In case you haven’t noticed, a troubling trend has taken hold at home Oklahoma football games against Big 12 opponents.
What happened on Saturday in the disturbing loss to Kansas State is not a one-time occurrence. The regular-season game with Baylor last year notwithstanding, the Sooners have a recent history of jumping out in front early in games, adding some separation and then easing off somewhat after halftime and allowing opponents to get back into games.
In the inimitable words of baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, “It’s not over till its over.” Unfortunately, that is wisdom this year’s Oklahoma team had to learn the hard way on Saturday. The Sooners allowed 17 unanswered fourth-quarter points by Kansas State, enabling the Wildcats to come back from a 35-21 deficit and steal a 38-35 road victory over the Sooners.
It’s bad enough to let a game you should have won get away, but what’s troubling is that same scenario occurred in OU’s last two Big 12 home games last season, against Iowa State and TCU. The big difference was, the Sooners squandered big second-half leads in both but managed to hold on and win both games, but only by a combined three points.
The Sooners have no problem jumping out to quick leads and putting points on the scoreboard early — a great offensive design with plenty of talent will do that for you — where they do have a problem is keeping their foot on the pedal and finishing games. In their last three Big 12 home games, they have been fourth-quarter no-shows, and not just on defense, offensively as well.
The last three times Oklahoma has faced a Big 12 opponent at home, the Sooners have been outscored 44-0 in the fourth quarter. In those same three games, OU has outscored its opponents 77-28 in the first half, but the second half has been a completely different story. The Sooners have been outscored 72-28 in the second half of those games.
“It’s just a combination of everything,” head coach Lincoln Riley told Ryan Aber of The Oklahoman when asked on Monday about what happened to go so wrong so fast late in the game on Saturday. “I can’t point to one thing and say, ‘Man, we were great at everything, but really bad a this.’
“I think it’s a culture. I think it’s a mentality. I think it’s a mindset in how we all approach the game,” he said.
It’s hard to explain why it is that Oklahoma seemingly shifts into cruise control late in games, comfortable with what has gone before, and why this appears to be more prevalent at home than on the road.
The Sooners have faced five Big 12 opponents at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the end of the 2018 season. Over the time frame, they have scored a total of 10 fourth-quarter points.
Oklahoma will play its next four games away from home, which may not be as foreboding as it may at first seem. In the Sooners’ last four games away from Norman, they have outscored their opponent 49-14 in the final quarter. Go figure!