Oklahoma football: Sooners’ too-close-for comfort seventh win by the numbers
By Chip Rouse
Oklahoma football got a reality check and a wakeup call all in one on Saturday but still managed to survive with a 31-29 victory and a seventh straight win to start the season.
It was the Sooners first and possibly only win over Big 12 newcomer UCF. Beginning next season, Oklahoma will be part of the SEC.
Oklahoma has only played UCF this one time, but it was the seventh team from the state of Florida the Sooners have met on the gridiron in their history. OU is 14-7 in those matchups, including 6-2 versus Florida State, 1-1 against Florida and 3-4 against Miami.
UCF entered the game on Saturday as the nation’s third best offensive team and the fourth best team rushing the football, averaging 516 yards of offense per game. The OU defense held UCF to 397 total yards on offense and 97 yards under its season average running the ball.
The Sooners have held six of their seven opponents to fewer than 400 yards of total offense (Texas is the one exception). This is a huge reason Oklahoma is sitting atop the Big 12 Conference standings and at 7-0 for the 22nd time in program history and the eighth time since the 2000 national championship season.
Here are some other notable numbers from Oklahoma’s return to action after a bye week and win over UCF:
0 — Oklahoma failed to score in the third quarter on Saturday. It was just the second time this season that the Sooners have failed to put up points in any quarter. OU’s best quarter all season has been the first. The Sooners have outscored their seven opponents 105-23 in the opening quarter.
.749 — Oklahoma’s regular season winning percentage (173-58) since the beginning of the Big 12 Conference in 1996, best in the Big 12.
2 — This was the second game this season OU has won by one possession (24-30 vs. Texas was the other). The Sooners were 0-5 in such games last season.
10 — The Sooners have allowed just 10 touchdowns in 28 quarters this season (3 to UCF on Saturday) and only 109 total points (3.9 per quarter and 15.5 per game).
13 — Tackles for loss recorded by the Oklahoma defense vs. UCF. The Sooners lead all FBS teams with an average of 9.3 TFLs per game
15 — Total yards gained by UCF — No. 3 among all FBS teams in total offense coming into the game — in the first quarter of Saturday’s game.
25 — The Sooners held UCF to 4 of 16 (25 percent) on third-down conversion attempts. OU continues to impress in this defensive category. For the season, the Oklahoma defense is holding opponents to under 30 percent on third-down conversion tries, which is tied for sixth best nationally.
46 — Number of Oklahoma run plays on Saturday for an average of 4.1 yards per carry. UCF is one of the top teams in the country running the football, yet the Sooners had five more rushing attempts than UCF (41) and more rushing yards (189 to 149).
51.6 — Oklahoma’s average yards in five punts by Luke Elzinga vs. UCF. That’s the sixth best single-game average in school history.
86 — Oklahoma gave up an 86-yard touchdown catch and run in the second quarter against UCF. It was the longest play from scrimmage given up by the Sooners all season.
232 — UCF recorded 232 yards of offense in the second quarter on Saturday with 140 of that coming on just two plays.
83,476 — Official attendance at the game on Saturday. It was the 150th consecutive sellout at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season.