Alex Grinch's defense "found a personality" in resilient win over Texas, and it's apparent
Years from now, when pundits and Sooner fans alike reminisce on the mayhem of 2020, Oklahoma's four-overtime victory over Texas in the Red River Showdown will no doubt be remembered as the turning point in a tumultuous season for Lincoln Riley's team.
Spencer Rattler emerged from that slugfest a different man. Drake Stoops indelibly wrote his name in the annals of Sooner lore. And the much-maligned Oklahoma defense came out of the fire with a renewed energy.
One month after the wildest game in the history of the fabled OU-Texas rivalry, is it fair to say that the Sooners' epic triumph at the Cotton Bowl catalyzed a revival for Alex Grinch's defense?
"Most definitely, yes," said linebacker David Ugwoegbu. "From everything, as you can see how well our defense has been playing in games and just practicing ever since that game. We approach practice with a whole different mindset. We’ve got guys flying around from the start to the finish. It’s not ever really up and down; it’s just a great vibe now at practice. The defense has really found a personality, and I like that."
The statistics speak for themselves, as the Oklahoma pass rush has notched 20 sacks across their past four games. That's a far cry from the two sacks that they accumulated over the first two games of conference play. Meanwhile, the secondary has recorded multiple interceptions in three of those past four contests. Prior to the Texas game, Delarrin Turner-Yell's pick in the season opener against Missouri State was the only interception the unit had recorded.
Oh, and since Texas put up 45 points in that shootout for the ages, the Sooners have allowed a total of 51 across three outings.
As Rattler noted after the Sooners' 33-14 win over TCU, not many squads will win football games with that kind of scoring output against a Lincoln Riley team.
"I think after the Texas game, we just realized that we can finish a game," said defensive back Woodi Washington, who grabbed his first career interception in the win over the Longhorns. "Because the games before that, Iowa State and Kansas State, we didn't really finish in the fourth quarter. And I think the Texas game, once we finished the game in overtime, I think it just pushed us to work hard in the fourth quarter... I would just say it helped us be more prepared toward the end of the game."
It's perhaps still a bit early to say that the Sooners' late-game woes are history, but that ugly leviathan certainly hasn't reared its head since that fateful afternoon in Dallas. Now, as the Sooners get an extra week to prepare for Oklahoma State, Ugwoegbu is confident in the chemistry the unit has developed.
"Just all the adversity we faced and how we responded to it, it just proved to us that in the face of adversity all we gotta do is rise up and stick together as a team and we’ll be able to make it through it."
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