Three Quick Takeaways From Oklahoma's Win Over Iowa State
AMES, IA — Oklahoma’s bye week was officially a success.
Hitting the road after the open date, the Sooners beat Iowa State 27-13 in a sometimes ugly contest at Jake Trice Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams combined to punt the ball 11 times, but Oklahoma (5-3 overall, 2-3 Big 12) outlasted the Cyclones (3-5, 0-5) behind a solid performance from both the offense and the defense.
Brent Venables’ team can now secure bowl eligibility in one week when the Sooners host Baylor, a landmark that wasn’t a forgone conclusion in the middle of OU’s three-game skid at the start of October.
Slow and Steady
Nothing about Oklahoma was flashy on Saturday.
Iowa State entered the game leading the conference in points allowed per game, yards allowed per game, rushing defense and passing defense, so OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby knew nothing would be easy.
Still, Lebby kept a cool head as a play caller from start to finish, employing a balanced attack from start to finish.
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel wasn’t asked to air it out a ton, completing 15-of-26 passes for 148 yards and one score.
Oklahoma’s offensive line blocked well up front, and the Sooners rushed for 182 yards, averaging 3.9 yards per carry.
The offense didn’t find the end zone until early in the second half, but they never ditched the game plan and gained 332 total yards against the stout Cyclone defense.
Schmit Got Real
The nature of Iowa State’s defense makes life hard on offenses as they march closer and closer to the goal line.
Oklahoma’s offense threatened, especially in the first half, but ultimately stalled out on a number of occasions.
As a result, redshirt sophomore kicker Zach Schmit was called upon often to put points on the board and he delivered.
The Oklahoma City native nailed a pair of field goals, with the longest attempt coming from 41 yards out.
But his best moment came near the goal line.
For the second time this season, Venables surprised an opponent with a fake field goal.
A quick toss from holder Michael Turk put Schmit in space, and the kicker walked untouched into the end zone from the 2-yard line.
Venables said he was going to place a large emphasis on special teams this offseason, and it paid dividends for the Sooners against the Big 12’s best defense in Ames.
Defense Closes Out Win
Iowa State cut the OU lead to 20-13 with 10:29 on the clock, setting up an exciting finish.
The Cyclone defense bottled up Oklahoma on consecutive possessions, meaning the maligned Sooner defense would have to make stops to get the team across the finish line.
And they responded.
Justin Broiles first picked off Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers to set up the OU offense near midfield.
After another Turk punt, linebacker Danny Stutsman helped shut the door.
Backed up against his own goal line, Dekkers made a crucial error.
He didn’t appear to see Stutsman in coverage, and the sophomore linebacker plucked the ball out of the air and rumbled inside the 5-yard line.
Shortly after, running back Eric Gray carried a direct snap into the end zone to extend the lead to 27-13.
The pair of late turnovers capped off a good performance from the defense.
Overall, the defense forced three turnovers and held the Cyclones to 66 yards on the ground.
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