Oklahoma's Offense Couldn't Overcome Early Mistakes to Top Baylor

Turnovers, empty possessions and untimely penalties buried the offense in OU's 38-35 loss to Baylor on Saturday.

NORMAN — Offensive mistakes cost Oklahoma dearly on Saturday.

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel posted his second three-turnover game of the season, putting his team behind the pace of Baylor in the first half of OU’s 38-35 loss to the Bears on Saturday.

The Sooner fans in attendance at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium were frustrated time and time again as Gabriel saw two of his passes tipped up for interceptions. Then when the defense responded with a pick of their own, Gabriel gave the ball away again on an errant overthrow of Jalil Farooq..

Then on the final drive of the half, Oklahoma (5-4 overall, 2-4 Big 12) committed a pair of penalties on a Gabriel scramble, turning a potential 40-yard field goal attempt into a 55-yard try that kicker Zach Schmit missed wide left.

Combine those missed opportunities with a failed fourth down conversion where running back Marcus Major ran straight into the strength of the Baylor defensive line and OU came away empty handed on five different first half drives against a gettable Dave Aranda defense.

“It’s a pretty short story for us, offensively,” OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said after the game. “Three turnovers, fourth-down non-conversion, that’s four series in the first half where we put the defense in a bad position and we get no points. At the end of it, that’s the story.”

The performance was Gabriel’s worst by far since returning from his concussion.

Entering the day, the Sooner starting quarterback had only thrown one interception all season. He took the blame for three turnovers in OU’s 52-42 win over Kansas on Oct. 15, but two of those miscues came in the form of fumbles.

The lefty was probably lucky to only end the day with three turnovers, as his worst throw of the day was dropped by a Baylor defensive back on the Bears’ sideline.

OU wide receiver Marvin Mims said Gabriel’s demeanor didn’t change after the interceptions, and that he was willing to come back out and keep attacking downfield.

“Obviously right after, he may have been a little down or something or like, ‘Oh my bad.’ It’s like, ‘Oh, you’re good.’ Next drive he’s back in there, throwing it again,” Mims said. “Nobody’s going to look at him differently for throwing three picks. He’s our guy, we trust whatever he wants to do, whatever he does with the ball.”

Regardless of if Gabriel’s confidence had taken a hit or not, Lebby clearly wanted to lean on the run game in the second half to try and get Oklahoma back into the game.

Five of the seven plays on OU’s first touchdown drive in the second half were running plays, as Eric Gray’s great play continued to carry the offense.

Oklahoma’s leading rusher totaled 106 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and Gray added eight catches for 58 yards through the air, but penalties again cost the Sooners as those mistakes brought drives to a halt in the second half.

“Our offense was good in the red zone, but so were they,” OU coach Brent Venables said after the game. “We needed to force more field goals, first drive of the second half we had a couple of penalties we had a couple of penalties down in the red zone.

“One of ‘em after making a great play, we get a hands to the facemask. Again, that was really how we played today. We couldn’t get out of our own way at the right times.”

The offensive mistakes were compounded by the defense’s inability to stop the run. Anytime the Sooners tried to get positive momentum rolling in the second half, the Bears turned to their ground attack that hit OU for 281 rushing yards.

Despite Oklahoma’s struggles to slow down Baylor running back Craig Williams, OU still out-gained the Bears 499 yards to 413, but Gabriel and the Sooners couldn’t come up with enough plays in the pivotal moments of the contest to flip the result in their favor on Saturday.

“I think we fought hard,” Gray said. “But in a game like that, it comes down to the details. Kind of shot ourselves in the foot sometimes with penalties, turnovers. That's ultimately what led to losing by three.”

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