Oklahoma-Iowa State Observations: AllSooners LIVE In-Game Blog

John Hoover, Ryan Chapman, Josh Callaway and Ross Lovelace offer their real-time observations from the Sooners' conference matchup versus the Iowa State Cyclones.

SI Editorial | Oct 29, 2022

In this story:

AMES, IA — Unranked Oklahoma returns to action this week agains the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium. AllSooners has three reporters on site to cover the game.

This live blog will be updated throughout Saturday's contest. Newest posts appear at the top. Simply refresh your browser to see the latest posts.11:05 a.m.

2:33 p.m.

Big win for Oklahoma. They're all big.

2:32 p.m.

Final stats:

2:13 p.m.

Woodi Washington with blanket coverage on the outside against Xavier Hutchinson in the end zone. That’s the ball game. Sooners are gonna walk away with a 27-13 road win in Ames.

— RL

2:10 p.m.

Iowa State’s offense moving the ball with ease against Oklahoma’s prevent defense. Sooners allowing short routes underneath and Cyclones taking advantage.

Dump off after dump off with the clock running out. Jalen Redmond’s tackle for loss caused a big run-off on Iowa State’s lone run in the red zone. Sooners force a fourth down inside their own five yard line, and Oklahoma will take a timeout. 1:01 left.

— RL

2:04 p.m.

After Stutsman’s interception, Gray finishes the job in the wildcat formation. Sooners lead 27-13 late in the fourth quarter. Quite the gutsy performance from Oklahoma’s defense.

— RL

2:00 p.m.

And that could be all she wrote. Danny Stutsman, near pick-six. Read it all the way, heck of a play for one of Oklahoma’s leaders on defense. All the way down to the one yard line.

— RL

1:57 p.m.

Marvin Mims has had a really rough game. It continues. Costly drop on a wide-open third down throw that was on the money from Gabriel.

Oklahoma’s defense is being asked to do a lot right now. Iowa State ball, 6:16 left.

— RL

1:52 p.m.

Justin Broiles’ big day continues with a timely interception. DaShaun White continues to make big plays all over the field.

Big drive for Oklahoma’s offense, points feel like a necessity to close this one out.

— RL

1:46 p.m.

After a long touchdown drive cuts it to 20-13 and an OU possession that went three-and-out and lasted just 76 seconds, Michael Turk flips the field with a 61-yard punt.

Iowa State ball with 9:13 left and trailing by a touchdown.

— JH

1:40 p.m.

DaShaun White put Oklahoma’s defense on his back that possession. Three massive third down stops for White, who was all over the field.

Unfortunately, it won’t matter for the Sooners. The defense gives up two huge fourth down conversions, one for an Iowa State touchdown.

— RL

1:33 p.m.

Third quarter stats:

— JH

1:32 p.m.

Third quarter is in the books. Sooners starting to pull away.

— JH

1:21 p.m.

Looks like Eric Gray was in the medical tent for that last series. Not sure the severity of the injury, but could absolutely factor into Oklahoma trying to milk the clock late in the game.

— RL

1:18 p.m.

Really good work there by both Dillon Gabriel to step up in the pocket and buy some time and by the OU offensive line to get just enough of the Iowa State pass rush to allow Gabriel to find Jalil Farooq behind the Cyclones secondary for a 41-yard touchdown.

OU leads it 20-6, 4:18 to play in the third quarter.

— JH

1:18 p.m.

Lebby is rolling out a new set of formations and shifts from what the Cyclones saw in the first half. Have to wonder if he held those back intentionally to try and negate any Iowa State adjustments, or if that’s what the Sooner staff dialed up at halftime.

Either way, it helped scheme up a wide open touchdown for Farooq. Great work by Gabriel to step up in the pocket and hang in there to give Farooq time to get open, too.

— RC

1:13 p.m.

After yet another stop, Oklahoma starts at its own 22 with 7:05 left in the third quarter.

Oklahoma’s defense has only allowed six points and 10 first downs.

— JH

1:11 p.m.

Oklahoma’s offense needs momentum on this drive. Letting Iowa State hang around in the second half, especially in Ames, is a dangerous game to play.

Extending the lead to two possessions is crucial for the Sooners.

