Ball State began with their own “trickeration” — recovering an onside kick to start the game.
It resulted in zero points for them.
It began one of many three-and-outs for the Cardinals and an onslaught of points for the Sooners, once they got possession. Final Score: Oklahoma 62, Ball State 6.
The game capped a week of fans and players ruminating over how disappointing the Sooners’ 38-28 win at home against Missouri was the previous week.
“The guys were aware that the entire week before wasn’t as good as it has been,” coach Bob Stoops said. “But, they came out this week and really had a lot of energy and focus. I’m very pleased with the way they played.”
Junior quarterback Landry Jones went 6-7 for 72 yards on the Sooners’ first drive
, which was capped by a 6-yard touchdown toss to senior tight end James Hanna. After freshman Michael Hunnicutt hit the point after attempt, the Sooners had an early 7-0 lead. However, after senior receiver Ryan Broyles fumbled a punt on the ensuing Ball State possession, the Cardinals had the ball at the OU 30-yard line. That led to a quick field goal, and Ball State was right back in things.
Hunnicutt tacked on a 44-yard field goal to make the score at the end of the first quarter 10-3 in favor of the Sooners. The Cardinals started to find a rhythm at the beginning of the second quarter. They marched 61 yards, their longest drive of the game, to the OU 14 before settling for a field goal. After that, Oklahoma took control of the game.
“I feel like we compliment each other very well,” senior linebacker Travis Lewis said after OU’s victory at Florida State. “Our offense and defense, when we’re on the same page, we’re going to be very tough to beat.”
The Sooners lived up to Lewis’ words Saturday night as the offense capitalized on three consecutive turnovers caused by the defense to score a quick 21 unanswered points.
Following Ball State’s initial drive to start the second quarter, OU took the ball from its own 8-yard line. Relying on a heavy dose of junior running back Dominique Whaley, Oklahoma drove all the way down the field to score in just over four minutes. Whaley capped the drive with a 25-yard scamper to the end zone.
Two plays later, sophomore defensive back Tony Jefferson came down with his first interception of the night. Forty-four seconds later, Jones found sophomore receiver Kenny Stills in the back of the endzone for a 7-yard touchdown. All of the sudden, OU had jumped out to a 24-6 lead. Jefferson was not done, though. On the third play of Ball State’s next drive, Jefferson came down with his second consecutive pick which Broyles said gave the offense a lot of momentum.
“I think the defense always get the offense going,” Broyles said. “That’s what happened tonight.”
The offense capitalized by going 77 yards in two minutes. Jones only had to throw one pass on the drive as Whaley carried the ball four times for 23 yards and a touchdown.
With just over three minutes left in the half, OU was not quite done scoring. Tony Jefferson came up big once again with an amazing one-handed interception on the Ball State sideline. Again, the offense capitalized. This time it was with a 27-yard pass to Broyles. After a couple more stops by the Sooner defense and a missed field goal by Hunnicutt, the two teams hit the locker rooms with OU on top 38-6.
The Sooners had a commanding lead at halftime, but it was the third quarter when they really shut the door on Ball State. The OU offense started the second half in a big way and showed some big play potential.
“With the type of offense we run, we try to use high-percentage throws,” Broyles said. “If teams start to take that away, we can definitely go down the field. We have some of the best athletes in America, so we feel like we can get it done.”
It did not take OU long to prove Broyles’ words in the second half. On the Sooners’ second offensive play of the half, Jones found Broyles streaking down the field for a 64-yard touchdown. Then, after the OU defense forced another Ball State three-and-out, sophomore Jaz Reynolds got in on the action with a 56-yard touchdown reception on the first play of the drive.
Then, the defense once again created some momentum. Travis Lewis forced a fumble on BSU’s next offensive play, and sophomore linebacker Tom Wort scooped up the ball and ran 22 yards to make the score 59-6 in favor of OU. Freshman running back Brandon Williams got a good portion of the workload after that as the Sooners ran out the clock and coasted to the victory.
Landry Jones finished the game 23-for-33 for 425 yards, 5 touchdowns and one interception. Jaz Reynolds followed up last week’s breakout game with 5 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. And junior running back Dominique Whaley led all rushers with 15 attempts for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Defensively, the Sooners shut down the Cardinals, holding them to only 119 rushing yards and 95 passing yards while forcing four turnovers. Defensive captain Travis Lewis said the performance was huge for the team following a sloppy game last week.
“After last week’s game, I felt like I was 2-1,” senior linebacker Travis Lewis said. “To come out here and play like this leading up to Texas, this was huge.”
The Sooners will face off with the Texas Longhorns Saturday, Oct. 8 at 11:00 a.m. from the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Tex.
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