OU football team gets the message with lights-out moment to surge past Kent State

NORMAN — It looked like a power outage swept throughout Owen Field.

OU was searching for momentum early in the third quarter of its home game against Kent State on Saturday. The Sooners were clinging to a 7-3 lead when quarterback Dillon Gabriel handed the ball off to Marcus Major.

The redshirt junior running back found a hole on the right side, juked a defender and cruised into the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown.

The stadium's lights immediately shut off for a brief moment, but they came back on in a strobe-like fashion as OU's touchdown cannon erupted. The LED light show was a new addition that made its debut on Saturday, so new that even OU's players didn't know it would happen.

But it was a hit.

OU went on to earn a 33-3 win to improve to 2-0 on the season, and the newly-implemented light show set the tone for a dynamic atmosphere for 83,911 spectators.

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"I thought our fans were just outstanding," OU head coach Brent Venables said. "It was a really cool game day environment today. A new lighting system was a neat addition. I know our guys really fed off the crowd's energy tonight."

The atmosphere was a drastic improvement from last week's season opener against UTEP.

A total of 83,173 spectators showed up for the first game of the Venables era, but the life of the crowd gradually evaporated as temperatures reached the high 90s without a merciful gust of wind in sight.

Large chunks of open real estate could be seen throughout the stands by the second half, and those who made a point to stick it out conserved their energy by being more reserved than rowdy.

"At the end of the day, we have a job," redshirt senior defensive back Justin Harrington said. "If we cry about the top half (of the crowd) leaving the game, we’re not focusing on the right things. It’s hot. I don’t blame them."

But the Sooners' fans were at full force on Saturday. OU scored 24 unanswered points in the third quarter to take a 31-3 lead, and The Palace on the Prairie turned into The Party on the Prairie.

The stadium's lights flashed on and off to the beat of electronic music every time the Sooners lined up for a kickoff after a touchdown, and a sea of lights swept across the bleachers as fans waved their lit-up phones through the air.

Even when the fourth quarter was reduced to a formality, the stadium kept rocking until the final seconds of the game clock ticked away. It's an atmosphere the team hopes will remain at a high level as the rest of the season unfolds.

"It was good to add something to the crazy fans out there," Harrington said. "It was kind of cool. The light show when everybody turned their flashlights on was kind of crazy. Further down the road, our next five home games, that’s going to be a factor with our opponents coming in."

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Big-play Billy Bowman

Billy Bowman was looking for a chance to force a fumble all evening.

And when that chance came, he took advantage.

OU held a 14-3 lead early in the third quarter when Kent State quarterback Collin Schlee threw a pass to Devontez Walker. The redshirt sophomore wide receiver hauled the ball in, but he didn't have it in his possession for too long.

Bowman immediately ambushed Walker from behind. The sophomore safety placed his hands on the ball and pried it from the grasp of Walker, sending it rolling along Owen Field.

Bowman hit the deck in an effort to recover the ball and also won that battle. He rose to his feet and proudly showed the ball in his hands as the stadium's lights flashed in celebration.

"It was very important," Bowman said of the fumble recovery. "We were looking for one the whole first half. We just needed somebody to make a play, and it just happened to be me. If it was anyone else, it would have been the same."

It was fitting that Bowman was the player who delivered.

The takeaway served as a highlight for a strong outing by the second-year Sooner. Bowman finished with a career-high 11 tackles.

"It’s great," Bowman said. "It’s great to hold teams to zero or three points and out of the end zone. It’s a great feeling."

Bowman continues to justify Venables' decision to make him a starter this season.

It was a leap of faith considering the growing pains Bowman experienced last season. The then-freshman Sooner was forced to move around the secondary due to a wave of team injuries, and he ultimately played himself out of the rotation toward the end of the season.

Bowman has made strides since then. Venables described the sophomore as one of the team's "best workers" and "most consistent guys" during fall camp, and that has translated to the field this season.

After recording a career-high nine tackles in Week 1 against UTEP, Bowman eclipsed that total on Saturday. It's a strong start for a player who isn't the same wide-eyed freshman he was last season.

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First female Big 12 official makes Norman debut

The Big 12's first female Big 12 official, head line judge Cat Conti, officiated her first game in Norman on Saturday.

Conti began her career as an official at a high school and youth line judge in 2000. She also worked as a high school English and drama teacher at the time.

Conti's first Division I officiating opportunity came in 2010 when she began to work in the Southland Conference, and she worked a Mountain West game the following year.

After being listed as an alternate official for a Big 12 game in 2012, Conti made her officiating debut in the conference two years later during a game between Kansas and Southeast Missouri.

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Availability updates

Senior offensive lineman Wanya Morris and junior safety Key Lawrence didn't suit up on Saturday.

Morris has yet to play this season due to off-the-field issues, but Venables said he feels like next week's road game against Nebraska "might be the week" Morris makes his return.

Lawrence's availability is also up in the air moving forward. Venables said the junior safety tweaked his hamstring earlier in the week but hopes he'll be available "sooner rather than later."

Senior tight end Daniel Parker made his OU debut Saturday after missing the season opener against UTEP due to what Venables described as "the sniffles." Parker finished with two receptions for 21 yards.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football: Sooners feed off LED light show to storm past Kent State