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For two quarters in a hostile road environment at TCU on Saturday, Oklahoma football looked like the glory days of old. But Saturday’s big victory was nearly squandered late by the Sooners’ lingering problems of the present.

After a Grand Canyon-like 42-3 scoring advantage in quarters two and three, it appeared that Oklahoma was going to literally run away and hide from the 21st-ranked Horned Frogs. But, then again, this was TCU, and Sooner fans no all too well about closing rallies when these two Big 12 foes collide.

Going into the Saturday showdown at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Ft. Worth, the winning margin in the four games contested by OU and TCU in Big 12 play was just. 3.5 points. Although the Sooners had come out on top in three of the four games, none of the four had been decided by more than seven points and the winning margin in the previous two was a combined five points.

With Oklahoma leading by a comfortable 49-24 count entering the fourth quarter on Saturday, it appeared that this year’s game was about to blow away the prospects of another close game and, in the process, change a few minds of those who had prematurely proclaimed the Sooners as dead and buried just three games into the 2016 season.

Oct 1, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Kapri Doucet (1) sacks TCU Horned Frogs quarterback Kenny Hill (7) during the first quarter at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

That was not to be, obviously, as the Horned Frogs mounted a high-flying fourth-quarter comeback reminiscent of last year when they rallied from 17 points down midway through the third quarter and came within a missed two-point conversion at the very end of pulling out a remarkable one-point win.

In just a little over four minutes in the final period on Saturday, TCU shaved 21 points off the Oklahoma advantage, and again had the ball at the very end with a chance to win, only to be turned away on a fourth-down attempt deep in their own territory on their final possession.

This was clearly a tale of two unnatural halves of football. The Sooners owned the second and third quarters, while the Horned Frogs dominated in the first and fourth, outscoring Oklahoma 43-10 over that 30 minute span.

In the end, it amounted to a huge victory for the Sooners and a provided some redemption for an Oklahoma team that started out as if this game was going to be a repeat of their two previous 2016 defeats and send the Sooners into unprecedented three-loss territory under Bob Stoops to begin a season.

Here are the some of the key takeaways from Oklahoma’s victory in its Big 12 opener:

Despite coming into the game with several starters on offense and defense out with injuries, the Sooners played with a much greater sense of urgency, energy and discipline than they did in their losses to Houston and Ohio State.

There is nothing wrong with the Sooner offense. When Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine are able to roam free like they were at big moments on Saturday and OU can produce 200-plus yards on the ground, the Sooners are almost a lock to put up 40 or more points in a game. When Oklahoma does that, the Sooners are now 98-1 under

Bob Stoops

Oct 1, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) and running back Samaje Perine (32) react during the first half against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

The OU defense held TCU to just 65 yards on the ground and an average of 2.2 yards per rush. But there is still great concern about the Sooners’ ability to defend the deep pass. The Horned Frogs’ Kenny Hill completed three touchdown passes of more than 60 yards, and there were a couple of other deep shots that were dropped by wide-open receiving targets and would have resulted in scores. Until the back end of the OU defense can show it is able to prevent receivers from running away from the man coverage in the secondary, opponents are going to continue to attack the Sooners with deep balls.

In his postgame comments, Bob Stoops expressed his continuing frustration with the breakdowns in the Sooners’ pass defense: “It’s just so disappointing to not be able to cover a deep ball. I know we’re better than that. It’s just frustrating when you come out and play that way…They just ran by us, and that’s the part you can’t explain. That’s Football 101.”

TCU’s 65 net yards rushing was the Horned Frogs lowest run total in three seasons.

Bob Stoops’ streak of not losing back-to-back regular-season games since his first season at OU in 1999 is still in tact. Oklahoma has won 36 consecutive games following a loss.

Baker Mayfield’s ability to make plays with his legs kept a couple of Oklahoma scoring drives alive. In addition to throwing for a couple of Sooner touchdowns, Mayfield also ran for two of OU’s five rushing touchdowns in the game. Before Saturday, Oklahoma had recorded just four rushing touchdowns in three games.

Mayfield’s tendency to hold on to the ball too long resulted in two fumbles, the first of which put TCU up 7-0 in the first minute of the game.

Oklahoma is now 6-4 when facing a ranked team when the Sooners are unranked.

Overcoming a 14-point first-quarter deficit, this was the largest comeback win for Oklahoma since erasing a 17-point deficit last season at Tennessee.

The going doesn’t get any easier for the Sooners, with the annual Red River brawl in Dallas with archrival Texas up next and what promises to be another high-scoring shootout.

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Oklahoma Football Wrap: What Sooner Fans Can Take Away From Win at TCU

By Chip Rouse | Oct 2, 2016

For two quarters in a hostile road environment at TCU on Saturday, Oklahoma football looked like the glory days of old. But Saturday’s big victory was nearly squandered late by the Sooners’ lingering problems of the present.