Oklahoma-Temple Video Review: How the OU Defense Dominated, Where the Offense Needs Improvement

The Temple Owls were out of their league, but the Sooners delivered big plays on both offense and defense, from the frontline players as well as the backups.

Oklahoma linebacker Jaren Kanak (7) scores on a fumbled punt. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Oklahoma beat Temple 51-3 on Friday, and it was probably easier than that at times.

The Sooners got out to a quick 14-0 lead, a free touchdown on special teams, added a 6-yard touchdown drive after another Owls turnover and covered the 43.5-point spread.

This week OU hosts Big 12 newcomer Houston, who lost their opener at home 27-7 to UNLV.

Oklahoma has a lot to improve on before SEC play begins when Tennessee and Josh Heupel come to Norman on Sept. 21, but the Cougars will provide another opportunity to make those improvements.

Here’s Sooners On SI’s video review of the Temple game:

FIRST QUARTER

It’ll be tough to assess just how good Oklahoma is playing because we all know Temple’s not very good. But the Sooners’ first two plays on defense were a plus, with solid pressure, good coverage and strong tackling. A Temple glitch on the third-down pass didn’t reveal much, even though the coverage wasn’t exactly tight.

Love Seth Littrell’s first play as a play-caller in Norman, a reverse from Gavin Sawchuk to Deion Burks. The second play is even better, a beautiful throw on a corner route to Jalil Farooq. The defender lands on Farooq’s left foot however. Fateful play, although he stays in for the rest of the drive. Jackson Arnold’s scramble was decisive and probably unnecessarily stressful as he flipped head over heels onto his right shoulder. No harm done, because on fourth-and-1, Sawchuk powers for a 2-yard gain, and on the next play, Arnold scrambles to his right and feathers a perfect throw to Bauer Sharp. Nice play design as Jake Roberts motions out of the formation to draw the corner away and allow Sharp to sidle into the soft spot in the zone for the touchdown. Tyler Keltner continues his streak of 138 consecutive PATs, although there’s a lot more to come from him.

Damonic Williams makes his second strong play of the game, grabbing Joquez Smith for a 2-yard gain and not letting him go. After a 9-yard run wide for the first down, Kendel Dolby pressures Forrest Brock into an incompletion. Dolby is gonna be an unsung hero on this defense this year. Ethan Downs makes an incredible play on second down, thumping the running back in the backfield on a keeper by Brock, then pivoting and chasing down Brock from behind to force a fumble. Downs did his job, then recognized and reacted and made a winning play — just what Brent Venables wants from one of his defensive leaders.

Nice run by Taylor Tatum, a 4-yard pickup on his first college carry. Made a guy miss and got north and south immediately. Arnold’s throw to Sharp picks up a first down and shows they’ve developed some early chemistry. Burks picks up 5 on another jet sweep, but center Branson Hickman simply stepped wrong while blocking back, and ends up with a sprained right ankle. Brent Venables said in postgame there was no timetable yet for Hickman. He’s replaced by Geirean Hatchett, even though Hatchett wasn’t on the pregame three-deep at center. Tight end Kade McIntyre gets his first snap of the season and splits wide left as Jovantae Barnes takes the handoff for 13 yards up the left side behind McIntyre’s downfield block. Arnold then perfectly executes the play-action fake to Barnes and slips an absolute dart to Burks on a quick post across the middle for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Temple gets the corner on another jet sweep, so expect future opponents to try to exploit the Oklahoma defense that way. Kip Lewis’ ankle tackle of EJ Wilson doesn’t prevent a first down, but Lewis fires Wilson’s shoe about 20 yards to get Wilson out of the game. A read option keeper by Brock is annihilated by Kobie McKinzie, who thuds Brock and drives him backward for no gain. Good pressure by Sammy Omosigho on a short throw to force another incompletion (Brock is now 0-for-5 passing). On third-and-10, Brock drops back to pass, but his first option is covered and he appears confused by defensive end Trace Ford’s drop into coverage. Brock holds the ball a tick too long and freezes as Gracen Halton comes off his blocker immediately and pounds Brock into the ground for OU’s first of six quarterback sacks on the day.

