Sooners' 92-yard 2nd-quarter TD drive equal to team's total 2nd-half offensive output

The numbers were seriously stacked against Oklahoma heading into the game on Saturday in the deep south, in the heart of SEC country, against Ole Miss.

Examining the statistical comparisons in advance of the actual game, it was easy to view the Sooners' first trip to the state of Mississippi as a potential blowout, as the both experts and oddsmakers were predicting.

Well, guess what? Struggling Oklahoma didn't go quietly, and for the first 30 minutes actually put a scare into the Ole Miss faithful by taking a 14-10 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

That about sums it up for the Sooners as Ole Miss completely dominated the second half and avoided the potential upset by shutting down the Oklahoma offense while finding its own offensive rhythm on the way to a 26-14 victory. The victory kept the 18th-ranked Rebels' College Football Playoff hopes alive, while Oklahoma suffered its third consecutive loss and fourth of the season.

The Sooners go out of conference next weekend, entertaining an FCS opponent in Maine before closing out the regular season with the three-game gauntlet of No. 21 Missouri, No. 15 Alabama and No. 8 LSU.

Here are some of the compelling numbers associated with the first-ever regular-season game between OU and Ole Miss:

0-4 -- When the Sooners lose the turnover battle (they had two turnovers to one takeaway vs. Ole Miss), they are 0-4 this season and 2-6 since the beginning of the 2023 season. Over the same period, OU is 12-0 when it wins the turnover battle.

1 of 9 -- Oklahoma's third-down conversion rate against the Ole Miss defense after converting seven out of nine third-down attempts in the first half.

2 -- The Oklahoma defense stuffed Ole Miss on the Rebels' only two fourth-down attempts.

8 -- OU TE Bauer Sharp had a game and career-high eight pass receptions in the game for a team-high 53 yards.

10 -- By far the most damaging statistic for the Sooners vs. Ole Miss was the 10 sacks allowed, a new school record. This comes just one week after giving up nine quarterback sacks to South Carolina. Oklahoma leads the entire country in sacks allowed this season.

22 -- Jackson Arnold completed 22 of 31 pass attempts, a season-high for completions.

24+ -- Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart had six passing plays of 24 or more yards. Oklahoma had just one such play and that came on the final play of the game when quarterback Jackson Arnold scrambled for 24 yards.

57 -- In addition to a game-high 67 rushing yards, RB Jovantae Barnes had a career-high 57 receiving yards.

92 -- Oklahoma's 92-yard touchdown drive just before halftime was the longest Sooner scoring drive of the season and was only two yards fewer than their total offensive output of the second half.

147 -- Oklahoma rushing yards on Saturday. That is 80 more than Ole Miss has averaged giving up for the season coming into the game. Ole Miss ranks No. 1 among FBS teams this season in rushing defense.

311 -- Passing yards allowed by the OU defensive secondary against Ole Miss, the most given up through the air this season.