Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby Talks Bedlam Troubles: 'That's on Me'

The Sooners' offense started super fast against Oklahoma State, but then went in the tank in the second half as the defense fought to hold onto the victory.

NORMAN — Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby described the Sooners’ second-half maladies against Oklahoma on Saturday night as a product of many common elements of a football game.

But as for the Sooners’ stark fourth quarter, Lebby takes the blame entirely.

“After those first two series (of the second half), the rest of it is on me getting too conservative,” Lebby said Monday during his weekly press conference. “Everybody wants to point the fingers; it’s me being too conservative.”

Lebby thinks he should have called more passes down the stretch of the Sooners’ 28-13 Bedlam victory.

“I mean, 16 of the last 18 plays, we run the football,” Lebby said. “You know, the first quarter, we scored a bunch of points because we were able to throw the football and make some plays. Should have stuck to that a little more and stayed aggressive, instead of what I did. I think we would have had a little different outcome.”

OU raced to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter, then the offense fell off the face of the earth.

“We gotta get out of our own way,” Lebby said.

The Sooners punted 11 times on Saturday — the most in 21 years at OU — and went three-and-out nine times.

The teams combined for 37 possessions, and on OU’s 18 drives, 17 of them lasted 91 seconds or less. Only one drive — a nine-play, 93-yard march in the first quarter that took 2:45 and produced a touchdown and a 14-0 lead — went longer than 1:31.

“I think the most frustrating thing for me was, it was a different position group or a different person every single scenario,” Lebby said.

The real problem came after the first quarter, as the Sooners’ final 12 possessions produced zero points. Only two of those drives even crossed the 50-yard line — none in the second half.

“You come out first two series and you got a drop on second and five and a drop on first and 10,” Lebby said. In all, Sooner receivers dropped five passes on the night. But the uneven start to the third quarter, “we weren’t able to overcome.”

After the game, head coach Brent Venables said he wasn’t happy with the offense’s clock management. Nursing a 13-point lead down the stretch, the Sooners stayed in their up-tempo offense, several times snapping the football with more than 20 seconds left on the play clock.

Did Lebby learn anything about clock management or play-calling — or even himself as an offensive coordinator?

“Yeah,” he said, “especially in the third quarter, stay aggressive. Even the first series of the fourth quarter, staying aggressive. And then obviously, later on, should have — really, the last two series is where we had the ability probably to huddle and to truly slow down and go run the football.”

The Sooners didn’t have the kind of success running the football they’ve been used to most of this season, but Eric Gray did rush for 90 yards, Jovantae Barnes averaged 10 yards per carry, and Dillon Gabriel was weaponized on the ground a handful of times.

“We ran the football — not effectively, but we did run it,” Lebby said. “But again, to me, I think the biggest thing that I learned was staying aggressive. That’s how we’re gonna play. That’s how we’re gonna operate. That’s on me.

“We’re gonna throw the football if they got one more in the box than we can block. We’re not built to go run the QB 25 times. We’ve gotta throw the football and make plays, and that way you’ve got a chance to get away from ‘em and it’s totally different.

“Thankfully, defensively, we were lights out. Our crowd was unbelievable and we were able to get it done.”