had little choice but to put the ball in the air.
Sanders didn’t look 100%, but he gave it his best shot against the OU.
The student section is just fine
Oklahoma fans cheer during a Bedlam college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. Oklahoma won 28-13. Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Let’s put this to bed: the student section is not an issue. It was filled to the brim with rabid college students for the entire game in the freezing cold. When this school jumps to the SEC, it will have an SEC student section.
“But our students, that was their best performance of the year, hands down, I thought they were just terrific,” Venables said in his postgame press conference.
The environment that OU has built for night games is nothing short of fantastic. The lights, the light shows, and the music are all on point.
Oklahoma Memorial was a nightmare for the Pokes on Saturday Night.
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