Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: Sooners’ pass attempts, yards woefully absent in Kansas loss

By Chip Rouse

Oct 28, 2023; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Tawee Walker (29) runs the ball against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 28, 2023; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Tawee Walker (29) runs the ball against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /
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One of the lingering questions in the postmortem following the Oklahoma football loss to Kansas over the weekend was why a Sooner offense that ranks 11th nationally in passing yards per game threw the ball just 19 times total on Saturday.

It was the fewest pass attempts by Oklahoma this season and the least amount in a game since a year ago in the 49-0 blowout to Texas when OU attempted just 17 passes, completing four for a total of 39 yards.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby explained in his postgame comments that the Sooner stuck with the run game because it was highly effective in the second and third quarter with Tawee Walker shouldering most of the load until he got hurt and had to leave the game early in the fourth quarter. With Walker in the game, the Kansas defense showed little ability to stop the Sooner run game, with Walker averaging 6.3 yards per carry.

Whether it was due to the cold and rainy weather conditions or even the pick-six thrown by Dillon Gabriel on OU’s first possession of the game, the fact remains that the Sooners abandoned arguably the strength of their offense and became one-dimensional, especially in the critical closing stages of a contest that was up for grabs.

Oklahoma did have a season-high 269 yards rushing against the Jayhawks. Unfortunately, OU gained just 23 yards on the ground in nine rushing attempts over the final 11 minutes of the game.

Here are some more of the numbers that tell the ugly story of the OU-Kansas game:

0-16 — Kansas’ record under head coach Lance Leipold coming into the Oklahoma game when entering the fourth quarter. The Sooners led 21-20 after three quarters.

1:42 — Time elapsed on two Oklahoma touchdown drives immediately following a weather delay of close to an hour.

4 of 14 — Kansas’ third-down conversion rate vs. OU. The Jayhawks converted four of their first six third-down tries in the game and were 0 for 8 on their final eight attempts.

7 — Oklahoma recorded a season-high seven pass breakups against Kansas on Saturday.

11 — Oklahoma rushed for a season-high 269 yards on Saturday. It was the 11th time in the last two seasons that the Sooners have rushed for 200 or more yards.

18 — The Sooners had two interceptions and a fumble recovery against Kansas giving them 18 through eight games, tied for third best among FBS teams.

18 — Oklahoma had won 18 consecutive games against Kansas before Saturday.

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