Oklahoma made sure what happened a year ago when it followed a blowout loss to Texas with a 26-point loss to South Carolina didn't happen this time around with a resounding 26-7 road win over the Gamecocks on Saturday.
The Sooners earned their sixth win of the season and became bowl eligible in recording their first win in football against South Carolina and evening the all-time series at one game apiece.
The OU running back combination of Tory Blaylock and Xavier Robinson led a Sooner rushing attack that produced 171 yards, the third-best performance of the season, along with a couple of rushing touchdowns. The Sooners took an early 7-0 lead, scoring on their first possession, and widened the advantage to 14 points with a touchdown early in the second quarter.
Oklahoma was never really in any danger of losing this game, showing a lot of grit and resilience in responding to its disappointing defeat to Red River rival Texas last weekend. The Sooners were error-free on offense, while the defense won the turnover battle, picking off a couple of errant South Carolina passes and holding South Carolina to a season-low 224 yards of offense.
It was an important win for head coach Brent Venables and the Sooners, who have equaled their win total of all of last season. Oklahoma's final five games of the regular season are all against top-25 teams, beginning Saturday at home against No. 8 Ole Miss.
Notable numbers from Oklahoma's win over South Carolina
3 -- Oklahoma came away with points on all three trips to the red zone against South Carolina. The Sooners are 23-for-23 in red-zone trips this season and are tied for first with four other FBS teams in this statistical category.
5 -- Wide receiver Javonnie Gibson, who was playing in just his third game after returning from a broken leg suffered in spring practice, caught five passes for 24 yards against South Carolina. He had two receptions (one in each of the previous two games) before Saturday.
6 -- Sacks by Oklahoma on Saturday against South Carolina, the second-most by the Sooners this season after nine against Auburn.
13 -- The Sooners recorded 13 tackles for loss against South Carolina. They have had double-digit tackles for loss in each of their last five games.
20 -- South Carolina's third-down conversion rate against the Sooner defense on Saturday. Oklahoma has held six of its seven opponents to a third-down success rate of 21% or lower. OU ranks seventh in the nation in that category.
25 -- Oklahoma is now 25-2 since the start of the 1999 season in games immediately following the Red River Rivalry game with Texas.
54 -- Rushing yards by South Carolina on Saturday, an average of 1.6 yards per carry. Oklahoma has held four of its last five opponents to fewer than 70 rushing yards. The Sooners rank No. 3 in the nation in rushing defense through seven games.
63 -- Total yards by South Carolina in the second and third quarters combined against OU on Saturday.
92 -- Oklahoma's 92-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter vs. South Carolina was its second-longest of the season. The Sooners had a 94-yard TD drive in the season opener against Illinois State.
101 -- Rushing yards by Sooner true freshman Tory Blaylock against South Carolina, which was a career-high. On Monday, he was named SEC Freshman of the Week. He averaged 5.3 yards per carry.