Oklahoma football: What happened to OU offense in final 45 minutes of Bedlam?

The Sooners’ picked up a big win on Saturday — their eighth in the last 10 Bedlam battles. But we also saw the Jekyll-and-Hyde act that has characterized and demonized the Oklahoma football offense the entire 2022 season.

In the first quarter alone against Oklahoma State, the Sooners exploded for 28 unanswered points and 299 yards of total offense, reminiscent of the high-octane Oklahoma offenses of the recent past. After the first 15 minutes, however, that same offense pulled a disappearing act.

It was a good thing the OU defensive unit, which has been the subject of much criticism throughout this season, was on its game for once and able to pick up the offensive slack. Otherwise the outcome of the 117th edition of Bedlam football might have been much different.

On defense, the Sooners withstood 18 possessions and 102 offensive plays by Oklahoma State and only allowed one touchdown and two field goals, a classic example of a defense that bends but doesn’t break.

All’s well that ends well, but what on earth happened to the Oklahoma offense for the final 45 minutes on Saturday?

The Sooners had 12 possessions over the final three quarters of the game (not counting the one play in victory formation at the very end of the game). Nine of those possessions ended in three-and-outs and a punt, including the final six OU possessions in the game. Oklahoma had 365 yards of offense in the first half but just 69 total yards in the second half.

For sure, Oklahoma State made some defensive adjustments after the Sooners’ first-quarter onslaught and in the second half. But that wasn’t the reason for 180-degree turnaround of the OU offense after the first 15 minutes of the game.

Inconsistency has plagued the Sooner football team all season, and it was apparent in spades on the offensive side for three-quarters of the game on Saturday. OU was truly fortunate to come away with a win.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby couldn’t escape the elephant-in-the-room question in either the postgame press conference or his regular weekly briefing with reporters on Monday.

We were able to get into a rhythm and make some plays in the first quarter, Lebby said.

"“It was something different every single series after that.” he said after the game on Saturday. We didn’t make any more plays, obviously we had some drops and I’ve got to do a better job of putting us in a better position to be able to make some first downs and create some momentum.”"

One major problem, which has reared its ugly head in a big way the past two games, is the Sooners’ inability to convert on third down. The Sooners are 2 for 25 in their last two games. That is an 8.0 percent conversion rate. The worst among all teams at the FBS level of college football is 21.7 percent.

The Sooners like to play a hurry-up offense, but when you have six consecutive three-and-out possessions, you not only put your defense at increased risk because of the quick turnaround in the exchange of possession, but you enable your opponent to have additional offensive possessions (a,k.a. scoring opportunities).

Oklahoma’s final six possessions against Oklahoma State — all three-and-outs beginning at the 4:33 mark in the third quarter till the end of the game — consumed a total of seven minutes and 10 seconds off the clock (1:13, 1:06, 1:07, 1:27, 1:18 and 1:00).

Lebby acknowledged in both press conferences, that the poor clock management at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, was on him and that he was too conservative in his play calling at that point in the game.

"“I’m proud of the way we started, but after that we struggled,” he said."

The Sooner offense in the second half on Saturday didn’t look so much that it was deliberately trying to play fast as much as it appeared rushed, and there’s a big difference between the two styles of play.

When asked about clock management after the game, head coach Brent Venables said:

"“We gotta be better there. To continue to put the defense in that position is not what you want to do…Running the clock gives them more time to recover and adjust.”"

Venables has said numerous times this season that you learn from your mistakes in the games you win as much as you do in the games you lose. The Sooners were fortunate this past Saturday.

If they Sooners don’t get things corrected and clean up their execution issues this week, they won’t be as fortunate at Texas Tech.