Oklahoma Football Rewind: Takeaways in Savoring Sooners Red River Victory

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The standings reflect two wins and no losses for Oklahoma football in Big 12 action, tied with Baylor for the conference lead.

The cruel reality, however, tells a slightly different story. While the Sooners came out on top in wins over TCU and Texas the past two weekends, those victories weren’t without quite a bit of anguish in the closing minutes, with the outcome still in some doubt.

In both games, Oklahoma has built double-digit leads, only to allow their opponent to strike quickly and with relative ease and get back in the game, turning a two-or three-possession deficit into a one-possession contest with ample time remaining to seize victory from the jaws of defeat.

We all know there was a good ending in both cases, and a win is a win, but you have to wonder, all things being equal, if that is a sustainable scenario going forward.

More on that in the coming days, but for now, it’s good to be above .500, with more wins than losses, for the first time in the 2016 season. That might not seem like such a big deal, particularly by Oklahoma standards, but with the number of injuries sustained by key players on both sides of the ball, it serves as a strong testament to how hard the Sooners are scrapping and working hard to keep improving and keep winning.

A win over Texas is always a big deal in the Sooner Nation, and the sum of most every victory is more good outcomes than bad. That truly was the case in the Sooners’ win over the Longhorns on Saturday, but let’s not kid ourselves, while the good may have outweighed the bad, there is still plenty to be concerned about with this Oklahoma team.

Here is what we consider to be several key takeaways for Oklahoma football as the Sooners returned the Golden Hat to Norman, where it has resided 11 times in Bob Stoops’ 18 seasons at OU:

Oct 8, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Samaje Perine (32) runs the ball against the Texas Longhorns in the second quarter at Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

OU Running Game Is Alive and Thriving

In the wins over TCU and Texas, the Sooners averaged 271 rushing yards a game, and Samaje Perine looked like the Perine of old on Saturday, running over around and through the Texas defense for his third best rushing performance in three seasons at Oklahoma.

The powerful Sooner running back totaled 214 yards on the ground and two touchdowns in Oklahoma’s 45-40 win over Texas in the 2016 edition of the Red River Showdown. It was the first time in 2016 that Perine has been over the 100-yard mark in rushing and the most he has gained in a single game since the next to last game in the regular season in 2014, when he set the NCAA single-game record with a phenomenal 427 rushing yards against Kansas.

It isn’t just Perine, however, that makes up the Oklahoma rushing attack. Joe Mixon’s speed and versatility adds a change of pace to Perine’s power running game. Mixon is contributing right at 80 yards a game, and quarterback Baker Mayfield is a run threat as well.

On Saturday, Mayfield had several running plays at key points in the game that added 27 more yards to the Sooners rushing total. Not counting quarterback sacks, which result in negative rushing yardage, Mayfield is averaging 30 yards per game when he pulls the ball down and takes off on the ground.

The running game is the catalyst that makes Oklahoma’s Air Raid offense so explosive. The fact that Mayfield was able to unload three touchdown throws of longer than 40 yards against the Texas defense was largely because the Sooners were able to run the ball so effectively and consistently.

Oct 8, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Jordan Thomas (7) breaks up a pass intended for Texas Longhorns wide receiver Dorian Leonard (8) in the second quarter at Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Defense Coming up Bigger at Back End

You wouldn’t know it by looking at the final score and game stats in Oklahoma’s high-scoring, shootout victory over their archrivals from the Lone Star State.

A little less than half of the Longhorns’ 245 passing yards against the Sooners came on just two plays in the third quarter, both deep passes that went for touchdowns. The deep ball has been a continuing problem for Oklahoma this season on defense, and the two long completions on Saturday did little to allay the general concern.

The right cornerback spot has been a weak link in the Sooner secondary from the start of the 2016 season. Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops and defensive backs coach Kerry Cooks have tried several players at the position in an attempt to find a solution.

In the last couple of games, converted wide receiver Michiah Quick appeared to have earned the starter’s role at the corner opposite Jordan Thomas, one of the best cornerbacks in the Big 12. Quick had performed well against TCU and was on the field to start the game against Texas. He wasn’t there for long, however, suffering a injury early in the game that was later diagnosed as an MCL sprain that will keep him out of action for six to eight weeks. That was the last thing that an already maligned Sooner secondary needed.

