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Oklahoma's Kickers Were Special Against Iowa State

From Michael Turk flipping the field and pinning the Cyclones deep to Zach Schmit's clutch field goals to their first career touchdown pass and catch, OU kickers dominated.

AMES, IA — When Zach Schmit woke up Saturday, he didn’t envision scoring his first career touchdown.

“I did not,” Oklahoma’s kicker said Saturday after the Sooners were powered to a victory at Iowa State with his 2-yard run on a fake field goal.

“I was telling some people on the sideline I got a chance in high school to try to catch a touchdown,” he said, “but it went right through my hands.”

This time was probably a bit easier. With OU nursing a 3-0 lead and stalled again in the red zone, Schmit simply took his place behind holder Michael Turk, stepped toward the line at the snap per usual, but didn’t plant and instead kept running while catching the short flip from Turk. The hole opened up and Schmit walked virtually untouched into the end zone to give the Sooners a 10-3 lead.

“The blockers did a great job,” Schmit said. “I mean, they were in the right position, right timing, everything. Timing was perfect. It was really just catch the ball from Turk and waltz into the end zone.”

What was going through his mind as the OU offensive line parted Iowa State’s red sea?

“Run like the wind,” he said. “Get through it. Make sure that ball security’s good.”

That play was unique — head coach Brent Venables said it wasn’t "a gamble” — but it might not have been Turk’s biggest contribution.

A preseason All-American punter, Turk’s massive leg was needed as the OU offense labored against the Big 12’s best defense.

He averaged 49.3 yards on six punts, including a pair of bombs in the fourth quarter. The first one traveled 61 yards and preceded an Justin Broiles’ interception of Hunter Dekkers, and the second went 60 yards and set up Danny Stutsman’s interception and Eric Gray’s clinching touchdown.

Turk’s first big ball got OU off its own 8-yard line, and the second pinned Iowa State at its own 2.

That kind of complementary football is what Oklahoma players and coaches have been talking about all season — a relief for an OU offense that couldn’t play perfect against a stout ISU defense.

“I wouldn’t say relief,” said quarterback Dillon Gabriel. “I would just say belief — in one another. Just have a lot of belief in all the guys. We see it every day. The work we put in, how committed we are to this thing, to this game. Continue to stay positive through it and be consistent with it because we know as long as we play our best game and do what we need to do, we’ll come out on the right end of it.”

Of course, Schmit’s TD wasn’t his only contribution either. He knocked through a 41-yard field goal in the first quarter, then hammered a 34-yarder in the second quarter — and had all 13 of the Sooners’ points at halftime.

But a kicker scoring a touchdown — that’s pretty special.

Venables said there was an alternate call — kick the field goal — in case Iowa State anticipated the fake.

“I was like, ‘OK we’ve done this in practice a million times,’ “ Schmit said. “I know what I need to do, I know what’s going to happen. I just need to make sure we execute it and then I can do my job to help execute it. We also had to make sure that when we get out there, that Turk and I are counting it up, making sure it’s the right coverage that we’re looking for. Because if it’s not, we have to make sure to check out of it and just kick the field goal.”

Special teams coordinator Jay Nunez and the rest of the coaching staff, Venables said, saw the advantage on video and came up with the idea.

“He’s great schematically,” Schmit said of Nunez. “He can just find the holes and the weaknesses of the opposing teams. He’s done a great job with special teams, especially working behind the scenes. He’s done an amazing job with the whole group, all of the special teams. But he’s able to find those holes and the little tiny weaknesses that you may not be able to see. So he’s done a great job with that.”

Afterwards, before his teammates mobbed him in the end zone, Schmit was simply playing it cool. Like a professional running back, he simply flipped the football to the official and went back for the PAT.

“It didn’t really feel like much at all,” he said. “In a way, there was really no cheering. It kind of just went crazy, I was like, ‘OK, what do I do?’ I didn’t celebrate. I kind of just tossed the ball to the ref and said let’s make sure I make this extra point because that’s the last extra point that I want to miss.”