Oklahoma Sooners Football: OU rides hot start to 28-13 Bedlam win

The Oklahoma Sooners scored their final points of Saturday’s game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys with a little more than a minute remaining in the first quarter. That was still enough to secure a 28-13 win in the Bedlam rivalry. The victory also made OU eligible for a bowl in head coach Brent Venables’ first season.

Normally, a 28-0 first quarter would highlight a much-needed win in a rivalry game, but the Sooners’ offensive futility and bizarre game management in the final three quarters overshadowed their early dominance. OU rolled up 299 of its 434 total yards in quarter one.

Futility on third down summed up OU’s stagnancy: The Sooners converted one of their 14 attempts into first downs. OU failed on its only fourth-down try, too. The team went three and out on all six of its final drives, which made it hard to put points on the board or take time off the clock. The offense’s curious refusal to shelve its fast tempo in the second half made the ineptitude all the more frustrating.

Fortunately, OU didn’t waste a stellar outing from its defense. The Cowboys compiled 484 yards of total offense, but they needed 102 plays to do it. The Sooners also made life miserable for veteran OSU quarterback Spencer Sanders, who threw four interceptions. OU defenders dropped a handful of other potential INTs throughout the game. Sanders also got sacked six times, including twice by defensive tackle Jordan Kelley.

Inside linebackers David Ugwoegbu and Danny Stutsman led the team with 10 and nine tackles, respectively. Outside linebacker DaShaun White might have been the defense’s most outstanding player of the game, however, with eight tackles, one sack and an interception.

OU QB Dillon Gabriel did most of his damage in the first quarter, completing 14-of-18 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns. He completed just six of his 22 throws for the rest of the game for 35 yards. OSU also picked him off in the second half.

OU wide receiver Drake Stoops had a career day with six receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown. Eric Gray led the way on the ground with 20 carries for 90 yards and a score.

It was a choppy, defense-driven win, but the Sooners didn’t have any room to worry about style points. The victory lifted OU’s overall record to 6-5 and 3-5 in Big 12 play with next week’s trip to Texas Tech still remaining.