Oklahoma’s win over in-state rival Tulsa was bittersweet. The Sooners managed to outscore the high-octane Tulsa offense in a high-scoring affair, but that wasn’t exactly the way the OU game plan had been drawn up.
For fans who delight in seeing lots of offense, Saturday in Norman was their kind of day. Guns were blazing all over the place as the quarterbacks of both teams – Baker Mayfield for Oklahoma and Dane Evans of Tulsa – took to the air early and often in rolling up pass completions and putting plenty of points on the scoreboard.
In the end, the Sooners won out by a score of 52-38 for their eighth consecutive victory over the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa, but the victory produced renewed concerns about Oklahoma’s inability to slow down teams that like to spread the field with strong passing attacks. Poor pass defense was a pivotal problem that contributed heavily to OU’s late-season self-destruction a year ago.
Sep 19, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Tulsa Golden Hurricane linebacker Matt Linscott (38) and Tulsa Golden Hurricane safety Michael Mudoh (1) attempt to tackle Oklahoma Sooners running back Samaje Perine (32) during the third quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Just when it welcomely appeared in the game at Tennessee that the Sooners had fixed some of the troubling issues that had plaqued the back end of the defense last season, that short-lived sense of security came crashing back to reality on Saturday afternoon as Evans and his Tulsa offensive unit teammates repeatedly torched the OU pass defense for 427 yards. That was more than double the 213 passing yards the Sooners gave up in their first two games combined.
The small silver lining from all of this is that Oklahoma does not play again for two weeks, and that affords defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and the other Sooner coaches some extra time to work on the defensive breakdowns that reared their ugly head again on Saturday and come up with effective remedies.
O.K, we all acknowledge that the Oklahoma defense was a sight for sore eyes against Tulsa’s prolific up-tempo air assault, but how did the rest of the OU football reports card grade out:
Oklahoma Offense
Yes, the Sooners yielded 603 yards of total offense to the Golden Hurricane (if you’re interested, that number was 321 yards two seasons ago and 328 last season), but the Oklahoma offense had even greater success against the Tulsa defenders. Mayfield set a new school record with 572 all-purpose yards all by his lonesome, and OU combined 487 passing yards to go with 286 yards on the ground for a grand sum of 773 yards of total offense, fourth best on program history.
Mayfield completed 32 of 38 passes, eight for 144 yards to Sterling Shepard, and no interceptions. He threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more for a total of six TDs on the day. Samaje Perine finally got rolling after two lackluster games, carrying the ball 22 times for 152 rushing yards, an average of 6.9 per carry. Grade A
Oklahoma Defense
There is no easy or gentle way to say this. The Sooners’ performance on defense in the Tulsa game was downright sloppy and unacceptable for a team that wants to be given its due and considered a title contender in the Big 12. After Oklahoma’s disturbing defensive play against Tulsa, I wouldn’t be surprised if ESPN college football analyst and color commentator Kirk Herbstreit revises his College Football Playoff prediction that had the Sooners as one of the four playoff teams. Safety Hatari Byrd recorded a career-high 15 tackles in the game.
Sep 19, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Tulsa Golden Hurricane wide receiver Bishop Louie (7) runs the ball against Oklahoma Sooners safety Steven Parker (10) during the third quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Linebacker Eric Striker, one of the best pass rushers in college football, was virtually non-existent in the game because of having to drop back in pass coverage instead of applying pressure to the quarterback, which is where he is at his best. Without putting any defensive pressure to speak of on the quarterback Evans, it was easier for him to pick out open receivers and riddle the Sooner defensive coverage schemes. Particularly victimized was true freshman cornerback P.J. Mbanasor, who was replacing starter Jordan Thomas, who was suspended for the game.
Not at all a pretty performance by Sooner “D,” especially on the back end. Grade: D
Oklahoma Special Teams
Sooner true-freshman placekicker Austin Seibert opened the OU scoring against Tulsa with a 20-year field goal in the opening quarter. That was his only field-goal try of the game. He was good on all seven of his extra-point attempts after OU touchdowns. Seibert also handles the punting duties for Oklahoma. He averaged 43.4 yards on eight punts on Saturday. That was a little better than he averaged at Tennessee, but almost six-yards-per-kick lower than his Sooner debut in the home-opener with Akron. Five of kickoff-specialist Nick Hodgson’s nine kickoffs in the Tulsa game were touchbacks. The kickoff and punt coverage by the OU special teams were excellent. Grade: B+
Coaching Staff
The Tulsa game marked Bob Stoops’ 100th home game at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in his 17th season as the Sooners’ head coach. It was also the 100th consecutive sellout at OU since Stoops coached his first game at OU on Sept. 11, 1999. Offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley clearly deserved a game ball, with the Sooners putting on one of the best offensive displays in their highly decorated football history. The same cannot be said this week for Mike Stoops’ defensive unit, which found itself on its heels and under the gun the entire game. It is clear also that the Sooner secondary still is not where it needs to be to be competitive against the top pass offenses in the Big 12, which is the responsibility of new defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks. Overall Grade: C