Oklahoma football: Three takeaways from look-at-me-now Sooner win

From the outset, the Oklahoma football road test at Texas Tech on Halloween night appeared that it might be a scary one for the Crimson and Cream.

Texas Tech took the opening kickoff and methodically and swiftly moved down the field, going 75 yards in seven plays in a little more than two minutes, sending a resounding message that the Red Raiders had come to play.

It became even scarier when the Oklahoma offense went three-and-out on its first possession and was forced to punt the ball back to a Texas Tech offense that appeared to have a good game plan against the visiting Sooners.

OU got on the board for the first time at the 5:31 mark in the opening quarter, with Spencer Rattler leading a seven-play, 56-yard drive to knot the score a 7-7. An interception by OU redshirt- junior safety Tre Norwood on the ensuing Texas Tech possession proved to be the turning point in the game.

Twenty-seven seconds after tying the game, the Sooners took a 14-7 lead on a two-yard run by T.J. Pledger, and that opened up the floodgates. Over the next 14 minutes, Oklahoma scored four more touchdowns and had 42 points on the board with a little more than halfway through the second quarter.

At that point, with the Oklahoma leading 42-7, the game was effectively over, but the Sooners weren’t finished.

For the fifth time in six games this season, Oklahoma was outscored in the fourth quarter. Texas Tech scored 14 points to OU’s seven in the final frame, but by that time, the Sooners were substituting freely with reserves and the game was well in hand.

It was a dominating performance for the Sooners, with plenty of credit to spread around, both offensively and defensively.

The game also marked the long-anticipated return of senior running back Rhamondre Stevenson, the team’s leading returning rusher from a year ago, and All-Big 12 defensive end Ronnie Perkins, arguably the Sooners’ best defensive player.

There is no question that those two made their presence known on Saturday night in Lubbock. Which begs the question: How good would Oklahoma have been had Stevenson and Perkins been available to play earlier in the season when the Sooners lost back-to-back conference games to Kansas State and Iowa State?

You have to believe Oklahoma would have been a different team with those two in in lineup, and remember, OU only lost by three points to K-State and seven to Iowa State.

If “ifs and buts…,” right?

Back in the present, however, here are three big takeaways from the Sooners’ convincing win at Texas Tech, concluding a stretch of four consecutive games away from home:

Return of Rhamondre Stevenson and Ronnie Perkins

As late as Friday this past week, Oklahoma did not know if Stevenson and Perkins would be cleared to play at Texas Tech. Or, if OU did know, it was not saying. In retrospect, the Sooners probably would have won anyway, but with those two key players available, it was extra icing on the cake.

Those two, along with sophomore wide receiver Trejan Bridges. had completed their six-game suspension for failing a marijuana test before last season’s College Football Playoff game and were expected to be available at Texas Tech, but head coach Lincoln Riley had said all last week that the process was still ongoing and their status was unclear.

We all know now that Stevenson and Perkins did play and were major contributors to Oklahoma’s fourth win of the season and third straight conference win. Bridges did not make the trip to Lubbock, however, for undisclosed reasons.

Stevenson entered the game late in the first quarter, and on his first play from scrimmage ran for 10 yards and a first down. Saturday night was his first game action since scoring the winning touchdown in the Sooners’ win over Baylor in the Big 12 championship game last December.

The senior running back, who rushed for 515 yards and six touchdowns last season and averaged a nation-best 8.0 yards per carry, ended his first game in 2020 with a team-high 89 rushing yards and three touchdowns and also caught two passes for 13 yards. He averaged 6.7 yards on the ground on 22 carries.

Perkins also had a good night in his season debut. The junior defensive end and team leader on defense was credited with three total tackles, a team-high two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.

Sooners turn into big-time ball thieves

For two seasons. defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has emphasized the importance of creating more takeaways and getting the ball back to the the Sooners’ high-powered offense. Oklahoma had two interceptions and a fumble recovery in the win over Texas.

On Saturday night, the OU defense picked off passes on two consecutive Texas Tech possessions in the first quarter, leading two 14 points,  and recovered a Red Raider fumble late in the second quarter that led to a Gabe Brkic field goal. That was a total of 17 points for OU off of turnovers.

The three takeaways against Texas Tech, coupled with a turnover-free night by the Sooners, gives Oklahoma eight for the season and was the first game this season that Oklahoma has won the turnover battle.

OU’s overall performance continues to peak

Lincoln Riley will tell you that the goal each and every week of the season is to clean up mistakes from the previous week, make necessary changes and get better with every game throughout the season. The Sooners turned a corner with the four-overtime win in the Red River rivalry game with Texas, and two weeks after that played their most complete game of the season to that point in a convincing win at TCU.

On Saturday night, on the wide-open plains of West Texas, this Oklahoma team put it all together and perhaps for the first time this season looked like the team we expected we would see when the season started.

The Sooners still aren’t at full strength — few teams are this season because of injuries plus the added threat of COVID-19 — but they are getting some key players back, their young players, including redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler, are gaining experience and confidence every game.

The Sooners are, in fact, getting better every week. It’s too bad it didn’t happen sooner, but it clearly sends a warning signal to the remaining teams on the Oklahoma schedule.

November is already a banner month for OU historically. This is going to be a very dangerous team heading into the homestretch.