After Slow Start, Marcus Major Comes Up Big For Oklahoma In Conference Opener
CINCINNATI -- Things started slowly for Oklahoma running back Marcus Major in Saturday's Big 12 opener against Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium.
Three carries netted Major -4 yards and a missed block contributed to a sack of quarterback Dillon Gabriel on Oklahoma's third possession of the game.
But with the Sooners facing a third-and-19 from their own 22-yard line later in the quarter, Major's day took a turn for the better. The redshirt senior from Oklahoma City took a handoff from Gabriel and ran to the right for 19 yards and a first down to keep the drive alive.
“It felt good," he said. "They just trusted me to get the first down. So, I just had to put a lot on me and go get it.”
Major got stronger as the game wore on, finishing the game with 63 yards on 15 carries and catching two passes for 18 yards in a hard-fought 20-6 Oklahoma win.
““I just always forget about the bad plays and just move on forward," he said. "So, I kept that momentum, I kept that in my head, just keep going each play, each play. And no matter what happens just go out there and do you. But it was pretty fun, being in this environment as well.”
Oklahoma struggled to run the ball in the first half against a stout Cincinnati defensive line that featured All-American candidates Dontay Corleone and Jowon Briggs.
Major lost four yards on his first carry of the game. On the Sooners' second possession, he was stopped for no gain on second-and-3 from the Bearcats' 12-yard line. His third carry, early in the second quarter, was also stopped for no gain.
The Sooners could muster just 19 yards on eight carries, an average of 2.4 yards per carry, in the first quarter. The second quarter was even worse, with OU managing only 16 yards on 10 carries.
"Like I said earlier, we was really just shooting ourselves in the foot," Major said. It was really on the O, like we always talked about all last week, was be disciplined, you know and that’s what we weren't in the first half. But it’s all about us, and as well as finishing. So, it was good that we finished.”
Then came the first down run on third-and-19 to give the Sooners' offense a lift.
“That was a huge play obviously," offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said. "Wish we could’ve capitalized. But just a huge play for us to get out of our own end zone and be able to go put a little something together.”
The second half was a different story for the Sooners, who gained 70 yards on the ground, including an 18-yard run up the middle by Major in the third quarter after Cincinnati had pulled to within 10-6.
The 75-yard drive culminated with a 1-yard Gabriel run for a score to increase Oklahoma's lead to 17-6.
“We got in a little more of a rhythm running the football," Lebby said. "I thought the backs did a really nice job. I thought we finished blocks a little bit better and gave ourselves a chance to go win.”
Major was the focus of the run game Saturday because "we really wanted him to be able to get get in a rhythm," Lebby continued.
"He had a really good week and I wanted him to have the bulk of the carries today," he said. "He was able to do that for us."
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