Oklahoma Football: Sooners Show Adaptability in Outlasting Cyclones

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

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For Oklahoma football fans, it was a rare Thursday night tussle between the Sooners and the Iowa State Cyclones that had all the makings of a trap game: short week, key players out of action, and a road game against a scrappy Iowa State bunch with a penchant for upsetting better teams.

True to form, the home team put up a spirited fight as a depleted OU squad struggled to put the Cyclones away. The Sooner did manage to come out of Ames with a hard-earned victory, and are now poised to commence a final stretch run similar to the one they embarked a year ago en route to the Big 12 championship.

The next three games – against Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma State, all with one conference loss – will determine if Oklahoma has what it takes to compete in a top-tier bowl game and perhaps even have an outside shot at the College Football Playoff.

Nov 3, 2016; Ames, IA, USA; Iowa State Cyclones defensive back Jomal Wiltz (17) tackles Oklahoma Sooners fullback Dimitri Flowers (36) at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Dimitri Flowers Proves His Versatility, Toughness

Coming into Thursday night’s game, the Sooner offense was missing two of its most valuable players: Samaje Perine, who is still nursing an injured hamstring, and Joe Mixon, who foolishly earned himself a suspension by berating a hapless parking attendant.

That left Lincoln Riley’s offense down to one scholarship running back, freshman Abdul Adams, and walk-on Devin Montgomery. There was little doubt that fullback Dimitri Flowers would also see increased action.

Once again, Dimitri Flowers proved his versatility, not to mention his toughness and determination, by rising to the challenge and shouldering the bulk of the workload. The junior fullback carried the rock 22 times for 115 yards and caught three passes for 34 yards and a touchdown.

Flowers’ running wasn’t dazzling, but it was a workmanlike performance that resulted in methodical Sooner drives that kept the ball away from the Cyclones’ offense.

During the second half, the Oklahoma offense had the ball for nearly 22 minutes, while the Iowa State offense had the ball for just a little over eight minutes. If Lincoln Riley’s plan was slowing things down enough for Oklahoma to maintain control of the game, it was executed perfectly.

Moving forward, the Oklahoma running game definitely needs to return to full strength for the season’s final stretch run. That means a healthy Perine and a well-behaved Mixon. Oklahoma will need all its star power to make it through the upcoming three game gauntlet unscathed.

Oct 22, 2016; Lubbock, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) leaves the field after the game with the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium. Oklahoma defeated Texas Tech 66-59. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Mayfield Shines Yet Again

Heaping praise on Baker Mayfield’s stellar play is by now getting redundant.

Once again, Mayfield had an outstanding performance, throwing for four touchdowns, 328 yards and one interception. Mayfield’s pace since Big 12 play commenced has been absolutely torrid: 24 TDs, four interceptions and an unreal 206.6 quarterback rating over that six game stretch.

Currently, Mayfield only lags Washington’s Jake Browning in passing efficiency rating.

Here is a simple request for Oklahoma coaches: Someone please tutor Mayfield in the art of sliding. Time and time again, Iowa State’s scrappy defense flushed Mayfield out of the pocket, who then extended plays with his feet and appeared unconcerned or unafraid of contact with Cyclone defenders. There was one play in particular where Mayfield appeared to absorb a substantial hit to the head.

Given his history with concussions, this kind of contact has got to be concerning to Sooner coaches. Oklahoma’s chances to win the Big 12 rest squarely on Mayfield’s shoulders. Lose Mayfield and the wheels will come off the Sooners’ season. Keeping him upright and healthy has to be priority number one.

Oct 8, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Dede Westbrook (11) catches a touchdown pass in the second quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Dede Is Dede With Yet Another D-TD

Dede Westbrook is the Robin to Baker Mayfield’s Batman: This dynamic duo is taking offensive prowess to a whole other level. Westbrook is the Sooner receiver who has most benefitted from Mayfield’s outstanding play by becoming the OU quarterback’s primary target.

Over the six-game stretch since the TCU game, Westbrook is averaging 167 yards per game, 21 yards per catch and 12 touchdowns. In case you didn’t know, those are award-worthy numbers for the fleet-footed receiver. Against Iowa State, Westbrook went slightly back to earth, hauling in seven catches 131 yards and a score. But, he also added 97 kick-return yards, for a total of 233 all-purpose yards.

For the rest of the season and the bowl game, the task for Westbrook is simple: Stay healthy and continue to serve as Mayfield’s primary target

Oct 10, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners assistant head coach Mike Stoops on the sidelines during the game against the Texas Longhorns during the Red River rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Defense Holds Serve

At first glance, giving up 24 points to a now 1-8 Iowa State team may seem like yet another lapse for Mike Stoops’ much-maligned defense. But a closer look at the stats indicates the Sooner defense played relatively well against Iowa State.

Overall, the Sooner defensive corps held the Cyclones to 290 total yards (160 passing and 130 rushing). And seven of the Cyclones’ 24 points came on the heels of a Baker Mayfield interception that occurred when a Cyclone defender hit Mayfield’s arm while throwing.

Still, the Sooner defense gave up a couple of big plays, notably a 31-yard pass from Jacob Park to Allen Lazard, and a 41-yard run by alternating quarterback Joel Lanning that momentarily gave the Cyclones a 17-14 advantage and had the raucous home crowd sensing an upset.

Perhaps more disconcerting is the fact that the Sooner defense put little pressure on the Iowa State passers (just one sack for six yards) and once again did not create any turnovers.

This is definitely a concern moving forward; the high-octane offenses the Sooners have yet to face are quite capable of frequent big plays.

So, while the Sooner defense didn’t give up hundreds of yards to Iowa State, the injury-depleted unit is still a work in progress and remains a potential liability as Oklahoma moves into the last part of the Big 12 schedule.

Mike Stoops must forget about his defense’s past lapses and focus on getting Sooner defenders ready for the final gauntlet. Getting some of the injured personnel back would help tremendously.