Sooners saved by big time defense, despite serious offensive woes
A stellar defense overcame an anemic offense to enable the Oklahoma Sooners to survive a 16-12 nail biter over the Houston Cougars in a contest that had the 83,653 faithful in Norman ever more fearful of the murderer’s row schedule that lay ahead in the SEC.
It was the lowest point total for Oklahoma since its 17-10 loss to TCU in 2005.
As the giant Oklahoma flag became tangled up when pulled across the Owen Field turf during the pre-game show, we should have known this was an omen of a bad night coming.
The offense under newbie QB Jackson Arnold (19 of 32 for 174 yards, 1 interception and 2 touchdowns) struggled, losing the total yardage statistic to the Cougars (249 yards versus UH’s 318), converting only four of 14 third down conversions and punting an uncharacteristic eight times.
Dropped passes, overthrown balls, ineffective run blocking and inopportune penalties (including an unsportsmanlike penalty on a lineman that kept the Sooners from almost running out the clock to end the game) was the story of the night for the offense.
Defensively, the Sooners had a fourth quarter interception (by Robert Spears-Jennings) and a safety (by defensive tackle Gracen Halton, with 1:42 left in the game), which gave fans their only chance to take a breath. Unfortunately, the offense failed to capitalize on those opportunities (Tyler Keltner missing a 45-yard field goal) and allowed Houston a fighting chance to be a mere field goal away from winning the game in the waning minutes.