Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: Sooners blow by Golden Hurricane 66-17

By Chip Rouse

Sep 16, 2023; Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners players take the field before a game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan J. Fish-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 16, 2023; Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners players take the field before a game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan J. Fish-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oklahoma football got the engine revving early en route to a 66-17 blowout win on the road over the Tulsa Hurricane on Saturday.

The Sooners (3-0) squandered a game-opening 61-yard kickoff return on a fumble but stormed back on four touchdown passes in four consecutive possessions, aided by three interceptions by the defense, and a 28-0 advantage after the first 15 minutes.

Tulsa (1-2) changed quarterbacks early in the second quarter with Cardell Williams replacing starter Roman Fuller, who had three of his 10 pass attempts picked off by the Oklahoma defense.

Williams completed seven of nine passes and led the Golden Hurricane to two second-quarter touchdowns to cut into the Sooners’ 38-14 halftime lead. Both of the Tulsa second-quarter touchdown drives involved at least 10 plays and 75 yards and were just the second and third scored on OU in three games.

Tulsa took the second-half kickoff and marched 73 yards in 11 plays before having to settle for a 21-yard field goal to draw within 21 points at 38-17, but after that the Oklahoma defense tightened down the screws.

The Sooners put the pedal down on offense again, scoring 28 unanswered points on four consecutive possessions to stretch the score to 66-17. Meanwhile the defense turned up the head, holding the Golden Hurricane to just seven yards of offense over the final 25 minutes of the game.

Oklahoma rolled up 595 yards of offense while holding Tulsa to 292 total yards with 217 of that coming through the air. Also of note were five interceptions by the Sooner defense, three of those in the first quarter alone. The five interceptions is the most by an OU defense since 2003.

Dillon Gabriel had a Heisman-like performance completing 90 percent of his pass attempts (28 of 31) for 421 yards and five touchdowns before leaving the game after three quarters. Backup Jackson Arnold also threw a touchdown pass in the game.

As has been the case all three OU games this season, 11 different players caught at least one pass in the contest and three Sooner receivers had over 100 receiving yards. Jalil Farooq had six catches for 126 yards and a touchdown, Nic Anderson had three receptions for 120 yards and three touchdowns and Andrel Anthony had four catches for 112 yards. Drake Stoops led all OU receivers with eight receptions for 53 yards, including a couple of touchdown catches.

Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby wanted to get more playing time for sophomore RBs Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk and they pulled most of the duty in the run game against Tulsa. Barnes and Sawchuk combined for 23 of the 29 rushing plays and 93 of the 119 rushing yards for the Sooners, including two touchdowns. Tawee Walker, OU’s leading rusher coming into the game did not have a carry in the game,

The Sooners are on the road again next weekend, traveling to Cincinnati to play their first Big 12 game of 2023.

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