Oklahoma Sooners Football: OU dominates South Dakota, 70-14

The No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners overcame an avalanche of penalties to bury the South Dakota Coyotes, 70-14. The game played out pretty much how you’d expect with OU building a massive lead before USD’s offense found any success at all. Jalen Hurts followed up his record-breaking debut with another solid showing, and in the fourth quarter fans witnessed the collegiate debut of highly-touted true freshman QB Spencer Rattler.

For the second game in a row, Oklahoma went over 300 yards passing (423) and 300 yards rushing (310). Even after giving up a couple long drives on defense in the second half, the Sooners’ D only allowed the ‘Yotes to convert 1-11 third downs.

There appeared to be a clear concerted effort for Hurts to work on the passing game. The mostly green offensive line gave the former Alabama QB enough time on long down and distances to find open receivers, and for the most part he delivered. Before his night ended in the third quarter, Hurts went 14-18 for 259 yards and three touchdowns while adding eight carries for 47 yards.

After not forcing a turnover in the season opener, Alex Grinch’s defense had some making up to do, and ‘Speed D’ responded in a big way. On the night, the Sooners forced and recovered a fumble, then added a couple interceptions, including this pick-six from nickelback Brendan Radley-Hiles on the opening drive of the second half.

In games like these, it’s expected that players further down the depth chart will see the field. In that regard, one of the more anticipated debuts was for Spencer Rattler, the nation’s No. 1 QB recruit from the class of 2019. After back-up Tanner Mordecai connected on a couple scores in the second half, the true freshman introduced himself to the college football world in a strong way.

In total, Rattler went 4-4 for 50 yards and that touchdown pass to fellow true freshman WR Trejan Bridges. In fact, freshmen receivers Jadon Haselwood and Theo Wease and junior running back Rhamondre Stevenson all recorded the first TDs of their Sooner careers on Saturday night.

The one real negative on the night was bright and yellow. After racking up seven flags for 94 yards against Houston, the Sooners hurt themselves with 12 more penalties for a whopping 105 yards against the Coyotes. The offense and defense contributed almost equally with offensive holding and various defensive calls. Even a night like this one won’t hurt Oklahoma against a team like South Dakota, but it’s beginning to look like a troubling trend after two weekends of football.

On Sept. 14, Oklahoma will play away from the Palace on the Prairie for the first time this season to conclude its non-conference slate with UCLA. Through two games, the Bruins (0-2) have struggled in year two of the Chip Kelly era. Meanwhile, the Sooners are currently riding a 20-game true road game winning streak, good for longest in the nation. OU won last season’s meeting in Norman, 49-21. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT on FOX.

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