Landry Jones will play his last game at Owen Field on Saturday.
He will end the day as Oklahoma’s most prolific passer.
Ever.
Despite that, it’s no secret that Jones may be the most under-appreciated. At least by fans. Those fans who think more of his mistakes at most inopportune times (namely this year against Kansas State), than his peak performances.
Entering his final home game Saturday night against No. 22 Oklahoma State (7-3, 5-2 Big 12), Jones chooses to focus on the highs he’s experienced with the 14th-ranked Sooners (8-2, 6-1) and not the occasional fierce criticism he’s endured.
Jones will being trying to get his third Bedlam win. If he doesn’t, he’ll be five of six in rivalry victories (three against Texas).
He has won more Oklahoma games than any other quarterback. He ranks fourth in Bowl Subdivision history with 15,624 passing yards.
But Jones understands those status sometimes don’t mean much to some fans. The bar is set high.
“There’s been a lot of great players here, especially the guy I came after. Sam had done so many good things around this place. There are some high expectations of me here,” Jones said. “But at the end of the day, I wanted to be who I was.
“I didn’t want to be Sam. I didn’t want to be Jason. If you try to do those things, you aren’t going to live up to the capabilities of who you are as a player and as an individual.”
Jones won his first two starts against Oklahoma State, but last year he committed four turnovers. The Cowboys blew out the Sooners, 44-10. Jones has been saddled with most of the blame for that loss in Stillwater last year. It allowed OSU to win their first-ever conference championship.
This week’s game in Norman is important in the conference title race. Oklahoma is tied with Kansas State in the standings, but the Wildcats defeated Oklahoma and would win any tie-breaker. If the Sooners win Saturday and again next week against TCU, and Texas can pull out an upset in Manhattan, then the Sooners will win the conference outright.
“It’s kind of out of our hands, the Big 12 championship. But that would be huge for our program if we’re able to sneak in there and get one this year,” said Jones, who’s 37-10 as a starter. “Some things have to happen for us to have that possibility. But you never know what’s going to happen in college football.”
Although his defense was shredded for a school-record 778 yards in a 50-49 win against West Virginia last week, Jones comes in on a high. He passed for an Oklahoma-record 554 yards and threw for six touchdowns, the last one a game-winner with 24 seconds left.
Even better, Jones’ pass to Kenny Stills came after he audibled at the line on a fourth-and-3 play with the Sooners needing a touchdown.
“It didn’t surprise me at all. Landry is one of the most productive players in the history of this conference, so for him to make those types of plays doesn’t surprise me at all. He’s capable of doing that all the time,” co-offensive coordinator Jay Norvell said.
“He’s finishing his career, he’s a fabulous player and I know he’s going to be like a lot of the great players that have played here. When they’re gone, you miss him.”
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