There was plenty to like about the Oklahoma football smackdown of Kansas State on Saturday. We’ve picked three that we believe to be the most memorable to relive with you:
Bring Out the Shovel
On Oklahoma’s second possession of the game, the Sooners mounted a seven-play, 63-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a shovel pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield to Joe Mixon, who took it the final eight yards for OU’s second touchdown of the game and put the Sooners ahead by a score of 14-0 with just nine minutes gone in the game.
The nonconventional play resulted in Mixon’s fourth touchdown of the season and his first pass-receiving touchdown.
Early in the second quarter, Mixon was involved in another Oklahoma touchdown pass, only this time on the throwing end. On second down, with four yards for a first down, Mayfield handed off to Mixon, who started around the right side on what appeared to be a running play. Only, the Sooner running back pulled up and softly lofted a ball downfield to Dede Westbrook, who was left uncovered and trotted in for an OU touchdown that put the Sooners ahead 21-7.
Fourth-Down Defensive Stop Deep in Oklahoma Territory
Starting at their own 10-yard line, early in the third quarter, Kansas State drove 59 yards in eight plays before being faced with a fourth-and-two from the Oklahoma 31 yard line. The Sooners led at the time, 24-10, but a K-State touchdown would make it a one-possession game.
Oklahoma called a timeout to ensure that its defense was aligned properly to thwart the fourth-down attempt. Kansas State came into the game with the second-best fourth-down conversion rate in the conference (four out of six for a 67-percent success rate).
K-State backup quarterback Joe Huebner, who replaced injured Jesse Ertz in the second half, launched a pass targeted for wide receiver Byron Pringle in the end zone, but the pass was broken up by Sooner cornerback Jordan Thomas, preventing a Wildcat touchdown and turning the ball over to Oklahoma on downs.
One Play, 88 Yards and a Score
Three times in the Texas game, Baker Mayfield had connected with Dede Westbrook in stride on three touchdown passes of 40-or-more yards.
With the terror that Westbrook has been on the last couple of weeks, you knew that a some point in the Kansas State game the Sooners were going to take a deep shot with Westbrook.
Early in the game on Saturday, Westbrook broke free behind the K-State defense, but Mayfield threw the ball slightly behind Westbrook and the speedy Sooner receiver couldn’t come up with it.
A little more than halfway through the final quarter, Oklahoma forced K-State to punt, and the kick was fielded with a fair catch by Westbrook at the OU 12.
On the very next play – wait for it – the “launch” took place. Eighty-eight yards and a trail-of dust later, all in just 11 seconds. Westbrook ran by the K-State deep defenders and under a Mayfield pass and took off untouched to the house for the final Sooner score of the day, sealing a 38-17 victory.