— RL

1:05 p.m.

Marvin Mims and Dillon Gabriel can’t get on the same page and it’s really hurting the Sooners. Multiple misses downfield for the duo.

Looked like a bit of an overthrow on the deep ball that drive. Sooners needed points on that drive, it’s up to the defense to step up again.

— RL

12:56 p.m.

After Oklahoma gets another defensive stop with good tackling by Woodi Washington, Gentry Williams came about two inches away from blocking the punt.

Sooners take over at the 19 with 12:17 left in the third quarter.

— JH

12:55 p.m.

Oklahoma defense with a chance to get off the field, but comes up empty after a short completion converted on Jaden Davis.

Sooners find some momentum with a Jordan Kelley sack on the next play, though. Defensive line forcing pressure, results in a stop on the second third down try of the drive.

— RL

12:39 p.m.

Oklahoma’s time of possession for the first half was 17:57. Iowa State’s is 12:03.

I’m fairly shocked by that.

OU is outgaining the Cyclones just 227-144. Felt like a lot more.

Eric Gray is averaging 5.5 yards per rush. Felt like less.

— JH

12:34 p.m.

Oklahoma’s offense looked comfortable in the first half. Gabriel was able to move his unit down the field, but a few missed plays meant the Sooners only put 13 points on the board.

But this thing is far from over. Iowa State’s defense has put the clamps on teams in the second half all year long. Wrote about it yesterday, but Jon Heacock has been excellent with his locker room adjustments.

— RC

12:29 p.m.

Halftime stats:

12:28 p.m.

Halftime. Sooners look in charge.

12:25 p.m.

Interesting zone blitz look from the defense on that third down: Ethan Downs dropped into coverage and Danny Stutsman and Trey Morrison blitzed.

Cyclones kicker Jace Gilbert — a Marlow, OK, product — bangs through a 34-yard field goal and it’s 13-6 Oklahoma with 45 seconds to play until halftime.

— JH

12:23 p.m.

On that 21-yard throw from Dekkers to Noel, Dekkers had all day as OU rushed just three.

It can be hard to rush three and drop eight into coverage if you don’t major in it.

— JH

12:21 p.m.

That set of downs could prove costly. A wasted possession for the Oklahoma offense.

The Sooners didn’t even look down field, and now Iowa State will have three timeouts and incredible field position to work with, Not to mention, the Cyclones get the ball out of half.

— RL

12:18 p.m.

Sooners about to take over with 3:20 left in the half from their own 4-yard line, and they’ll feel they should have more than 13 points on the board right now.

OU is dominating the third down numbers, converting 5-of-9 attempts while holding Iowa State to 2-of-6 on third downs, and the Oklahoma offense is averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Penalties and a turnover have kept Lebby’s offense from having closer to 24 points right now.

— RC

12:14 p.m.

Credit Iowa State with the play call on that screen to Brock. Danny Stutsman came free on a blitz from the left side, and Dekkers threw to Brock on the right side for a nine-yard gain to set up third-and-1.

The third down snap goes over Dekkers’ head, however, and Iowa State will punt.

— JH

12:12 p.m.

That last Oklahoma drive lasted 14 plays and only went 48 yards, but took 5 1/2 minutes off the game clock. Huge for the OU defense as the Sooners try to keep the momentum going against a limited Cyclone offense.

— JH

12:10 p.m.

Oklahoma’s offense has been unstoppable… until it gets into the red zone. Three scoring drives with three scores from the special teams unit.

If you had Zach Schmit field goal, touchdown, field goal on your bingo card…

— RL

12:08 p.m.

Zach Schmit’s second field goal, a 34-yarder, puts OU on top 13-3, 6:30 til halftime.

Iowa State got a little stuffy with the run defense after Eric Gray’s 15-yard run, so looked like Lebby tried to get some RPO passes going. Didn’t work, as Gabriel was pressured twice and had to throw incomplete twice and take another hit.

Remember, Iowa State’s defense is really good.

— JH

12:04 p.m.

Bill Bedenbaugh sure didn’t like that holding penalty on Anton Harrison that wiped out Gabriel’s first down run. Bedenbaugh screamed at the side judge, “That’s two times!”

