Oklahoma’s defense answered the bell in Gainesville, and Courtland Guillory delivered the play that helped swing the day.
After getting lit up in a 42-25 loss to South Carolina, the Sooners tightened everything up in a 23-7 win at Florida. Oklahoma held the Gators to seven points and 203 offensive yards, and whenever Florida seemed to be building something, the Sooners had a response.
The biggest one came in the third quarter with Oklahoma clinging to a 13-7 lead. Florida faced fourth-and-3 at the OU 17-yard line, and quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. slipped away from multiple tacklers before lofting a throw toward the goal line. Guillory was right there to snatch it.
“It was a man call,” Guillory said. “I was guarding my man, and I look up, and I just see the ball in the air, so I did what I’m supposed to do, which is go hawk down the ball. I was able to track it and made a play for my team.”
Brent Venables said the Sooners had the right call dialed up and Guillory finished the job.
“Courtland was in great position,” Venables said. “I thought the coverage and the pressure worked well together.”
Guillory’s interception was part of a broader defensive rebound for Oklahoma. He finished with one solo tackle and posted a 69 Pro Football Focus defensive grade, third-best on the team among players who logged more than 10 snaps.
He wasn’t alone in making life miserable for Florida. Danny Okoye turned in five total tackles, four solo tackles and a sack.
Peyton Bowen added an interception and earned a 74.5 PFF defensive grade. Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke each recorded 1.5 tackles for loss.
For Guillory, the performance was about more than one takeaway. It was a statement after last week’s rough outing.
“I feel like last week was probably our worst defensively, as a whole, so it was good to come back this week and show everybody what the Sooners are about,” Guillory said. “We still haven’t lost our mentality. Nothing changed, and it was good to show that today.”
Oklahoma now turns to Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Missouri to finish the regular season. At 5-4, the Sooners have essentially removed themselves from the College Football Playoff picture, but three straight wins would still shape how the rest of their season is viewed when bowl selections come into focus.
If Oklahoma is going to finish strong, it will need more afternoons like this one in Gainesville.
“Despite what happened last week, we had to come out here with a new mentality that we’re still them ‘dawgs,’” Guillory said. “We showed that, for sure.”
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