Sooner magic. That is my only explanation for why Oklahoma won that game. Sooner magic. In a game where Oklahoma was not just beaten but dominated in almost every measurable category, they found a way to come out with a 27-21 victory. So what happened? Let's get into it.
1st Quarter
The Oklahoma offense couldn't have gotten off to a better start. A first down pass on the game's first play for Oklahoma, followed shortly by a 48-yard touchdown run by Michael Hawkins. The hope that drive gave, however, was short-lived. Oklahoma would not earn a first down for the rest of the first quarter. Despite Michael Hawkins showing an accurate arm and electric speed, the entire first quarter gameplan seemingly revolved around Jovantae Barnes, for whom the Auburn defense was prepared. Michael Hawkins delivered a beautiful pass to Bauer Sharp toward the end of the quarter, but an offensive pass interference called it back. Because of the refusal to throw the ball, Oklahoma could not move the ball in the first quarter. One wonders what the first quarter might have looked like if we let Michael Hawkins use his arm, especially with what we saw as the game progressed.
The defense in the first quarter was both great and alarming. Two of Auburn's three first-quarter drives went three-and-out, netting a loss of two yards on each drive. We also got a goal-line stand again! We did allow Auburn to move the ball at will for a bit, though. We learned that Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman are proving they're still two of the best players on our defense. Stutsman had an amazing run stop on the second play of the game. Billy Bowman blew up a screen in a violent fashion on the first play and lit up Auburn's backup quarterback when he tried to run it in on fourth and goal at the one. That's two years in a row where Billy Bowman has stuffed a player on fourth and goal. As great as the defense looked for much of the first quarter, the rest of the half didn’t provide the same level of confidence.
Score at the end of this quarter: 7-0 OU
2nd Quarter
Oklahoma's offense looked slightly worse in the second quarter. It was a similar production that most of the first quarter had but without any magical 48-yard touchdown runs. Michael Hawkins went 3-4 for 25 yards and a first down in the first quarter, yet the game plan revolved around Barnes. Don't get me wrong, I love Jovantae Barnes. He is a great runner who can plow his way through defenders. The problem is the Auburn defense was predicting we wouldn't want to throw the ball, and they were right. When the entire defense is keyed in on one player (Jovantae Barnes in this case), and you almost exclusively give that player the ball, it is difficult to find any success on offense. This first-half playcalling continued to elevate my confusion about why Seth Littrell remains our playcaller. On one hand, you have a quarterback making good reads, throwing the ball with accuracy, and running rampant. On the other hand, you have a running back who can't get through the defense because the defense is focusing on him. There should be a clear solution as to where the ball should go. Should be.
The defense in the second quarter was… lacking. Primarily through the air. Payton Thorne, who has had issues with accuracy all season, seemingly could not miss. Our secondary was slow off the snap and couldn’t find the ball in the air. The first touchdown pass Thorne threw could have been deflected or picked off if Dez Malone had turned around and tracked the ball on the next drive. Thorne hit a bomb down the field for yet another touchdown. On Auburn’s final drive of the half, they made it deep into the red zone. We forced them into a “fire drill” field goal attempt, but gave them a second attempt because we had too many players on the field. Thankfully, Auburn missed their second attempt. The defense’s inability to get off the field on third down, getting gashed by the run, and allowing wide open receivers every other play allowed Auburn to jump ahead. We went from “bend but don’t break” to completely broken..
Score at the end of this quarter: 14-7 Auburn
3rd Quarter
The offense in the third quarter gave me hope. Could we come back? Could we make this a good game? The offense showed a semblance of life. Perhaps the best play of the quarter was on our one scoring drive of the fourth quarter. In the middle of the 11-play drive, on 2nd and 18, Michael Hawkins scrambled right, found J.J. Hester wide open, and put the ball right on the money on the run. It couldn't have been a better throw. This drive also ended in profound disappointment. When you have the ball first and goal at the two, you expect to score a touchdown, not kick a field goal. Given how that drive ended and how the next drive ended (in the fourth quarter), the hope, as mentioned earlier, was dashed.
