Oklahoma Football Rewind: Takeaways in Savoring Sooners Red River Victory
By Chip Rouse
Defense Coming up Bigger at Back End
You wouldn’t know it by looking at the final score and game stats in Oklahoma’s high-scoring, shootout victory over their archrivals from the Lone Star State.
A little less than half of the Longhorns’ 245 passing yards against the Sooners came on just two plays in the third quarter, both deep passes that went for touchdowns. The deep ball has been a continuing problem for Oklahoma this season on defense, and the two long completions on Saturday did little to allay the general concern.
The right cornerback spot has been a weak link in the Sooner secondary from the start of the 2016 season. Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks have tried several players at the position in an attempt to find a solution.
In the last couple of games, converted wide receiver Michiah Quick appeared to have earned the starter’s role at the corner opposite Jordan Thomas, one of the best cornerbacks in the Big 12. Quick had performed well against TCU and was on the field to start the game against Texas. He wasn’t there for long, however, suffering a injury early in the game that was later diagnosed as an MCL sprain that will keep him out of action for six to eight weeks. That was the last thing that an already maligned Sooner secondary needed.
Not that much later in the game, Ahmad Thomas, one of the OU safeties was kneed in the helmet while making a tackle, and just like that the Sooners were down two starters in the secondary.
What unfortunately gets lost in the top-line stats from the Sooners’ win over Texas are several outstanding pass breakups by Thomas on deep throws by the Longhorns’ Shane Buechele. But perhaps the biggest defensive play of the game was the interception by OU safety Will Sunderland with Texas moving in for a score late in the third quarter that would have sliced the OU advantage to a single point.
On the ensuing possession, the Sooners put together a 93-yard touchdown drive that widened the Oklahoma lead to 15 points and resulted in a 14-point swing on the scoreboard.
Outside of the blowout win over Louisiana-Monroe, this was perhaps the best overall performance by the Oklahoma defense, particularly by the defenders at the back end, this season.