Oklahoma loses to Oklahoma State, 27-24

Coming off its first loss of the season, the Oklahoma Sooners were looking to make a statement in the final Bedlam game for the foreseeable future. Oklahoma put forth another sloppy effort in a conference matchup, and it cost the Sooners a victory for the second week in a row. OU hoped to beat its in-state foe one last time, but fell short by a score of 27-24.

The action started right away with Oklahoma State marching right down and scoring on their first possession. The Pokes went on a 75-yard drive, which was capped off by a 20 yard run by Ollie Gordon. OU answered right back with a 75-yard drive of its own, with Gavin Sawchuck scoring from 64 yards out to even the score.

Oklahoma State would score on their third drive of the game, which finished with Alan Bowman finding Josiah Johnson in the end zone for a 5-yard TD. Bowman played a great error-free game, and his stat line displayed just that. Bowman would finish with 334 yards and no turnovers. Even with Bowman playing a good game, the Oklahoma defense made enough plays to keep their team in it. They shut out the Oklahoma State offense for six straight possessions midway through the game and looked to have OSU’s number. Yet the Sooners offense could not find enough on that side of the ball to get OU over the top in this game.

Dillon Gabriel went 26/37 for 344 yards and notched one touchdown and one interception. I am sure he would love to have another look at some of the throws he missed today, but blame cannot fall solely on Gabriel’s shoulders. The Sooners hurt themselves severely by having double the amount of penalties Oklahoma State did, and the lack of discipline was something that stood out. The Sooners also turned it over three times today, and that is tough for any team to overcome.

On the bright side, Oklahoma did get the run game moving again with Sawchuck going for 111 rush yards and 1 touchdown. Tawee Walker also coming in and adding 59 yards and one touchdown helped the rushing attack.

Beyond this, you have to look at the play calling from Jeff Lebby once again. The offense would at one moment appear to have momentum, only to have it snatch away by questionable decisions made by its offensive coordinator. Needless to say, Lebby is not the most popular man in Norman at the moment. Taking one look at Twitter will tell you that.

OU will have three more Big 12 conference games remaining before they take their brand to the SEC. They will look to finish out strong and find some more positives along the way. The final stretch begins next week as the Sooners return home to host the Mountaineers of West Virginia at 6 p.m. CT.