Auburn had the ball only twice in the third quarter, with their second drive ending in the fourth quarter. Our defense began to figure out some of the issues they experienced in the first half, but there was no consistent pressure on the quarterback. The only thing of note from the third quarter was Payton Thorne missing a wide-open Cam Coleman on third down, for what would’ve been a walk-in touchdown.
Score at the end of this quarter: 14-10 Auburn
4th Quarter
Make no mistake. The defense won the game for us in the fourth quarter, but the offense certainly didn't hurt our chances as the game progressed. The quarter started terribly, with Michael Hawkins taking a sack on fourth down, trailing 21-10. Things looked bleak. But following a missed field goal by Auburn, Michael Hawkins made one of the best offensive plays of the year to this point: a 60-yard bomb to J.J. Hester, hitting him perfectly in stride over the shoulder. You couldn't have handed the ball to him in a better spot. A touchdown run by Jovantae Barnes reignited our hope. When the defense gave Oklahoma the lead and then forced a turnover on downs, we would've liked to have seen the offense put the game away. They weren't able to, but they were able to put Zach Schmidt in position to kick a field goal to make it a six-point game, which proved to be enough. This was our best quarter of offensive football, and it helped us win the game. It wasn't great. But it was enough.
Oklahoma’s fourth-quarter defense was the epitome of a chef’s kiss on the football field. After Auburn scored early in the fourth, Oklahoma reimplemented their bend-but-don’t-break philosophy. When the offense failed to move the ball, the defense forced Auburn’s unreliable kicker into a long field goal attempt, which was missed. The next drive, after an Oklahoma touchdown, Kip Lewis decided he had enough of Payton Thorne. A perfectly disguised coverage forced Thorne to throw it right to Kip Lewis, who took it back for six. On the next drive, R Mason Thomas decided he was ready to go home. Back-to-back sacks for Thomas on third and fourth down let the Tiger faithful know their offensive success was gone. This was the second time in three games R Mason Thomas decided he was done dealing with the other team and decided to end it right then and there. A well-disguised pressure on the following drive allowed Robert Spears-Jennings to smack Thorne and make the Hail Mary attempt even more unlikely to succeed. The fourth-quarter defense is why we won this game.
Final Score: 27-21 OU
Observations
If Brent Venables would let Michael Hawkins throw the ball, we would've scored at least 35 points in that game. Imagine what he'll be like with healthy wide receivers.
Michael Hawkins can FLY.
Our offensive line is getting better. They're far from where they need to be. But they're getting better.
If R Mason Thomas keeps up his current pace, he could play himself into the NFL draft this year.
Kip Lewis will go in the first round of the draft in 2026.
Our secondary needs to remember they can look for the ball AND cover receivers.
J.J. Hester stepped up when we needed him. He should be given a role moving forward.
Our tight ends are both valuable assets and penalty-committing drive-killers.
Key Players
Kip Lewis: Five tackles, four solo, one tackle for loss, one interception, one touchdown.
R Mason Thomas: Four tackles, three solo, two sacks.
Robert Spears-Jennings: Six tackles, four solo, one sack, one pass deflection.
Michael Hawkins Jr: 10-15, 161 yards, 14 rushes, 69 yards, one touchdown.
J.J. Hester: Three catches, 86 yards.
Bauer Sharp: Four catches, 43 yards.
Trace Ford: Five tackles, four solo, one tackle for loss.
Other Stats
Offense: 10-15, 161 yards, 10.7 yards per pass, no touchdowns, no interceptions. 32 rushes, 130 yards, 4.1 yards per rush. 2-11 on third down, 0-1 on fourth down, 11 total first downs.
Defense: 4-14 on third down, 2-4 on fourth down, 10.6 yards per pass, and 3.3 yards per run—26 first downs.
Once again, it's Sooner Magic. I have no idea how we pulled that out, but wow, am I happy that we did. Now, the Sooners have two weeks to get healthy and prepared for our biggest game of the season to this point: Texas. Enjoy the week off, celebrate the win, hate Texas, and enjoy this win. Boomer!
All stats above courtesy of ESPN.
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