Game Recap: UCF

We survived. A win is a win. That is all that matters. This was an ugly game that I wasn't convinced we would win. We won it and are now guaranteed a winning season. Now that we have all breathed and relaxed, let's talk about what we just watched.

Photo credit to The Oklahoman.

1st Quarter

The Oklahoma offense faced the 120th-best rushing defense in college football this year in UCF. And in this quarter, we could not run the ball. 12 rushes for 23 yards, averaging just under two yards per carry. Not a good showing by our offensive line. On top of that, while Dillon Gabriel was pretty consistent through the air, he didn't have much protection. Jalil Farooq did everything he could to contribute early but couldn't do too much. Nic Anderson was the offensive MVP of this quarter. He caught a touchdown pass on his first reception of the game. At this point, his last two catches were touchdowns. One against Texas, one against UCF.

The defense put on a masterclass of football in the first quarter. They forced a three-and-out on the first four drives of the game against the fourth-best offense and only one first down (the last play of the quarter). They achieved nothing against the ground and had nowhere to throw. Despite how the rest of the game went, this quarter defensively was a thing of beauty.

I will dedicate an entire paragraph to the (lack of a) kicking game. The final score of this game was 31-29. We had to shut down a two-point conversion to keep the game from going to overtime. We attempted and missed two field goals in the first quarter. At that point, we had missed three in a row (one late against Texas two weeks ago and one today). At some point, our poor kicking game will cost us a game. It almost did today. We need to do everything we can to get a better kicking game going.

Score at the end of this quarter: 7-0 OU

2nd Quarter

The offense wasn't bad in this quarter. We punted on the quarter's first drive but scored on the next two. The score was what it was at the end of the quarter because of the defense. But we'll get to that in a minute. The last two drives of the first half were absolutely beautiful. We were dominating through the air with another touchdown to Nic Anderson and a drive that would've ended in six points if we hadn't run out of time. Dillon Gabriel started making questionable decisions in the air attack, though. He threw it into coverage more times than needed and was lucky not to turn it over.

The defense fell apart in the second quarter, which can (partly) be attributed to one decision made by Jaren Kanak. UCF broke a 54-yard run that went to the OU one-yard line, and we almost had another goal-line stand. We shut them down on third and goal at the one, and looked like we were going to stop them again before Jaren Kanak got himself an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gave UCF a first down. They scored on the next play and dominated OU's defense for the rest of the quarter. OU was doing everything they could defensively, but UCF kept pulling out gadget plays that the Sooners weren't ready for. UCF scored on every drive of the second quarter.

Score at the end of this quarter: 17-17, tie game.

3rd Quarter

There's no other way to put it. UCF dominated the OU offense in the third quarter. On the first drive, Drake Stoops dropped a pass that hit him in the chest and was intercepted. We didn't even cross the 50-yard in the third quarter. Our offensive line completely fell apart. Gabriel had no protection, and the run game was finding absolutely nothing. On top of this, Dillon Gabriel continued making questionable decisions through the air. It was a frustrating quarter in which the offense was shut out.

While the defense didn't have a great third quarter, what the defense did in the third quarter is a big reason OU won the game. The defense remembered their bend but don't break ways from the past few games and started stopping the offense. UCF kept getting deep into OU territory but never sniffed the endzone. The first drive UCF had in the second half was technically a three-and-out, but they were already in field goal range because of the interception. Had UCF scored touchdowns on their drives where they were deep in OU territory, OU wouldn't have stood a chance at winning this game. Instead of 23-17 UCF at the end of the quarter, it would've been 31-17.

Score at the end of this quarter: 23-17 UCF.

4th Quarter

Last year, the fourth quarter was, statistically speaking, the worst quarter for OU. This year, it has been one of the best. I don't know what Brent Venables and Bill Bedenbaugh told the offense before the quarter started, but they dominated most of the fourth quarter. The running game finally found life. The offensive line started teaching UCF who was boss. Gavin Freeman finally broke lose for the first time this season. This was a completely different ball game in the fourth quarter for OU, and I was quite happy because of it. Dillon Gabriel calmed down and started throwing more consistent, sure-fire passes that gained extra yardage. Not to mention, Drake Stoops coming up clutch on play after play. This was a dominant fourth quarter for the Sooners offensively.

The defense both won the game and almost lost us the game in the fourth quarter. Despite not playing for most of the game, Peyton Bowen came up huge for a sack on third down. He knocked the QB into next month. UCF's first two drives of the fourth quarter (not including punts) had seven plays for 9 yards. Given that we answered both drives with touchdowns, this was huge for us. In this way, the defense won the game in the fourth quarter. Jump to the last drive of the game. UCF had it third and 15 at their own 30-yard line, and Billy Bowman, being two steps out of place, allowed a 40-yard completion. Later in the drive, UCF had it fourth and 10 at the OU 12-yard line, and a UCF receiver came open for a touchdown—two-point game. Billy Bowman redeemed himself by shutting down the receiver on a double pass attempt on the two-point conversion attempt, and Kendal Dolby came up with a sack. Two-point conversion denied. Austin Stogner recovered a very close onside kick, and the game was over. Overall, it was a really good second half for the Oklahoma Defense.

Final Score: 31-29 OU.

Observations

• The offensive line needs a lot of work. There's no other way to put it. They had a breakout game against Texas and had a major regression today.

• The defense wasn't bad today. A couple of broken plays made UCF's stats look better than UCF performed.

• Andrel Anthony is seriously missed on the offense. The threat alone of throwing to him in the last few games helped other receivers come open.

• Nic Anderson is a dawg. He is a monster. He is emerging as one of the best receivers in the country.

• Gavin Sawchuck isn't what we thought he would be this year. But maybe he emerged as a potential #2 back behind Tawee Walker for the game against Kansas?

• Dillon Gabriel needs to calm down in these high-stakes scenarios. You could tell he was trying to do too much today.

• The punter who replaced Plaster today is seriously good. Why he hasn't been punting all year is beyond me.

• Brent Venables learned from his mistakes in the second half and fourth quarter last year. I trust him in any game in the fourth quarter.

• The work Jerry Schmidt has done with our team is such a blessing. One of the main reasons we won this game today is because of how physical our team was. UCF was exhausted by the end of the game.

Key Players

• Nic Anderson: Five receptions, 105 yards, two touchdowns.

• Gavin Sawchuck: 10 Rushes, 63 yards, one touchdown.

• Trace Ford: Two tackles, two tackles for loss, two pass deflections.

• Dillon Gabriel: 25-38, 253 yards, three touchdowns, one interception.

• Drake Stoops: Seven catches, 60 yards, one touchdown.

Other Stats

• Offense: 25-38, 253 yards, 6.7 yards per pass, three touchdowns, one interception. 46 runs, 189 yards, 4.1 yards per carry, one touchdown. 7-16 on third down, 1-1 on fourth down, 30 total first downs.

• Defense: 4/16 on third down, 1-1 on fourth down, allowed 8.3 yards per pass and 3.6 yards per run—20 total first downs.

This game was the wake-up call we needed. We made it through the Red River hangover with a win. This game (hopefully) brought OU back down to Earth and showed them what they need to do to win out, make it to the Big 12 championship, and potentially the College Football Playoff. Boomer Sooner!