Arnold starts the next drive with a handoff fake on what looks like it’s supposed to be a speed option. On second down, left guard Jacob Sexton pulls across to the right but doesn’t finish his kickoff block, and Arnold steps into a sack for a loss of 4. Arnold then misses Jake Roberts on third-and-12 — and the Sooners’ third-down troubles have begun. 

A pass completion for minus-2 and a rush for 1 on a nice tackle by Da’Jon Terry set up the Oklahoma defense’s first big play of the year, a throw forced into coverage by Brock that’s tipped twice by Kendel Dolby, who creates an interception for teammate Kani Walker. Dolby’s reaction shows he’s just mad at himself for not catching the football, but the play was more exciting with the tip.

Poor job by the officiating crew for not blowing dead a false start that resulted in Jackson Arnold getting slung to the ground. Arnold hits speedy Brenen Thompson at the line of scrimmage for no gain (odd play call for someone with his speed), and then Arnold finds Sharp again for 6 yards before Arnold’s third-down throw (from a clean pocket) to Andrel Anthony is dropped. Anthony will want that one back, but coaches and teammates were just glad to see him back from a midseason knee injury last year. Keltner cleans up the drive with a 50-yard field goal — OU’s first since Gabe Brkic — for a 17-0 lead.

R Mason Thomas and Da’Jon Terry finish off the first quarter by tackling Antwain Middleton for a 1-yard loss.

SECOND QUARTER

Brock finally gets his first completions as the Sooners rush four and can’t generate any pressure. He overthrows his receiver, Dante Wright, but Wright beats Lewis Carter in coverage and climbs the ladder to make an acrobatic catch and a 28-yard gain. But Temple’s success is short-lived as Wright catches an inside screen pass from Brock and is swarmed by Danny Stutsman and Robert Spears-Jennings. Stutsman pulls the ball out and Spears-Jennings recovers for the Sooners’ third takeaway of the day.

Sawchuk didn’t have a ton of success in this game, but he starts the next drive by making a tackler miss in the backfield and picks up 4 yards — probably his best run of the night. Arnold then delivers one of his most intriguing plays of the game, stepping away from pressure and then flipping an underhand shovel pass to Brenan Thompson coming g across the middle. Thompson doesn’t turn it up, however, and gets stopped short of the first down. Arnold runs a QB power up the middle and nearly pops it, but it’s a 7-yard gain. Arnold fires deep to J.J. Hester down the near sideline, but Hester can’t quite separate and the ball slips between his hands at the goal line. Burks is developing into a nice weapon in the run game and gets his third carry of the day, a 5-yard gain. Looks like a protection bust on the left edge as Michael Tarquin and Gavin Sawchuk don’t pick up the right rusher and Arnold has to step away from pressure. Arnold finds Thompson for 4 yards, and on fourth-and-1, Sawchuk follows good blocking from Febechi Nwaiwu on another power run up the middle for 5 yards. Two Sawchuk runs net 4 yards (Tyquan King crosses Spencer Brown’s block with little resistance for a no-gain), and Arnold’s third-down throw is a little hot and goes off Thompson’s hands and nearly becomes a dangerous deflection across the middle. Keltner again comes in to clean things up, this one a 42-yard field goal right down the middle for a 20-0 lead.

The corners are Gentry Williams and Jacobe Johnson, a couple of homegrown athletes, but it’s safety Billy Bowman and linebackers Kip Lewis and Sammy Omosigho who stuff Wilson for a loss of 1. Stutsman’s blitz on third down forces Brock into another bad throw and the Owls are punting again.

Peyton Bowen adds 11 yards to the next drive with a nifty punt return. It’s not much on the surface, but it shows how sudden and decisive Bowen can be. Finally, a deep ball to Thompson, but Arnold’s throw down the sideline off a play-action fake is a little short and defended well. A Temple personal foul results in a first down, and on first down, Arnold hits Thompson on a short throw across the middle for 6. On second down, Barnes runs through contact in the backfield, cuts up and runs through another tackle for a 12-yard gain. That’s such a good sign for this offense. On the next play, Arnold sees Burks in man coverage in the right slot and Burks is uncontested on a corner route for his second TD catch of the day. Keltner makes it 27-0. 

