Oklahoma football: Three takeaways from OU’s dominant 49-point win at Tulsa
By Chip Rouse
Oklahoma football is off to a 3-0 start to the 2023 season. Exactly where the Sooners were at this same time a year ago.
We all know what happened last season, with three straight losses following the three consecutive wins to open up Brent Venables’ debut as the 23rd head coach of OU football.
The comparisons stop right there. This is not the same Oklahoma team that it was one year ago. The offense appears to be even better than it was last season, but the big difference is the aggressive, heads-up play of the defense and a complementary style of football we haven’t seen from the Sooners in close to a decade.
The Sooners won the opening coin toss on Saturday and elected to take the ball rather than defer to the second half. They wanted to go on offense and set the tone early, and that thinking quickly paid off.
Jalil Farooq gathered in the opening kickoff near the OU goal line and rambled 62 yards only to lose the ball as he was taken to the ground. Tulsa recovered the ball at its own 36-yard line, thus averting what could have been an opening disaster. It was the first turnover of the season for the Sooners.
It turned out to be just a short reprieve, however, as five Tulsa offensive plays later quarterback Will Rogers threw the first of what would be three first-quarter interceptions, this one picked off by defensive back and Tulsa native Gentry Williams at the OU 16-yard line. It took QB Dillon Gabriel and the Sooners just two plays to go 84 yards to record the first score of the game and the first of 28 first-quarter points that might have been 35 were it not for the miscue on the opening kick.
The game was essentially over after the first 15 minutes, although Tulsa rallied briefly in the second quarter and in the opening minutes of the second half. Other than that, the game was totally dominated by the more talented and deeper Sooners.
That gave Oklahoma 10 straight wins in the series. Tulsa has not beaten the Sooners at home since the 1942 season.
Here are three key takeaways that tell the tale of this game:
Dillon Gabriel has been laser sharp throwing the football
Dillon Gabriel was nearly perfect against Tulsa save for one of his three incomplete passes that was picked off. It was his first interception in 80 pass attempts this season. Other than that, the fifth-year quarterback completed an uncanny 28 of 31 passes for 421 yards and five touchdowns in one of his best performances as a collegian.
The native Hawaiian has completed 66 of 80 pass attempts through three games, a completion percentage of 82.5 percent. His 220.40 passing efficiency rating through three games is second only to former Sooner QB Caleb Williams, who leads the national at 240.50. Gabriel has thrown nine TD passes in the last two games and has 11 for the season, fourth best among FBS teams.
Sooner defense tightens down the screws in the second half
The Oklahoma defense forced three turnovers and a scoreless first quarter for Tulsa. After a brief defensive lapse in the second quarter, allowing two touchdowns and 100 yards of offense and then giving up a 73-yard drive by the Golden Hurricane that resulted in a field goal to start the third quarter, the Sooner defense allowed just 41 yards of total offense and no points for the remaining 25 minutes of the game. It was the second time in three games that the reworked OU defense has given up fewer than 300 yards in a game.
The defense also posted three quarterback sacks along with 14 tackles for loss. Through three games, the OU defense is tied for fifth nationally in scoring defense (9.5 points per game), 15th in rushing defense (78.7 yards per game) and 32nd on total defense (287.7).
Five defensive interceptions lead to 35 Oklahoma points
Oklahoma’s five interceptions in the game were the most in a single game since 2003 against Texas Tech. The Sooners have eight takeaways through three games and a plus-six turnover margin, tied for fourth best in the country.