Oklahoma football: Lincoln Riley ties record as defense steps up a notch
By Chip Rouse
The Sooners’ 28-21 win over Iowa State on Saturday put them at 10 wins for the season and at that level for the 41st time in Oklahoma football history.
Oklahoma and Alabama are tied with the most 10-win seasons in college football history. Since 2000, though, no team in a Power Five conference has more 10-win seasons than the Sooners’ 17, and OU also leads the nation with 26 all-time 11-win seasons.
Saturday’s win was the 55th for Lincoln Riley as Oklahoma head coach. That ties Bob Stoops for the most wins by a Sooners’ head coach in his first five seasons.
It was also a record-setting game in that it was the sixth time this season that Oklahoma has won a game by seven or fewer points, a program record.
The Sooners finished the 2021 season with a 7-0 home record, only the fourth time that has happened in Oklahoma’s storied football history. Here are seven other notable numbers that help tell the story of OU’s win over Iowa State:
7 — The Sooner defense recorded a season-high seven sacks on Saturday along with a season-high 11 tackles for loss.
23.5 — Third-down conversion percentage for Iowa State (4 of 17) as the OU defense stepped up to the challenge of a big-time offense.
42 — Jalen Redmond’s 42-yard touchdown run on a fumble recovery with nine seconds left before halftime was the longest by an Oklahoma defensive lineman at home since 1979.
60 — Three of Michael Turk’s six punts for the Sooners on Saturday were 60 yards or longer.
74 — Caleb Williams’ 74-yard touchdown run on Oklahoma’s second play of the game was longest offensive play from scrimmage by the Sooners this season
96 — Passing yards by Oklahoma on Saturday against Iowa State, the fewest yards through the air in the Lincoln Riley era at OU.
3,000 – RB Kennedy Brooks collected 115 rushing yards on 17 carries, which put him over 3,000 rushing yards for his career. He is the 11th Oklahoma player to rush for over 3,000 yards in his career, and that’s impressive considering all the great running backs that have played for OU.