Joe Mixon’s travails were a big story the last month of the offseason, and if he was supposedly the best of the group of new Sooner running backs, then he must be very good indeed. Until he is able to take his first snap as a Sooner, sometime in 2015, the position appears to be in capable hands. The three-headed monster of Keith Ford (last seen in 2013 impressing, but getting benched for fumbling), Alex Ross, and true freshman Samaje Perine (pronounced PEE-rine, which, OK) combined for 164 yards rushing and five touchdowns. Perine impressed the most, repeatedly running over defenders and looking mostly like the trunk of a not-insubstantial tree.
The Sooners blocked their first field goal in 10 years when Zack Sanchez came off the edge to blunt a first-quarter attempt, then they blocked an extra point the same way in the fourth quarter. Sanchez also had an interception. Michael Hunnicutt was his usual reliable self, drilling a pair of field goals and hitting all of his extra points. Sterling Shepard looked dangerous in the punt return game, and Ross had an 80-yard kickoff return to set up a fourth-quarter touchdown. We would have really liked to see Blake Bell with a reception, and they did target him in the end zone in the second half once. His catches will come.
To be sure, all was not roses, as starting linebacker Jordan Evans was ejected for targeting less than 10 minutes into the game. Knight, while sharp early, struggled a bit in the second half, whiffing a pass attempt that was recovered by Tech, missing a number of passes and throwing an interception. Because of an injury to backup redshirt freshman Cody Thomas, and a desire to save Justice Hansen’s redshirt, Knight ended up playing the entire game, which wasn’t ideal.
Even at that, all things considered, this was an unqualified success. The Sooners powered through an outmanned opponent as an elite team should. Next up, a “road” game at Tulsa Saturday morning, bright and early at 11:00 a.m. See you there.
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