Kendel Dolby opens the next Temple drive by pressing hard on an outside blitz and taking down Brock for a loss of 2. Billy Bowman then wipes out Wright on a jet sweep for a 1-yard loss — OU’s fourth TFL so far. Really good edge pressure by Ford off the right side to flush Brock out of the pocket, but he gets away for a gain of 10 and Temple punts it away. 

Arnold shows his athleticism on first down as his first option is covered and he pulls it down. He realizes his best option is to run, and he scrambles ahead for 15 yards. Arnold fires a dart to Hester, but it’s dropped — one of four drops by the OU receivers. Another play-action, and Hester should have had a gain of maybe 20. Arnold fires immediately to Hester’s replacement, freshman Ivan Carreon, who picks up 2 yards before stepping out of bounds. The first 2-minute timeout in OU history results in a three-minute commercial break, and Arnold overthrows Carreon on a free play (offsides defense) deep throw down the right sideline. On third-and-3, Cam’Ron Stewart defeats Michael Tarquin’s block and Arnold is thrown for a loss of 1. After a Temple timeout, Arnold quick-kicks a punt 39 yards to the Temple 5.

Temple’s possession ends abruptly, however, as Gracen Halton rips the football away from Joquez Smith and Billy Bowman recovers at the Owls 5. Give credit to Kobie McKinzie for an additional thud at the point of attack. That turnover — Temple’s fourth of the half — comes after Brent Venables takes a defensive timeout to stop the clock with 1:34 to play. Good strategy with a 27-0 lead.

There’s no push on the first play as Temple stuffs Barnes for a 1-yard gain, but Burks gets open again from the right slot, and Arnold rolls out and hits him in traffic for his third touchdown of the day — a record for any player making his OU debut. Another Keltner PAT makes it 34-0 with 36 seconds to play in the half. 

THIRD QUARTER

Arnold starts the second half with an RPO throw to Burks for 1 yard, but then Arnold is dropped for a loss of 4 as Demerick Morris defeats Spencer Brown and combines with Cam’Ron Stewart for the sack. Arnold throws across the middle to Burks, who’s driven down hard for a 5-yard gain. Luke Elzinga flips the field with a 51-yard punt.

Great second-down recognition of an inside screen by d-tackle Jayden Jackson, who comes off the line and thumps Antonio Jones for a gain of 7. Brock throws to Wright for a gain of 5, but Stutsman and Kani Walker drop Wright short of the first down, bringing on a Temple punt.

FCS transfer RB Sam Franklin gets his first action and picks up 6 yards behind Hatchett and Sexton, then pops a 30-yard gain behind Nwaiwu and Hatchett. His speed showed up as he’s into the secondary instantaneously. Arnold then displays some nifty moves on a read-option keeper, picking up 14 yards and making two tacklers miss. Arnold keeps on another option, but takes a big hit for a 4-yard pickup. Back-to-back QB keepers feels a little dangerous with a 34-0 lead in the third quarter. After a 15-yard personal foul on the Temple defense, Franklin has no space on a run off left tackle that results in a 1-yard loss. Arnold’s throw to Burks in the end zone is too wide, and his third-down throwaway brings on Keltner for a 24-yard field goal. Nobody was open on third down, and Arnold tried to buy time by scrambling, but he had a tackler on him. It’s originally ruled intentional grounding, but it’s the officials’ first game of the year, too, and they correct it to just an incomplete pass. Keltner makes it 37-0. 

The Sooners’ next defensive possession begins with promise — an incompletion and a tackle by Dolby for a 1-yard gain — but on third-and-9, Brock finds Littleton on a swing pass out of the backfield for 19 yards, and Spears-Jennings adds a 15-yard late hit penalty. Then on third-and-3, Brock finds John Adams across the middle for a 14-yard gain to the OU 19 despite nice coverage from Jacobe Johnson and Billy Bowman. Ethan Downs and R Mason Thomas drop Brock for a sack and loss of 7, then Ashton Sanders and Gracen Halton take him down for a loss of 5. After an incompletion — Bowman had his hands on a ball across the middle but couldn’t complete the catch — Maddux Trujillo bangs a 49-yard field goal to break the shutout.