— JH

12:03 p.m.

Oklahoma's poor start to conference play put a few different bowl games in play the Sooners aren't generally projected to land.

The Guaranteed Rate Bowl appears a bit dejected with the possibility of OU turning things around down the home stretch of this season. Incredible stuff from the social media admin.

Oklahoma fakes the field goal and gets in the end zone😦 pic.twitter.com/mz8FGWtXyG
— Guaranteed Rate Bowl (@RateBowl) October 29, 2022

— RC

11:56 a.m.

If you read AllSooners’ pregame coverage Friday and Saturday morning, you know we suggested that Brent Venables might need to be bold and try a fake field goal today. You also know we predicted kicker Zach Schmit would be OU’s “under the radar” player today.

Schmit’s first career touchdown was a thing of beauty, OU leads 10-3, and after another defensive stop, the Sooners have the football back.

— JH

11:55 a.m.

The energy in Jack Trice Stadium is very tense right now.

Crowd is upset at the refs. They feel like Marvin Mims should have been called for a block in the back at the end of the first quarter and think that Gentry Williams had a pass interference on his first play of the second quarter.

But they’re also audibly groaning at the dismal play from the Cyclone offense. Passing skipping off the grass at receivers and bounding off the hands of receivers when Dekkers does deliver the ball on target.

Can’t be helpful for the Cyclone offense to hear that after every mistake. Sooners with a chance now to extend the lead to two scores after that last stop.

— RC

11:55 a.m.

Gentry Williams sighting on defense! On replay, looked like solid defense. Let Hutchinson lean and trip after a quick feet-tangle.

Another incredible possession for the defense. Keeping the momentum in check.

— RL

11:53 a.m.

Starting at safety in the second quarter... Billy Bowman.

The budding star makes sees his first game action since the first quarter in Fort Worth.

True freshman cornerback Gentry Williams is also in the game.

— RC

11:50 a.m.

Brent Venables is back in his bag.

The OU drive appeared to have stalled out on the goal line, but Venables dialed up Oklahoma’s second fake field goal of the year and Zach Schmit walks in for a touchdown.

Was in the middle of writing out how the Sooners could regret the lack of points in the first half while the offensive is seemingly dominating Iowa State’s defense. The Cyclones are tied for third in the country in points allowed after half time, averaging just under five points allowed per game in the second half this year.

Oklahoma back on top 10-3 with 12:23 left in the first half.

— RC

11:48 a.m.

Dillon Gabriel looks as comfortable as we’ve seen him in an Oklahoma jersey so far. No bad misses, and the short throws are on the money. His play, once again, determining how the Sooners play.

And oh my goodness. A fake field goal. What a play, touchdown Sooners.

— RL

11:44 a.m.

First quarter stats:

11:43 a.m.

First quarter is deadlocked at 3-3.

11:38 a.m.

Two freshmen — Jake Taylor at right guard and Jacob Sexton at left tackle — and sophomore Savion Byrd at right tackle to start this drive. Wow.

EDIT: They've switched back to the starters now. Freshman TE Jason Llewellyn was also out there to begin the drive.

— JH

11:35 a.m.

Iowa State just used an offense straight out of 1960 to drive the length of the field on the Oklahoma defense. Eleven plays, 66 yards, almost 4 1/2 minutes. Yes, they execute well, but if you’re the Sooner defense, this has to be concerning. Field goal makes it 3-3, 2:08 left in the first quarter.

— JH

11:35 a.m.

Not a great drive from the OU defense, but the Sooners hold to only allow a field goal which is major progress.

Iowa State seemed to have good play calls when Oklahoma wanted to pressure Hunter Dekkers, and then Jeffery Johnson missed out on a key sack that could have made the field goal more difficult.

However, the fact that OU responded to the adversity and held the Cyclones to a field goal in the end is a positive considering how things snowballed at the first sign of failure against Kansas State, TCU and Texas.

— RC

11:32 a.m.

Sooners bringing loads of pressure on defense, but back-to-back plays get burned. Key Lawrence with a big mistake on the outside opened up a large portion of the field through the air.

Seems like the Cyclones have found some rhythm on the offensive end.

— RL

11:25 a.m.

