Three Quick Takeaways From Oklahoma's Improbable Comeback Against Auburn

Michael Hawkins Jr. did enough for Kip Lewis' pick six to pull OU back against the Tigers in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (9) celebrates his touchdown run as Auburn Tigers take on Oklahoma Sooners at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AUBURN, AL — Somehow, Oklahoma found a way. 

The Sooners’ offense played dead for three quarters, but Michael Hawkins Jr. gave OU life with a 60-yard strike to J.J. Hester in the fourth quarter. 

And then the defense struck. 

Kip Lewis jumped Payton Thorne’s pass and rumbled 63 yards to put the Sooners back in front. 

Hawkins flipped into the end zone on the two-point conversion, and OU’s reinvigorated defense closed out an unlikely win. 

The Sooners (4-1, 1-1 SEC) looked destined for a long bye week, but somehow conjured Sooner Magic on their second-straight SEC road trip. 

Oklahoma was able to get the final stops necessary to cling to a 27-21 win and avoid a disastrous start to life in the Southeastern Conference. 

Playing Opossum 

For three and a half quarters, Oklahoma’s defense played its worst game of the year. 

OU struggled to get pressure on Tigers’ quarterback Payton Thorne, and he was piecing together his best showing of the year. 

First, Thorne found KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a 31-yard strike, and then the Tigers took a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter with a 48-yard connection to Malcolm Simmons. 

In the third quarter, Thorne found 5-star freshman Cam Coleman for 42 yards, setting the Tigers up in the red zone. 

Until Lewis’ interception, Auburn was moving the football and seemed poised to ice the game. 

But the first turnover of the game proved to be the biggest, and Oklahoma’s defense stood tall to steal the program’s first ever SEC win. 

Hanging In

Hawkins’ first drive was the stuff of dreams. 

He broke off a 48-yard touchdown run for the first score of the day, and looked to be an instant injection of life into a struggling offense. 

As the game settled in, OU struggled to move the ball. 

Hawkins completed 10-of-15 passes for 161 yards. Auburn stuffed the run, and kept the lid on the Sooners’ passing game until Hawkins found Hester. 

But the true freshman, making his first collegiate start in one of college football’s most hostile atmospheres, didn’t make the catastrophic mistake. 

Nothing about OU’s offense was perfect, or even good, for a majority of the game, but Hawkins didn’t turn the ball over and gave his defense a chance to flip the game. 

Crucial Bye

The conversations around Oklahoma would have been dark had the Sooners dropped a second-straight game leading into the bye week. 

Morale will be high following the escape from Jordan-Hare, but there are still plenty of issues the Sooners have to fix. 

Only time will help the health situation at wide receiver, but the offense has to find a way to run the ball effectively to give Hawkins a chance through the air — especially as No. 1 Texas looms in the Cotton Bowl. 

The Sooners got right tackle Jake Taylor back against Auburn, which is just the second game he was able to play all year, and Bill Bedenbaugh’s offensive line was finally full strength. 

Another week of first team reps will only get Hawkins more comfortable in the offense, and he’ll need an excellent showing in his second start to emerge victorious in a likely-top 20 bout against the Longhorns.