Oklahoma football Team 129 had been putting up big numbers on offense all season long, and the Sooners continued to do so in their Alamo Bowl appearance against Arizona this past week.
The 12th-ranked Sooners' 561 yards of total offense marked their fifth best outing of the season. Only it wasn't good enough to produce 24 points on the scoreboard, 14 fewer than the 38 points posted by 14th-ranked Arizona.
A strong offensive effort unfortunately was overshadowed by six costly turnovers by the Sooners -- four interceptions and two lost fumbles -- leading directly to 28 Arizona points. Ball game.
Despite trailing 10-0 at the end of the first quarter, Oklahoma rebounded for a 14-13 advantage at halftime and led the entire third quarter. Arizona scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to close out the victory.
The Sooners, making their 57th postseason bowl appearance, missed an opportunity to record an 11-win season, instead settling for 10 wins to go along with three losses. OU has won at least 10 games in a season for the 42nd time in its grand history.
Some other numbers that tell the story of the 2023 Alamo Bowl
5.9 -- Rushing yards per carry by Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl vs. Arizona. That is the best rushing average this season by the Sooners. OU totaled 201 rushing yards in the game, the sixth time this season the Sooners have rushed for at least 200 yards in a game.
8-2 -- Oklahoma's record in 2023 when leading at halftime. The Sooners led Kansas 21-14 at the half and were up 14-13 over Arizona in the Alamo Bowl but lost both games.
11 -- Arizona's 28 points off of six Oklahoma turnovers were 11 more than the 17 total points the Sooners had given up on turnovers all season prior to the Alamo Bowl.
20 -- The Sooners had one interception in the game, giving them 20 for the season. OU ranked second nationally interceptions coming into the bowl game.
29 -- The Oklahoma defense held Arizona to just 29 rushing yards and just 1.1 yards per rushing play.
63 -- Jackson Arnold's 63-yard touchdown pass to Brenan Thompson on the OU's first possession of the second half was the Sooners' longest touchdown pass of the season and tied for the longest pass play of the season.
147-64 -- Entering the Alamo Bowl game, OU had outscored its opponents 147-64 this season in the first quarter. The Sooners trailed 10-0 at the end of the opening quarter against Arizona.
179 -- Yards by which Oklahoma outgained Arizona on offense.
361 -- Passing yards by Jackson Arnold in the game, the second-best performance in OU history by a freshman QB in a bowl game.
798 -- Redshirt freshman Nic Anderson ended the season with 798 receiving yards, second most by an OU freshman in a single season to CeeDee Lamb (807 in 2017).