Missouri State: Q4 Report
NORMAN — Oklahoma’s first football game in the Coronavirus era was, by all accounts, a raging success — especially the touchdown pass from backup quarterback Tanner Mordecai to walk-on Finn Corwin early in the fourth quarter.
Corwin became just the third Sooner to record a touchdown on his first career catch, joining Lee Morris and Forrest Valora.
Mordecai, meanwhile, made up for an errant throw on OU’s previous drive — an interception in the end zone — and put across his first scoring drive of the night as Spencer Rattler’s backup.
True freshman Chandler Morris came on at the 5:46 mark and closed the game at quarterback for the Sooners as Mordecai completed the same number of passes as Rattler — 14-of-17 — for 157 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
OU's leading rusher was true freshman Seth McGowan, who ran for 61 yards and caught a pass for 37 yards and scored two touchdowns. He became the first OU true freshman running back to score two touchdowns in his debut since Kejuan Jones in 2002 vs. Tulsa.
UCLA transfer Theo Howard led the Sooners with five receptions for 63 yards, while Charleston Rambo led the team with 80 yards on four catches.
With 22,700 fans appropriately masked and socially distanced throughout Memorial Stadium and the front rows lined with cardboard cutouts purchased by fans, the Sooners played sharp, fast and organized — despite numerous starters and backups missing because of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing — throughout the evening.
It was the smallest crowd for an OU game since 1945, when a gathering of 11,000 was recorded for a 14-7 victory over Iowa State. Because all the available tickets were sold, however, the game is still considered a “sellout,” running OU’s school record to 130 consecutive sellouts.
The Sooners came in as a 50 1/2-point favorite.
The crowd, diminished as it was, got a jolt of energy when Missouri State missed a 36-yard field goal with 10:48 to play, preserving the shutout.
OU’s last shutout was a 55-0 wipeout at Kansas State in 2015. After an open date next week, the Sooners host the Wildcats on Sept. 26.
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