Three Takeaways From Oklahoma's Alamo Bowl Victory
SAN ANTONIO — Any signs of turmoil inside the Oklahoma program disappeared in San Antonio.
Powered by a dominant first half effort, the No. 16-ranked Oklahoma Sooners downed the No. 14 Oregon Ducks 47-32.
With the Alamo Bowl victory, the Sooners finished 2021 11-2 and the Ducks dropped to 10-4.
Bob Stoops got his storybook ending, and the Brent Venables era can officially begin in Norman, but not before an impressive performance from the OU offense.
Interim offensive coordinator Cale Gundy looked like a seasoned veteran in his first game as a play caller, and the offense was met with little resistance behind one of the best individual performances in program history.
Brooks Runs Wild
If Wednesday night was the last time Kennedy Brooks dressed out in a Sooner uniform, he put in a fitting end to one of the most underrated careers by an OU running back ever.
Brooks ran through the Duck defense with ease, racking up 142 yards on 14 carries, scoring three touchdowns. He also added 24 receiving yards on three catches.
He was especially lethal in the first half, where he totaled 127 yards and two touchdowns on just 10 carries, setting a program record for rushing yards in the first half.
Brooks continues to join elite company, as only Rodney Anderson, Marcus Dupree, Spencer Tillman and Jack Mildren had previously crossed the century mark on the ground in the first half of a bowl game.
The performance was a fitting end for Brooks, who continued to get better and better in 2021 under the guidance of running backs coach DeMarco Murray.
Freshman Wide Receivers Show Out
Caleb Williams had an efficient Alamo Bowl outing, aided by standout performances from a pair of freshman wide receivers.
First, Mario Williams looked to give OU their first big chunk play in the passing game, hauling in a 51-yard touchdown pass.
The only problem was his helmet was ripped off by the Oregon defender, meaning the play was called dead with a facemask penalty and the freshman was credited with just a 16-yard reception.
Still, it was a nice outing for Williams, who added an 11-yard reverse on OU’s first offensive playoff the second half to his evening.
Then, Jalil Farooq stole the show.
On one drive, Farooq hauled in a 30-yard reception and a 23-yard reception, outrunning almost the entire Oregon secondary after catching both balls underneath near the middle of the field.
After missing out on much of the action in 2021, Farooq showed why the OU coaching staff was so excited to the highly touted recruit against the Ducks.
In all, Williams completed 21-of-27 passes on the night, throwing for 242 yards and three touchdowns.
Young Defense Does Enough Early
With four opt outs in the defensive front seven, it was unclear how the Sooner defense would hold up against an experience offensive line.
In the end, they did enough for the game to stay at a comfortable distance for the duration of the contest.
The Ducks appeared to get moving early on to start the game before Justin Broiles hauled in a tip-drill interception on the first drive of the game, and the defense didn’t look back until the intermission.
OU held Oregon to just three points and 205 yards of total offense in the first half, with plenty of underclassmen manning the defensive line.
Ethan Downs, Reggie Grimes, Clayton Smith and Brynden Walker all say action early on as interim defensive coordinator Brian Odom continued to rotate the defensive front plenty in his one game in charge.
In the second half, the Ducks found success attacking the OU secondary vertically, connecting on touchdowns of 66 yards, 34 yards and 30 yards, but Oregon never really threatened to win the game.
Venables is sure to usher in plenty of changes as he installs his defense in the spring, but he’ll have a solid foundation to build off of with the personnel Alex Grinch left behind in Norman.
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