Three Quick Takeaways From Oklahoma's Bedlam Loss

Though there were plenty of opportunities, the Sooners offense couldn't put away the game in the second half in Stillwater.

STILLWATER — For the first time in six years, there will be a new Big 12 Champion.

The No. 7-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys battled back from an early third quarter hole to beat the No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners 37-33, exercising some Bedlam demons.

The vaunted Cowboy defense was shredded in the first half, but they made great halftime adjustments and controlled the game in the second half, locking the clamps in on OU’s offense.

Oklahoma is now in a spot they haven’t been since the Big 12 Championship Game returned, as they’ll watch the Cowboys and the Baylor Bears from the couch next week while they wait to learn their bowl fate.

Offense Stalls in Second Half

After putting up 24 first half points, the Oklahoma offense looked hapless for large stretches of the second half.

Right out of the locker room, the Sooners essentially got a nine point lead off the foot of punter Michael Turk, but the offense couldn’t do anything with it to push the game out of reach.

OU picked up eight total yards on the ensuing four possessions after the defense handed the Sooners a 26-24 lead early in the second half, running a total of 7:38 off the clock.

All told, the Sooners only gained 180 yards after halftime, with a large chunk of that coming on Caleb Williams’ miracle 56-yard run. Through the air, Williams was held to a dismal 7-of-18 passing for 48 yards through the air.

Oklahoma State’s offense had plenty of success when they weren’t turning the ball over, and the OU defense succumbed to a lopsided second half time of possession battle for the second time in three weeks.

Lincoln Riley has been accurate in saying that the team has been “close” all season long to putting it all together, but their inability to play complimentary football is the difference in being a good 10-2 team and a great 11-1 team headed to a Big 12 Championship Game.

Spencer Sanders Shreds OU

Spencer Sanders’ turnover problems reared their ugly head in the second and third quarter, the only negative on an otherwise electric outing by the Cowboy quarterback.

At times it looked like the OU defense had no answer for Sanders, who completed 19-of-31 passes for 214 yards and one touchdowns.

Just like against Baylor’s Gerry Bohanon, the backbreaking plays for the Sooner defense came from Sanders’ feet.

Sanders led the Cowboys with 93 rushing yards, punching in a 37-yard touchdown drive at the start of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit back to just two points, more importantly gettin the Oklahoma State faithful back in the game by swinging the momentum fully in OSU’s favor.

The pair of interceptions Sanders threw will be quickly forgotten, and he snapped OSU’s six-game Bedlam losing streak and ensured the Sooners couldn’t dash Cowboy dreams of their first Big 12 Championship since 2011.

Special Teams Bury the Sooners

Oklahoma’s punt game continues to be the lone positive for OU Special Teams.

Turk’s first two punts of the second half delivered OU nine points. His first punt was downed inside the 5-yard line setting up a safety, and his second punt was muffed and Justin Broiles fell on the ball for a touchdown.

Otherwise, the Sooners were dismal.

In the first half, OU gave up a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to Brennan Presley. Even when the Cowboys weren’t taking kickoffs to the house, they consistently got great returns, and won the field position battle as a result.

Then, with 9:43 left in the game, disaster struck.

Eric Gray tried to call for a fair catch of Tom Hutton’s punt on his own 5-yard line, and he muffed a punt of his own.

Demarco Jones recovered the punt for Oklahoma State, setting up Jaylen Warren’s go-ahead touchdown run, giving Oklahoma State the Bedlam victory.

With no dedicated Special Teams coordinator, Riley will have plenty of questions to answer in the offseason about the often forgotten third side of the football. 

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