Oklahoma football: Three telling takeaways from a second straight loss

Batten down the hatches, we’re in for a rough ride for Oklahoma football this season.

In what has been a highly atypical year because of the coronavirus is quickly turning into an exceptional one for the the Sooners, as well, and not in a positive way.

The 37-30 loss to Iowa State was extremely troubling on several levels. And not just because Oklahoma lost. It was the way they lost that is most disturbing.

To begin with, this was a game the Sooners could have, and probably should have, won. But they didn’t, and they can only blame themselves. Once again, Oklahoma, let a double-digit first-half advantage slip away, and for a second straight week the Sooners couldn’t finish off their opponent in the deciding fourth quarter. And one more time, Spencer Rattler’s final pass in the game ended up in the arms of an opposing player.

“A tough loss. A very, very kind of a gut-wrenching loss,” said Sooner head coach Lincoln Riley in his postgame comments.

"“Obviously our backs against the wall here as a football team,” he said. “We know that. We understand that. We accept that…but it’s about how you respond and I believe I know how this group will.”"

With the loss, Oklahoma begins the 2020 season with a 1-2 record. The last time OU started the season with two losses in its first three games was in 2016 following nonconference losses to 15th-ranked Houston and No. 3 Ohio State. The last time the Sooners lost as many as two conference games in the same season was in 2014, one of only two times in Bob Stoops’ 18 seasons as Oklahoma’s winningest head coach lost as many as five games.

Oklahoma led in this game for the first 44 minutes, with Iowa State gaining the advantage for the first time, 23-20, at the 1:18 mark in the third quarter. The lead changed hands twice in the final quarter before the Cyclones scored the go-ahead touchdown with just a few ticks over four minutes remaining in the game.

Several streaks came to an end on a chilly Saturday night at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, not the least of which was the fact that Oklahoma had not lost at Iowa State in 24 straight visits, a period dating back to 1960. It is only the seventh time in 85 total games that OU has lost to Iowa State, but two of those losses have come in the last four years and last season the Sooners won by just a single point in Norman.

It also marks the first time OU  has lost back-to-back games in the regular season since 1999.

Here are three other takeaways that had a major impact on the outcome of this game:

Defensive mistakes and missteps continue to doom the Sooners

Iowa State took full advantage of the height disparity between the Oklahoma defensive backs and taller Cyclone defenders. Three Iowa State receivers, all of which stand 6-foot, 3 inches and taller, combined for 10 catches and 197 of the Cyclones’ 282 receiving yards in the game.

The Sooners’ difficulty in covering the taller Iowa State receivers also resulted in several costly penalty calls. The Oklahoma defense was flagged for four pass interference penalties, two defensive holding calls and a personal foul.

One of the pass interference calls was especially costly.

After linebacker Nik Bonitto appeared to have sacked Iowa State quarterback on a third-down play, senior OU defensive back Tre Brown was called for pass interference, wiping off the sack and awarding the Iowa State offense a new set of downs. On the very next play, Purdy found 6-foot, 3-inch  wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson over the middle, who slipped a tackle and took it 65 yards to the house to give the Cyclones their first lead in the game.

Aside from the penalty calls, the Oklahoma defenders forgot how to tackle in this game. Repeatedly, Iowa State receivers and ball carriers slipped through and bounced off of Sooner tackles, turning what could have been losses or short gains into big plays.

Sooner running backs are struggling in the ground game

Throughout Lincoln Riley’s time at Oklahoma, the Sooners have had a strong running game, and the balance between running the ball and putting it into the air and into the hands of speedy playmakers is what has made the OU offensive so powerful and explosive. So far this season, the Sooners are having difficulty getting the ground game going. OU is averaging just a little over 4.0 yards per rushing play this season. That’s down from 6.0 yards per play last season.

Part of that is due to the loss of their four leading rushers from a year ago, the result of graduation, transfer, opt-out and suspension. That’s not an excuse, but a brutal truth. OU’s two main running backs this season are averaging a little over 100 yards a game. That’s more than 100 yards less than the Sooner rushing numbers a year ago. Another reason for the lower ground production has been struggles with blocking assignments on the offensive line.

Special teams breakdown

After Oklahoma had taken a 30-23 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Iowa State kick returner Kene Nwangwu fielded Gabe Brkic’s kickoff at his own 2-yard line and proceeded to weave his way through and around the OU special teams unit, rambling 85 yards before his was caught from behind and brought down at the Sooner 13-yard line.

That was a backbreaker. Three plays later, Brock Purdy ran it in from the 2-yard line, and less than a minute after the Sooners had taken the lead they found themselves all deadlocked.

That kickoff return represented a hard punch to the face that ultimately took all the wind out of Oklahoma’s sails.

We all know what happened from there. And unfortunately, the residual effects could be long lasting.