The 2025 Oklahoma Sooners defense made history, but then that also became history.
The Sooners recorded a program-record 10 sacks in their 24-17 win over former OU quarterback Jackson Arnold and the Auburn Tigers on Saturday. After the game and postgame press conference, though, a stat correction erased one of the Sooners’ sacks on the stat sheet and instead gave OU a record-tying nine sacks.
Sooners tie program sack record
Defensive end R Mason Thomas ultimately won the game by sacking Arnold in the end zone for a safety to destroy what could have been Auburn’s game-winning drive in the final minutes. That sack gave OU the ball back to drain the clock and, at the time, had set a new single-game school record.
Here's my angle of R Mason Thomas' game-clinching safety on Saturday
— Josh Callaway (@JoshMCallaway) September 21, 2025
Really cool moment between Thomas and Miguel Chavis afterward - you can see what that meant to both of them pic.twitter.com/OjluwayQP8
"We knew we had to break some records," Thomas said postgame before the stat was changed. "This team is special. We knew we had to leave a legacy."
However, in the second quarter, defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. brought down Arnold behind the line, but was flagged for a horse collar tackle. The penalty negated the play, but the sack had remained on the stat sheet until it was later corrected.
In the end, Jones didn’t get a sack of his own in the win. Sophomore defensive tackle Jayden Jackson led the Sooners with 2.5 sacks. Thomas had two sacks, even after being suspended the entire first half because of a targeting call against Temple the week before. He notched his first sack on just his second snap in the game.
Took R Mason Thomas all of 2 snaps to make an impact after having to sit out the first half yesterday
— Josh Callaway (@JoshMCallaway) September 21, 2025
What a huge blindside hit he put on Jackson Arnold here pic.twitter.com/7WbjQaxYLA
Kip Lewis (.5), David Stone (1), Taylor Wein (1), Gracen Halton (1) and Owen Heinecke (1) also contributed to the sack total.
Even without the record, the Sooners are still tied for the most sacks in the FBS with 16 through four games. That 10th sack, though, would have given OU sole possession of the lead.
The Sooners get a week off before hosting Kent State on Oct. 4. The Golden Flashes have given up 11 sacks in four games so far, which is in the bottom 15 of the FBS, so considering the mismatch in the trenches, the Sooners could still get in the record book their next outing.
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