Oklahoma Dominated by Ohio State: The Numbers That Matter
By Chip Rouse
When was the last time Oklahoma was outscored by its nonconference opponents in a single season?
That’s actually a trick question. It has not happened under Bob Stoops, even after Ohio State handed the Sooners their second loss in three 2016 nonconference games with a dominating 45-24 humiliation Saturday night in front of a record, over-capacity crowd at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
The combined score in Oklahoma’s first three games this season is 106-95 in favor of the Sooners, but only because of OU’s 42-point margin of victory over Louisiana-Monroe its home opener a week earlier.
For the record, the last time Oklahoma was outscored in its opening three games of the season was 20 seasons ago in John Blake’s first of three seasons as the Sooners head coach. Oklahoma lost consecutive games to TCU, Tulsa, San Diego State and Tulsa to begin the 1996 season, the first year of the Big 12 Conference. The combined score of those three losses was 102-62. OU also lost its fourth game that season, 52-24, to Kansas.
There wasn’t much too like for Sooner fans about the way their team played in arguably the biggest home game in Bob Stoops 18 seasons at Oklahoma.
Outside of the 45-24 final score, here are a dozen notable numbers that you will find of interest from the game:
2 – The 35-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to A.D. Miller in the second quarter and the five-yard toss for a TD to Sooner tight end Mark Andrews in the third quarter were the first two offensive touchdowns scored against the Ohio State defense in three games in 2016.
3 – The loss to Ohio State is only the third nonconference loss suffered by Oklahoma in Bob Stoops’ coaching tenure.
6 – Number of OU receivers who caught passes in the Ohio State game, half as many as in the Sooners previous game against Louisiana-Monroe.
10 – Number of minutes Ohio State possessed the ball longer than Oklahoma in Saturday’s game, despite running only one more play overall than the Sooners (68 to 67).
18 – The Sooners’ 18-point halftime deficit and the 35 points scored by Ohio State in the opening 30 minutes were the most against an Oklahoma team coached by Bob Stoops.
19 – Consecutive road wins by Ohio State, the longest active streak among FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams. Head coach Urban Meyer has not lost a road game in his five seasons at Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 53-4 under Meyer.
35 – Wide receiver Dede Westbrook took a handoff on a faked, double reverse and took off down the left sideline for a 35-yard gain in the second quarter. It was his longest running play in two seasons at Oklahoma.
60 – Samaje Perine’s rushing yards against Ohio State, giving him 3,211 for his career and passing Stanley Wilson for eighth place on the Oklahoma career list.
72 – Receiving yards by sophomore A.D. Miller on three catches to lead all Oklahoma receivers.
97 – Joe Mixon’s 97-yard kickoff return in the opening quarter was the first in his Sooner career. It was also the sixth longest in Oklahoma history and the third longest at Owen Field.
225 – All-purpose yards by Joe Mixon in the Ohio State game (78 rushing, 15 receiving and 132 in kickoff returns).
87,979 – Announced attendance for Saturday night’s game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, a stadium record and the largest crowd to witness a sporting event in the history of the state of Oklahoma.