Michael Hawkins is warming up, but Arnold is going to finish the third quarter. Joshua Bates is the center now. Arnold’s first down throw to Andrel Anthony picks up 4 yards, but Arnold is sacked by Tyquan King for a loss of 5. King came on a delayed blitz and simply wasn’t accounted for by Sawchuk. Arnold’s throw in the right seam is caught by Sharp, but it’s short of the first down and brings on Elzinga.

Brock rolls left and finds Antonio Jones in front of Dez Malone for an 11-yard completion, and Sammy Omosigho drops Littleton for a gain of 3 as the quarter ends.

FOURTH QUARTER

After a stirring singalong and light show to honor the late Toby Keith, Littleton is stuffed by Omosigho, Lewis Carter and Spears-Jennings for a 1-yard gain. Brock rolls right to get away from pressure, but finds Caiden Woullard in his face and has to throw incomplete into tight coverage, where Kani Walker breaks it up and forces a punt. 

Michael Hawkins is at quarterback and Arnold’s night is over. Barnes hits a quick 4-yard gain, and Hawkins breaks free for a 20-yard run. Alas, Hawkins’ first big play is negated by a holding penalty against Bates. Hawkins throws a little late to Sharp and it’s broken up by Louis Frye, and his third-down throw to Sharp picks up 10 yards but is well short of the first down. Elzinga’s punt goes 47 yards and is returned cleanly by Dante Wright. But …

After making a couple moves, Wright is hit hard by Lewis Carter and loses the football, and Jaren Kanak scoops it up and runs it back 21 yards for a touchdown. Danny Stutsman, who’s not even in the game, smashes into Kanak in the end zone — without his helmet — during the celebration. Keltner’s PAT makes it 44-3.

Wilson slips out of an Omosigho tackle in the backfield and gains 9 yards, but he probably wishes he hadn’t as Michael Boganowski erases him with a massive hit that wows the crowd and impresses his teammates. Boganowski gets a tackle on the next play for a gain of 1, and Jacobe Johnson is in coverage on Ashton Allen’s first catch for 9 yards. Brock keeps for 1 yard and a first down on what goes down as freshman David Stone’s first collegiate tackle. Brock hits Landon Morris outside for a 16-yard gain as Lewis Carter drives him out of bounds. After a 5-yard gain by Wilson (Kanak is now playing middle linebacker and takes him down), Brock tests the young OU secondary deep but is picked off by Jaydan Hardy, who returns it 26 yards to the OU 30-yard line. The runback is wiped out, however, by a personal foul penalty on Taylor Wein — apparently for blocking too hard.

Taylor Tatum shows his talents with a 19-yard run to start the Sooners’ ‘next drive, and Hawkins keeps and slips between two tackle attempts for a 10-yard pickup. After a 3-yard Hawkins-to-Taylor pass, Taylor breaks outside and sprints upfield for a 35-yard gain. Hawkins hits Zion Ragins with a sidearm throw for 7 yards, and Franklin patiently tiptoes through traffic before exploding upfield for 10 yards. Jaquaize Pettaway’s first target is a corner route in the end zone that sails out of bounds, but after a Hawkins scramble for no gain, Tatum finishes the drive as he catches an option pitch from Hawkins and takes it into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown run inside the left pylon. The touchdown is OU’s first third-down conversion of the night, ending an 0-for-11 skid and pushing the OU lead to 51-3 after Keltner’s extra point. Josh Plaster does a nice job corralling an inside snap that slipped through his hands, picking it up off the ground and setting it up for Keltner.

Walk-on and former Ohio State lacrosse player Owen Heineke knocks off Terrez Worthy’s helmet with a hard hit on first down. After a pass completion wrapped up by James Nesta and the 2-minute timeout, walk-on Bergin Kysar makes a hard hit on Littleton, and Nesta and Jeremiah Newcombe combine on another thumping collision on Xavier Irvin. Tackle Markus Strong then finishes off OU’s defensive dominance in style by sacking Brock twice — slinging him down for a 5-yard loss and then chasing him down outside the pocket and punishing him on the final play of the game.