Dillon Gabriel delivered a great ball to Marvin Mims, but the standout receiver couldn’t haul the ball in. Coverage was good, but those are the kind of plays Mims needs to be making. He already dropped a pass on the sideline on the first play of the game, though that was called back for a holding on Wanya Morris.

Sooners ran the ball on third-and-5, seemingly suggesting it was four-down territory. Instead Venables calls for the field goal.

Zach Schmit nails it through, and OU is on the board first. Oklahoma leads 3-0 with 6:31 left in the first quarter.

— RC

11:20 a.m.

David Ugwoegbu shot the gap on the fourth down and completely blew everything up.

Great effort by him to help the Sooner defense get another crucial stop early in this one.

— RC

11:14 a.m.

You love Eric Gray’s desire to fight for extra yards, but Iowa State’s defense is too good at ripping the football out. As serious as he takes his craft, the guess here is he’ll have better ball security the rest of the day.

— JH

11:14 a.m.

The first quarter has been madness and we’ve had three possessions. Eric Gray's turnover negates a positive Oklahoma drive and the defense is back out on the field. Big response from the Cyclones.

— RL

11:13 a.m.

Smart coaching so far from Brent Venables and Jeff Lebby.

The Sooners aren’t moving slow by any means, but the offense has been noticeably slower. Looks like Oklahoma knows it can’t have quick three-and-outs against this defense and succeed.

And as I say that… Eric Gray fumbles the ball. Iowa State will take over at its own 13-yard line.

— RC

11:08 a.m.

Mistakes on that opening drive: Dropped pass by Mims, holding on Wanya Morris, short route by Drake Stoops.

After a punt, Woodi Washington erases it all by jumping an under thrown deep ball to Stanley and intercepting Hunter Dekkers. OU ball at its own 42.

— JH

11:09 a.m.

Four-man front for the defense to start:

Laulu - Coe - Redmond - Downs

White - Ugwoegbu - Stutsman

Washington - Broiles - Lawrence - Davis

— RC

11:08 a.m.

Oklahoma’s offense stalls after the drop and penalty. Pass to Stoops was close to the sticks but not quite enough. Tough opening drive for the the Sooners that carried promise.

— RL

11:07 a.m.

Offensive starters for the Sooners:

Harrison - Mettauer - Raym - Murray - Morris

Farooq - Willis - Stoops - Mims

Gabriel - Gray

— RC

11:05 a.m.

What a play by Jeff Lebby to start, getting Marvin Mims in space all alone out of the backfield and up the right sideline. But Mims drops it.

Might have been a big one, possibly a TD, but wouldn’t have counted anyway. Sooners flagged for holding.

— JH

10:59 a.m.

Back in the press box. Been on the field shooting pics and getting a feel for the OU team. It’s hard to decipher what you see in pregame sometimes, but with a couple players back and a couple players out, the tone with most players seems to be reserved enthusiasm.

— JH

10:47 a.m.

Oklahoma safety Damond Harmon was also going through warm ups. First time he's been dressed out since TCU.

— RC

10:35 a.m

Billy Bowman is on the field with the "two's" for the last bit of warmups before OU heads back to the locker room.

Has a brace on his right knee, but otherwise looks like he's readying himself for game action.

— RC

10:31 a.m.

Update: Don't have eyes on true freshman running back Jovantae Barnes or offensive tackle Tyler Guyton.

— RC

10:24 a.m.

Bowman warming up as mentioned earlier. The rest of the crew appears present. Marcus Major and R Mason Thomas were both available for Kansas, and it appears neither had any kind of setback during the off week.

— RC

9:58 a.m.

Per an OU spokesman, D.J. Graham is again expected to wear No. 9 today.

— RC

9:44 a.m.

Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman is giving it a go in the warm ups. Unclear if he will make his first appearance since the TCU contest, but a good sign that he's not in street clothes from the start here in Ames.

— RC

9:30 a.m.

The AllSooners crew has arrived at Jack Trice Stadium just as the teams are trickling out of the locker room for the pregame warm up. It's a bit chilly at field level, but the flags on top of the goal posts are dormant and it looks like there won't be much wind to factor in today.

— RC

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Published Oct 29, 2022

SI EDITORIAL