2019

NORMAN – About the only thing that went wrong on a beautiful fall Saturday in Norman was a Sooner Schooner rollover, as the Sooners rolled West Virginia, 52-14. Fortunately, no persons or ponies were hurt, although the field got rutted up a bit, and the Schooner itself, despite having come apart in the crash, rolled out of the stadium later in one piece. A Schooner accident rate of one every 26 years isn’t bad, I suppose. The last time that happened,...

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – On a steamy Southern California afternoon that turned into a gorgeous evening after the sun went behind the mountains, the Sooners took care of business against a hapless and outmatched UCLA team with a 48-14 rout Saturday night. While there were no exact numbers, it was clear that the Sooner fans outnumbered the UCLA fans in a half-empty Rose Bowl.

Jalen Hurts continued his assault on the passing efficiency records set by his two...

NORMAN – The speculation/lamentation over the last two years has been this – what could this team do if it had even an average defense? We may be finding out, as the Sooners’ shootout nemesis over the past few years, Texas Tech, was dispatched like a G5 visitor on Saturday, 55-16 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Oklahoma scored on all of its possessions in the first half, while the Sooner defense, which has in recent years given up...

DALLAS, TEXAS – They said the Cotton Bowl would show whether Oklahoma’s defense was really improved or whether they had been feasting on inferior opponents. Nine sacks, 15 total tackles for loss, and a defensively dominating 34-27 win later, it can safely be said that the Sooner defense is much improved. The score doesn’t really reflect the domination the Sooners displayed in this game, particularly in the first half. If not for a pair of red zone...

NORMAN – Prosperity is the enemy. I know that Lincoln Riley isn’t teaching that, but it sure seems like it. A game that started 21-0 and by all rights should have been a 42-17 rout of TCU turned, instead, into a 28-24 squeaker requiring an interception inside the last two minutes and a questionable spot to allow the Sooners to pull out the win. Still, a win it was, and a Big 12 Championship Game clincher, to boot.

Jalen Hurts was solid again, but it was his...

NORMAN – The Sooners were sloppy at times, particularly along the offensive line with a rash of holding penalties, but still squashed the South Dakota Coyotes 70-14 Saturday night on Owen Field. Jalen Hurts continued his ridiculous efficiency, completing 14 of 18 passes for 259 yards and three TDs and running for 47 yards on eight carries in just over two quarters of work.

Rhamondre Stevenson led all Sooner rushers with 104 yards and a TD on only six...

ATLANTA, GA – The Sooners came into Atlanta with hopes of finally getting over their College Football Playoff hump in the Peach Bowl against LSU. Instead, they were demolished by the Tigers, 63-28, falling to 0-4 all time in Playoff games, and 0-7 in BCS Championship and Playoff games dating back to the 2004 Sugar Bowl against LSU. No team that has played in the CFP more than once has failed to win a game . . ....

STILLWATER – The Sooners played their most complete game since the West Virginia game last night in Stillwater, pounding the Aggy into a fine paste in the second half in a 34-16 win that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. The Sooner defense held OSU to their fewest points in the series since shutting them out entirely in 2009.

Parnell Motley was the defensive star, with a fumble recovery and an interception, and another interception that was...

MANHATTAN, KANSAS – It happens every year, to many teams. It happened a couple of weeks ago to Georgia. Last week, it happened to Wisconsin. Yesterday, it happened to us. This year, it happened just when we thought this might be the year that it wouldn’t. A defensive regression to the worst days of Mike Stoops and an offense that went AWOL in the third quarter combined to lead to a 48-41 loss to Kansas State that could have been much worse, given that...

LAWRENCE, KANSAS – On a weird day that started with a rain delay and included the Sooners trailing for the first time this season and a Sooner punt on fourth and goal, OU thumped Kansas 45-20 this afternoon in Lawrence. Strangeness in Lawrence is far from unheard of, as is strangeness anywhere against an inferior opponent the week before the Texas game.

Jalen Hurts continued his stellar play, going 16-24 for 228 yards, two TDs, and a pick. No Sooner...