OU football vs. Tulsa: Five takeaways from Oklahoma Sooners' win against Golden Hurricane
TULSA — Dillon Gabriel dropped back and slung the ball downfield.
On OU’s first offensive play against Tulsa, Gabriel hit Andrel Anthony for a long pass.
It was a theme for the Sooners all day, as they dominated the Golden Hurricane, winning 66-17 on Saturday at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
Gabriel immediately followed with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Jalil Farooq.
After not recording a pass play longer than 29 yards in last week’s 28-11 win over SMU, the 16th-ranked Sooners showed off their vertical passing game in a major way.
Arnold’s catch was the first of seven passing plays of 30 or more yards by the Sooners.
Anthony, Farooq and Nic Anderson each had two such catches, with Jayden Gibson adding another.
Anderson, Anthony and Farooq each finished with more than 100 yards receiving. Nine had accomplished the feat with the Sooners before Saturday.
Here are four more takeaways from the Sooners’ dominant win:
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Sooners' RB rotation shifting
Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk were expected to be the Sooners’ go-to running backs heading into the season but the preseason depth chart was led by a combination of Marcus Major and walk-on Tawee Walker.
That’s what the rotation looked like in wins over Arkansas State and SMU, with Walker and Major each getting one start.
But Saturday, not only did Barnes get the start, he carried the load, finishing with 13 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Sawchuk picked up carries late, finishing with nine carries for 25 yards and adding a late score.
Neither Walker nor Major got a carry.
The elevation of Barnes and Sawchuk wasn’t unexpected.
Barnes underwent surgery in the offseason that limited him during spring and into preseason camp, while Sawchuk missed some time in preseason camp as well, slowing his progress.
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Turnovers come in bunches
By the time the first quarter ended, the Sooners had picked off Tulsa quarterback Roman Fuller three times.
Gentry Williams, Danny Stutsman and Kendel Dolby each intercepted passes — with all leading to OU points.
Stutsman returned his 30 yards for a touchdown while Williams’ and Dolby’s picks each led to touchdowns by the Sooners’ offense.
Later, Key Lawrence and Trace Ford intercepted Cardell Williams, with Ford nearly returning his for a touchdown.
It was the Sooners first time OU had five interceptions since 2003 at Texas Tech.
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Peyton Bowen gets his shot
With Justin Harrington out due to injury, OU turned to freshman Peyton Bowen at cheetah.
Bowen isn’t listed on the depth chart at the position but Sooners coach Brent Venables has said repeatedly that Bowen had been working out at the position.
Bowen played the majority of the game, recording a tackle and breaking up a pass.
The Sooners had to shuffle their secondary again early, when Gentry Williams — who has struggled to stay healthy already this season — left with an injury, giving way to a combination of Kani Walker and Kendel Dolby.
Williams later returned.
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Sooners' OL shuffle continues
The Sooners’ offensive line went through plenty of shifting, especially at left guard.
That the position was a revolving door wasn’t much of a surprise, after starter Savion Byrd was replaced by Troy Everett in last week’s win over SMU after Byrd struggled early, though Byrd returned later and performed well.
Against Tulsa, it was injury that knocked Byrd out and instead of Everett, OU went first with freshman Cayden Green.
Everett did see first-half action as well, but Green soon returned.
One of the most encouraging signs for the Sooners was the late second-quarter return of Jacob Sexton.
Sexton suffered a knee injury early in the Cheez-It Bowl loss to Florida State to end last season and had been recovering from surgery.
Sexton was flagged for a holding call late in the first half that negated a touchdown, leading the Sooners to settle for a field goal and take a 38-14 lead at the break.
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OU vs. Cincinnati
KICKOFF: 11 a.m. Saturday at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati (Fox)
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football routs Tulsa as Dillon Gabriel, Sooners offense cruise
