Three Quick Takeaways From Oklahoma's Alamo Bowl Collapse

The Sooners blew a 24-13 third quarter lead thanks to six turnovers against Arizona in the 2023 Alamo Bowl.

Author:
Ryan Chapman
Publish date:
Dec 29, 2023 12:55 AM EST

In this story:

SAN ANTONIO — Oklahoma’s season concluded with disaster in the Alamo Bowl.

The No. 12-ranked Sooners turned the ball over six times, handing No. 14 Arizona the game 38-24 in the Alamodome on Thursday night.

OU (10-3, 7-2) surrendered a 24-13 second quarter lead to the Wildcats (10-3, 7-2).

Brent Venables’ team enjoyed a bounce back year in 2023, a vast improvement over 2022’s 6-7 finish, but the Sooners will have to take another giant step forward this offseason to compete in the Southeastern Conference in 2024.

Oklahoma Can’t Overcome Mistakes

In Oklahoma’s two losses this year, the Sooners combined to turn the ball over six times.

OU outdid itself in San Antonio.

True freshman quarterback Jackson Arnold threw three interceptions and fumbled in his first collegiate start and Jalil Farooq coughed the ball up twice on costly fumbles to sink the Sooners.

Farooq’s first fumble came as OU was driving deep into Arizona territory, trying to take the first lead of the night.

His second fumble forfeited all of the momentum and completely changed the course of the second half.

Oklahoma’s defense pitched a shutout in the third quarter, allowing the offense to build a 24-13 lead, and Arnold again appeared to be piecing together a touchdown drive.

He hit Farooq for a pass to get the Sooners into the red zone, but the OU receiver failed to secure the ball and Arizona knocked it feet into the air.

Gunner Maldonado caught the fumble, returning it 87 yards to pull the Wildcats within a field goal, kickstarting a 17-point run to put Arizona up 31-24.

Throw in eight penalties for 76 yards, and Oklahoma couldn’t overcome all of the self-inflicted errors.

Defensive Pressure Not Enough

Despite all the offensive miscues, Oklahoma’s defense held on strong for three quarters.

The Sooners matched a season-high with five sacks, including a pair of key third down plays to push Arizona out of field goal range and hold the Wildcats to just three points on another short field.

But a pair of long-distance strikes from Arizona wide receiver Jacob Cowing, a 35-yard connection in the first quarter and a 57-yard bomb in the fourth quarter, helped the Wildcats convert the OU mistakes into 28 points.

The Sooners actually put up more yards than the Wildcats (562 to 383) as a result of the defense’s work in the second and third quarters, but the absurd number of turnovers was too much for Venables’ unit to overcome.

Oklahoma finished the game with 11 tackles for loss, erasing 73 yards of Arizona offense in the loss.

Sooners Offense Must Find Consistency This Offseason

Arnold’s first start had some highs to go along with the lows.

He completed 18-of-27 passes for 279 yards and two scores in the second and third quarters, and Oklahoma will hope he’s able to limit the turnovers as he gets more starting experience.

But the inconsistencies that plagued OU’s offense all year long reared its ugly head in the Alamodome.

OU had plenty of success with running back Gavin Sawchuk in the middle two quarters, but then had to abandon the sputtering run game when he pulled up on a rush in the third quarter.

The offensive line was flagged for five penalties on the three pieces who started Oklahoma’s final games, Walter Rouse, McKade Mettauer and Jacob Sexton, killing off a couple of different drives.

There were plenty of opportunities to extend the lead and effectively kill off the game in the second quarter — chances great teams take — that Oklahoma lived to regret.

Venables will work tirelessly to push his defense to take another step this offseason, but if OU’s offense can’t build a steady rhythm, the Sooners will again struggle to live with success next year in the SEC gauntlet.