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Soonerguys Editor

Sooners lose Lubbock OT slug fest, 51-48

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Oklahoma’s exhausting 2022 regular season is over.  Thankfully.

After an arduous back and forth battle that saw the Sooners lose 51-48 in overtime to Texas Tech, we are all scratching our heads trying to figure out what went wrong this year.

Was it the defense? At times that squad showed the mark we expected from defensive-minded new head coach Brent Venables, but at others times, including during the same game, this squad looked like it wouldn’t beat a 3A high school team.

Was it the offense? At times QB Dillion Gabriel couldn’t connect with receivers, and halfway through the season we decided offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby was intentionally avoiding mid-distance passing routes in Gabriel’s quiver because of his inaccuracy. But then, he would toss beautiful 77-yard passes to Marvin Mims for touchdowns, as he did on Saturday night against Texas Tech.

Was it the coaching? At times we were sure Jeff Lebby was using some sort of Wheel of Fortune to decide plays. At other times his play calling was brilliant (when it worked).

Regardless of what it was, the last three games — two losses and one important Bedlam win — were microcosms of the season. And they lead us to conclude, at the very least, that Venables first year was as near a disaster as OU fans could stomach, even for a first-year head coach that brought thousands to the airport on the night he was named head coach.

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Sooners’ season spiraling into a disaster

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A walk off  field goal by West Virginia in Morgantown made one thing clear: The Sooners are headed for a possible 7-loss season, which would render Brent Venables’ first year as a head coach at Oklahoma a decisive failure.  

The Sooners lost 23-20 on that Mountaineers field goal, but this loss had more to do with Oklahoma’s own ability to find ways to lose than West Virginia’s ability to find ways to win.

Check off these boxes:

— A missed field goal off an upright.

— A facemask penalty to negate an otherwise defensive stop, allowing W.Va. to complete a scoring drive.

— An offensive pass interference call that wiped out an OU touchdown.

— A give up of a fake punt.

— A dropped easy touchdown pass.

— A defense that played well in the first half, but gave up big third down plays (like they have all year) in the second half — giving West Virginia three long scoring drives.

“We don’t deserve to win when not doing all those things the right way,” Coach Brent Venables said.

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Sooner turnovers, Bear run game = Oklahoma’s disappointing fourth loss

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You can’t win against a better football team when your quarterback throws three interceptions. 

That was my text to a friend after Dillon Gabriel’s pass intended for Jalil Farooq was tipped up and intercepted by Baylor’s Christian Morgan with 1:52 left in the first half.  

At that point there was plenty of football yet to be played — and even though Oklahoma’s defense would have brilliant moments in the second half  — my axiom proved true on a cool and crisp Saturday afternoon of football in Norman, where the Baylor Bears defeated the Sooners 38-35.

It was only Baylor’s second win in Norman — ever.

The remarkable thing about this game was that the Sooners were only a field goal away from the Bears for much of the game, despite those turnovers.

In fact, the Sooners played pretty good against as tough of an opponent as exists in the Big 12 (records notwithstanding), leading most of the game in all the statistics except the one that counts: the score.

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