Oklahoma football: Numbers to know from a bombs-away victory
By Chip Rouse
In an Oklahoma football victory in which offensive numbers went through the roof, it was two defensive plays that turned the tide in the game.
A pair of fumble recoveries returned for touchdowns provided 14 of the Sooners’ 59 points.
A two-yard touchdown pass from Kyler Murray to tight end Grant Calcaterra gave Oklahoma a 52-49 lead with 11:19 remaining in the game. Less than 90 seconds later, Kenneth Mann caused a strip sack of West Virginia Q!B Will Grier. Curtis Bolton scooped up the loose ball and took it 48 yards to the house, scoring what turned out to be the winning touchdown.
The Sooners improved their all-time record against West Virginia to 9-2. Oklahoma is the only Big 12 team the Mountaineers have not beaten since joining the Big 12 in 2012. OU is now 7-0 against West Virginia in the Big 12 era. That includes four consecutive wins in Morgantown.
Here are some of the other notable numbers from what amounted to a Big 12 Championship semifinal, sending Oklahoma to Arlington, Texas, and Red River Showdown II for 2018:
1 — Oklahoma has beaten several teams that have been ranked at some point in the season, but West Virginia is the first team that was ranked (No. 13 in the College Football Playoff rankings) at the time the game was played.
10 — The win over West Virginia clinched Oklahoma’s 10th appearance in the Big 12 Championship game. The Sooners have won eight of the nine times they have played in the championship game. (There was no Big 12 Championship game in football from 2011 through 2016).
17 — Consecutive games won by Oklahoma in the month of November.
20 — Consecutive true road gams won by the Sooners, the longest active streak in the country.
48 — Total touchdowns scored by Kyler Murray this season (37 passing, 11 rushing).
50 — This was the seventh time in 2018 that Oklahoma has scored 50 or more points. The Sooners have scored at least 50 points 22 times in the last four seasons.
115 — Combined points scored by OU and West Virginia in this game (59-56). That exceeded the previous high of 99 points in a 50-49 Oklahoma win in 2012). This is the seventh time in Sooner history that OU and its opponent have combined for 100 or more points.
243 — Receiving yards by Marquise “Hollywood” Brown on 11 catches, the second most in Oklahoma history. He averaged 22.5 yards per catch.
300 — West Virginia was the fifth team the Sooners have rushed for more than 300 yards and passed for more than 300 against this season.
500 — Oklahoma has gained 500 or more yards of offense eight times in 12 games in the 2018 season. OU leads the nation, averaging 583.8 yards of offense per game.
Statistical information that appears in this article was extracted, in part, from the postgame notes provided by the OU athletic department.