Not that much later in the game, Ahmad Thomas, one of the OU safeties was kneed in the helmet while making a tackle, and just like that the Sooners were down two starters in the secondary.

What unfortunately gets lost in the top-line stats from the Sooners’ win over Texas are several outstanding pass breakups by Thomas on deep throws by the Longhorns’ Shane Buechele. But perhaps the biggest defensive play of the game was the interception by OU safety Will Sunderland with Texas moving in for a score late in the third quarter that would have sliced the OU advantage to a single point.

On the ensuing possession, the Sooners put together a 93-yard touchdown drive that widened the Oklahoma lead to 15 points and resulted in a 14-point swing on the scoreboard.

Outside of the blowout win over Louisiana-Monroe, this was perhaps the best overall performance by the Oklahoma defense, particularly by the defenders at the back end, this season.

Oct 8, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Dede Westbrook (11) runs for a touchdown after making a catch in the third quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma won 45-40. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Dede Westbrook Is Rounding Into the Big-Play Receiver the Sooners Expected

Before the month of October, wide receiver Dede Westbrook had eclipsed 100 receiving yards just once in a single game as an Oklahoma Sooner and had never caught more than six passes in a game.

That all changed in Oklahoma’s fourth game this season at TCU, and reached a career high and Oklahoma all-time record in the win over Texas, when Westbrook hauled in 10 Baker Mayfield passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns.

The junior-college recruit from Blinn Community College in Brenham, Texas, averaged 23 yards per catch in the annual Red River Showdown game on Saturday, including touchdown catches of 71, 47 and 42 yards.

A year ago, Westbrook played in the shadow of All-Big 12 receiver Sterling Shepard, who finished No. 2 on the Oklahoma career receiving list and is now playing in the National Football League, but his performance earned him Big 12 honors as Offensive Newcomer of the Year.

In his first season at Oklahoma in 2015, Westbrook caught 46 passes, second most on the team behind Shepard and averaged 16.3 yards per catch. He caught only four touchdowns a year ago, a number he almost equaled in a single game on Saturday against Texas. He has five touchdown receptions through five games this season.

The Sooner coaches were looking for Westbrook to step into the role of lead receiver this season, and as of Saturday, it appears he has arrived. And that is very good news for the Oklahoma Air Raid attack.

Oct 8, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) fumbles the ball after being hit by Texas Longhorns defensive tackle Paul Boyette Jr. (93) in the fourth quarter at Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma recovered the fumble and won 45-40. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Sooners’ Takeaway Ratio Headed in Wrong Direction

Oklahoma has not done a good job this season protecting the football. In the win over Texas, the Sooners committed four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles). Fortunately, those four turnovers cost Oklahoma only three points on Saturday.

On its very last possession, Oklahoma was very fortunate that a ball knocked loose from quarterback Baker Mayfield was covered by a heads-up Sooner lineman. Otherwise, that one near miscue could easily have become a game-changer, handing the ball to the Texas offense near midfield in a five-point game, although with very little time left on the clock.

In his postgame press conference on Saturday, head coach Bob Stoops, acknowledged the Oklahoma turnover issue, stating:

“We’re fortunate to be able to lose the turnover battle like we did and still win.”

If this were a problem in just one game, that would be one thing, but the fact is Oklahoma is at minus six in turnover margin, reflecting 11 turnovers lost in five games (seven fumbles and four interceptions) and just five takeaways, two of which were forced against Texas and helped produce 14 Oklahoma points.

A year ago, the Sooners were plus nine in turnover margin, third best in the Big 12. So far in 2016, OU owns the second worst turnover margin in the conference. Only Kansas has a worse turnover/takeaway margin at this stage of the season.

OU has lost the turnover battle in its wins over TCU and Texas, but still managed to get away with a win in each contest, by a combined 11-point margin. The odds are eventually going to catch up with the Sooners if ball security continues to be an issue.

This is a situation that needs to be reversed and fast if the Sooners are to stay on track and remain in contention for a second consecutive Big 12 football championship.