Oklahoma walked out of the Cotton Bowl with a 27-24 upset of top-ranked Texas, and the bigger takeaway for the Sooners may be what happened after halftime.
For most of Saturday, the offense looked stuck in traffic. Oklahoma managed only 69 yards in the first half and didn’t score an offensive point. Then the Sooners came out of the break and looked like a different unit, piling up 169 yards and 13 offensive points against one of the nation’s best defenses.
That shift mattered because it came with Oklahoma doing the one thing it had been reluctant to do: lean on the run game and feed Lloyd Avant. The Sooners’ offensive output still wasn’t flashy - they finished with 234 total yards - but the second-half approach gave them something they’d been missing.
On the first possession after halftime, Oklahoma got Avant involved right away with a short catch for eight yards. Two plays later, he ripped off a 42-yard run. That drive ended in a field goal, and from there the game had a different feel.
The run threat also took some heat off John Mateer. With Texas’ pass rush slowed down, Mateer became a more comfortable quarterback. When he isn’t dancing, he’s solid.
Avant finished with 72 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, plus two catches for eight yards. He didn’t suddenly become a different player; he simply kept doing what he has done all season when the Sooners actually give him the chance. After his first three carries of the year against UTEP, it was already clear that the Colorado State transfer wasn’t fooling anybody.
The numbers tell the same story. Avant now has 52 carries for 236 yards this season.
The rest of the team has 114 carries for 243 yards. He’s averaging 4.5 yards per carry, while Xavier Robinson is at 3.8, Jonathan Hatton at 2.9 and Tory Blaylock at 2.2.
Avant is the guy. Oklahoma finally acted like it, and that should help the offense going forward.
The schedule suggests there’s room for improvement, too. Here are the current national rankings in yards allowed per game for the defenses Oklahoma has already faced this season, out of 138 FBS schools: UTEP 110, Michigan 3, New Mexico 10, Georgia 11 and Texas 13.
The remaining slate looks friendlier. Oklahoma still has Kentucky at 100, Mississippi State at 96, South Carolina at 58, Florida at 109, Ole Miss at 108, Texas A&M at 43 and Missouri at 29.
There’s more good news for the Sooners on the injury front. Oklahoma beat Texas without offensive linemen Michael Fasusi and Eddy Pierre-Louis. If those two return, the Sooners should have more talent and depth up front, which could mean a more comfortable Mateer and fewer mistakes.
This isn’t going to turn into 2017 Oklahoma with Baker Mayfield. But the Sooners look set up to make a real jump offensively in the coming weeks.
They seem to know who they are now, and they seem committed to Avant. If that holds and the defense keeps playing the way it has, Oklahoma still has a chance to turn this into a memorable season.
In Other News...
Washington State's Latest Collapse Exposes A Problem Fans Know Too Well
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Instead, the second half turned into another reminder of how fragile this group can be when the margin gets tight. Washington State managed almost nothing after the break and watched the game slip away in a one-point loss, with turnovers once again becoming the decisive problem. For a fan base that has seen this story before, the collapse felt less like a surprise than another painful chapter. [Read more 🡒]
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One name drawing attention is Idahos Joshua Wood, whose production at the FCS level has helped keep him on the radar for teams watching the future of the position. His path has included a move from Fresno State, and he has continued to show the kind of profile that could make him a logical candidate for another shot at the FBS level, which is exactly the sort of possibility Washington State may need to consider if it is planning farther ahead than this fall. [Read more 🡒]