Oklahoma football: OU puts away Iowa State in a 9-minute stretch of 2nd quarter
By Chip Rouse
It took just 57 seconds for the Oklahoma football Sooners to blow the lid off the sell-out crowd at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium with Billy Bowman Jr. picking off an Iowa State pass on the opening possession of the game and returning it 44 yards for a touchdown and a lightning-quick 7-0 OU lead.
The Sooners scored touchdowns on their first two offensive possessions. They also scored on Iowa State’s first possession on a 44-yard pick-six by defensive back Billy Bowman.
The problem was Iowa State scored on four consecutive offensive possessions following the game-opening interception. That took some of the air out of the raucous home crowd that was deafening to start the game, with Iowa State trailing by a single point, 21-20, early in the second quarter.
Little did anyone know at the time that that would be it for the night for the Cyclones from an offensive standpoint. The Sooners tightened down the screws, shutting out Iowa State on the scoreboard for the remainder of the game and allowing just under 100 yards of offense. The Sooner offense took over from there, scoring 29 unanswered points and posting OU’s fifth consecutive win and fifth by double digits.
In the Matt Campbell era at Iowa State, only twice was he beaten by Oklahoma by more than 10.
— Locked On Sooners Podcast (@LockedOnSooners) October 1, 2023
2022 - 14
2023 - 30
Both games, Brent Venables was the head coach.
Here are are a dozen other numbers that help tell the story of OU’s home win over Iowa State:
4-15 — The OU defense held Iowa State to just 4 of 15 on third-down conversion attempts (27 percent). The Sooners rank 10th in that category nationally, allowing five opponents a 27-percent success rate on third down.
5-0 — Oklahoma is 5-0 in the month of September for just the second time in program history.
9-0 — Brent Venables’ record against Iowa State (two as head coach and seven as OU defensive coordinator). The Sooners have held ISU to a total of 70 points in those nine games, an average of 7.8 points per game.
10 — Oklahoma intercepted two passes in the Iowa State game, giving them 10 for the season and a plus-eight turnover margin, tied for third best in the country.
20 — The Sooners have allowed a touchdown in just four of 20 quarters in the 2023 season.
40 — OU’s 40 points at halftime against Iowa State was the most points in the first half by a Sooner team since holding a 48-14 halftime lead over Texas Tech in 2020. It is also only the seventh time Iowa State has given up more than 40 points since the start of the 2017 season.
51-3-1 — Oklahoma’s record against Iowa State in the last 55 games in the series.
53 — Billy Bowman’s interception returned for a touchdown against Iowa State was the first time OU had picked off a pass for a pick-six on an opponent’s opening possession since D.J. Wolfe did it against Kansas in 2005.
67 — Iowa State’s 67-yard touchdown pass from QB Rocco Becht to Jayden Higgins in the second quarter was the longest play given up by the Sooners this season.
82 — Yards allowed to Iowa State by the Oklahoma defense in the second half on Saturday after the Cyclones totaled 270 yards in the first half.
110 — Dillon Gabriel had three touchdown passes against Iowa State. That gives him 110 for his career, 19th most in FBS history.
366 — Oklahoma’s 366 passing yards were the most allowed by Iowa State since the 2020 season and snapped a streak of 19 consecutive games in which the Cyclones had held opponents to 300 or fewer yards passing.