Quick Takes: Oklahoma 53, Texas 45
Well... how's that for an instant classic?
The Sooners' four-OT victory over Texas had the whole nine yards: quarterback changes, multiple blocked kicks, a blown fourth-quarter lead of double digits (sound familiar?), a shanked game-winning field goal from college football's most accurate kicker, and a coach's kid playing hero.
Drake Stoops' 25-yard touchdown catch in the fourth overtime lifted Oklahoma to a heart-rending 53-45 win over Texas in the Red River Showdown, as Tre Brown's interception of Sam Ehlinger on the game's final play put the nail in the coffin.
It's a monumental task to pick just five takeaways from arguably the greatest game in this series' storied history, but here are a handful of things that became apparent on the day that may save the Sooners' season.
Tanner Mordecai
Josh Gateley / OU Athletics
1) Spencer Rattler's leash could be getting short. Is this an overreaction? Perhaps, but it doesn't feel like much of one. Rattler was stunningly erratic in the first half, turning the ball over twice and eventually giving way to Tanner Mordecai for several drives.
"I felt like that it would help Spencer to take a step back for a second and settle down," said Lincoln Riley of the decision to sit Rattler.
The offense looked sharp with Mordecai under center, and while the redshirt sophomore out of Waco isn't as physically gifted as Rattler, he's also safer with the football. Turnovers turn into losses, as Rattler and the Sooners have found that out the hard way thus far in the season.
Rattler likely earned some trust back with his gritty performance in overtime. And granted, Mordecai's extended action may partially have been a result of an injury to Rattler, who appeared to be favoring his shoulder at one point. But one way or another, he's not above reproach, even if he is the Sooners' most ballyhooed quarterback since Rhett Bomar.
2) Marvin Mims is Oklahoma's most reliable offensive player. Make it four touchdowns in four games for the true freshman, who reeled in a 30-yard strike from Spencer Rattler on a brilliantly designed leak play in the first quarter. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time. He's also got fantastic hands, as he showed with a brilliant snag of an errant Mordecai pass in the second quarter. That catch set up a 7-yard scoring run from Marcus Major to give Oklahoma a 17-10 lead.
Oh, and Mims snapped off a 36-yard punt return early in the third quarter, setting the Sooners up with a short field. They'd parlay the excellent field position into more points, as T.J. Pledger capped the ensuing drive with a 1-yard plunge for a TD. The bottom line here is that Mims makes plays with the ball in his hands, and the Sooners desperately need playmakers right now. Though he's young, Mims has clearly done more than enough to earn starting duties.
3) Let's hold off on drawing any conclusions about the Oklahoma pass rush. Yes, they generated legitimate pressure for the first time all season, but this Longhorns offensive line is absolutely pitiful. It was encouraging to see Nik Bonitto, Isaiah Thomas and the rest of the Sooners' trench warriors getting after Ehlinger, but it would be nice to see them validate that performance two weeks from now. Oklahoma heads to Amon G. Carter Stadium on Oct. 24 to take on TCU. The Horned Frogs have a solid offensive line and an elusive quarterback in Max Duggan. While this performance against Ehlinger and Texas wasn't necessarily a fluke, it's by no means a sign that things have truly changed. Getting Ronnie Perkins back will certainly help, however.
4) The Sooners' personnel shake-up in the defensive backfield... worked. By the middle of the second quarter, Woodi Washington and Joshua Eaton were manning the corners for Oklahoma. Jeremiah Criddell was finally in the nickel. Tre Norwood was in the game alongside Patrick Fields and Delarrin Turner-Yell as a third safety. D.J. Graham made an appearance in the second half. And for the first time since that meaningless opener against Missouri State, the Sooner secondary didn't look porous. In fact, Washington appeared to clinch a regulation victory with a fourth-quarter interception of Ehlinger before the Longhorns rallied back.
Thus, it begs the question: could the answers lie deeper down the depth chart? Jaden Davis wasn't half bad, but both Tre Brown and Brendan Radley-Hiles were penalized twice in the first half alone. Brown's game-sealing interception took the bitter taste away from what was otherwise a lackluster performance. Fields was a train wreck on the final drive of regulation, and generally looks like a guy who doesn't deserve to be starting right now. A wholesale overhaul of this secondary might be just what the doctor ordered.
5) This team's issues start at the top. Why does Oklahoma unfailingly look like an entirely different team in the fourth quarter? This team has mastered the art of squandering momentum. They've got it down to a science. How?
It's one of those things that can only be traced back to poor leadership. Oklahoma consistently plays to not lose. Playcalling becomes conservative, defensive vigor evaporates, and the snowball starts to roll downhill. Alex Grinch repeatedly neglected to put a spy on Ehlinger in the late stages of the game, and the Longhorns' wily signal-caller repeatedly burned the Sooners by scrambling for chunk gains. Riley's quixotic goal-to-go play script nearly bit Oklahoma in the second overtime, as Rattler had to convert a fourth-and-goal sneak to get the Sooners in the end zone.
Then, in the third overtime, Riley chose to send Gabe Brkic out to attempt a game-winning 32-yard field goal... on second down. I'll give him a pass on this, because it's reasonable to expect that any kicker can hit from 32 yards right between the hashes. Especially given the fact that Brkic had only missed one kick in his collegiate career, it seemed a safe bet. But after Brkic inexplicably shanked the attempt, the armchair quarterbacks immediately came for Riley on social media. If the Sooners had lost this game, the public outcry over that decision would undoubtedly have been much larger and louder.
At the end of the day, the Sooners are leaving the Cotton Bowl in the win column. But there's plenty of reason for concern nonetheless. It's time for Riley and Grinch to put their collective money where their mouth is, and actually keep the foot on the gas for four quarters.
But they can worry about that tomorrow. For now, Oklahoma will enjoy this one tonight.
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