Sooners Renew Historic Rivalry With Equally Historic Beatdown
Boone Tillman // Sooner Born • Published: September 1st, 2029
When you spend the entire offseason talking as much as this Oklahoma Sooners team and coaching staff did, you have to christen the season with a beating so diabolical even the home team is yelling "They're already dead!" And Coach Leon and Co. did exactly that, leaving the Oklahoma State Cowboys wondering if they should have agreed to renew the 'Bedlam Series' after a 45-3 beatdown that unbelievably, looked worse than the final score would indicate.
The Oklahoma State offense didn't have a first down until their final drive of the 1st half, already trailing 21-0, and somehow the most impactful drive of the contest for the Cowboys, was also their most tragic. Andrew Alford was 2/10 for 8 yards prior to the final drive of the half, finally getting into a rhythm in the two-minute drill as he was a perfect 6/6 on the drive for 73 yards as the Cowboys finally entered the red zone. But a first-down sack turned disastrous for the OK State offense, as the senior QB came up clutching his back before being helped off the field. Backup LaMichael Jamerson threw two straight incompletions and the Cowboys settled for a field goal.
Just like that, any momentum they'd started to steal from the Sooners went out the window quicker than a tornado rips through a trailer park. The Cowboys would only manage three more first downs throughout the entire contest as the Sooners took the 21-3 lead at the half and turned it into a 45-3 bloodbath.
The story will be about the dominant performance of the Sooners defense—who collected seven sacks, 15 tackles for loss, and two turnovers in the contest—but I think the bigger story is the offense.
Yes, they moved the ball. Yes, Cole Welliver was overall very efficient. And yes, Oscar Robledo was as good as billed. Yet, they still had two miscues in the red zone with a dropped 4th-down conversion early and a red zone interception midway through the 2nd quarter, not counting AJ Hatchett's late interception in garbage time. Those are the type of mistakes that have always killed the Sooners in close contests late in the season against the best-of-the-best in the SEC. To see those mistakes already showing up in Week 1, against Oklahoma State? Let's just say I'm concerned, to say the least.
Coach Leon acknowledged the miscues and pledged he and Jerry Mack were determined to fix them in the post-game press conference.
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Question One - James McDavid (OU Daily): "Coach Leon, great win to open the season and reassert the Sooners' dominance in the rivalry. That being said, I think I speak for all Sooners fans with my question. In years past, offensive miscues have plagued the Sooners in close contests and here again in Week 1, they rear their ugly head with two miscues in the red zone in the 1st half. What are you and the coaching staff going to do to address those issues before they turn into another thorn in our side?"
Armando Leon: "One thing Coach Mack and I worked closely together on this offseason was being selectively aggressive. I have the utmost faith in my own defense, and I think judging by the performance we put out on that field today you can understand why. So we're going to use that to our advantage. I'm always going to try and get more points, period. That being said, we've got to be smarter about where those plays are going. On the failed 4th-down conversion, the route wasn't run deep enough. That's a simple mistake. On the interception, just a miscommunication. Cole thought Ja'Kayden was going to sit on the option, instead he kept moving towards the pylon. Those are the type of things that come together more as the season progresses. But if I'm being honest, you want those type of things to happen now so they can be addressed by Coach Mack and myself, then buried. I'd much rather be talking about a few miscues now in a 45-3 blowout, instead of a loss to Oregon next week. Trust me, we'll make the adjustments."
Question Two - Hank Oiler (The O'Colly): "Coach, it looked like early on with Andrew in the game, you were content to sit back and react to the passing game, but once LaMichael came in, you were more aggressive with sending the blitz and trying to throw him off-balance. Was that a planned switch, or just reacting to the personnel on the field?"
Armando Leon: "First off, let me say I hope Andrew is back on his feet soon. You never want to see a young man get hurt, rival or not. But yes, we adjusted with the change of quarterback. Andrew has some serious wheels, but not as much zip on the ball. We were content to contain him in the pocket with a light blitz, knowing we'd have time to jump the routes. Aside from that final drive, we executed. LaMichael has more zip on the ball, so we wanted to get more pressure on him, force him into some split-second decisions, and hope he made the wrong ones. We got five sacks on LaMichael, forced a fumble on a scramble, and snagged an interception late. So I think both game plans worked as intended."
Question Three - Angus Summerall (SEC Network): "You made waves yesterday with the bold proclamation that the Oklahoma Sooners would return to the College Football Playoff this season. Is there any worry on your part that will put a bigger target on your back and end up being a check too big for your team to cash?"
Armando Leon: "You must not be familiar with my game, Angus. I've talked big everywhere I went and I've backed it up with winning. I'll bring my resume next post-game for you to review, if you'd like. But to clarify, I don't consider that a 'bold' guarantee. This is what we've prepared to do since Day 1. Every team opens the season with hopes that they'll make the CFP. We don't hope over here, we expect it. That display of power you saw on the field tonight, dominating the trenches and moving bodies? Expect that all season."
•••
First off, love the confidence. That's what you need to survive the gauntlet of the SEC. Now, his boys have to back that up and prove they're as tough as their coach is. The early returns say they are, but I'm not entirely sold.
He can say all he wants they'll take the mistakes now, rather than later, but any Sooner fan worth his salt can tell you, once they start they usually never stop. This isn't a one-time problem for Cole Welliver, at this point it is who he is. The only question is, will the coaching staff be able to game-plan around that, or fall into the same trap as their predecessors?
The running game was punishing, the defense was as visceral as we expected. If Coach Mack and Leon can figure out the Cole Welliver conundrum, he may not be far off on his Playoffs prediction. But until I see it in the flesh, I ain't buying it.
The stakes are only raised next week when the team makes a trip to Autzen to face the Oregon Ducks. We'll find out then, for better or worse, if this team is really as tough as they claim they are.
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| Oklahoma State | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Oklahoma | 14 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 45 |
| Q | Team | Time | Play | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma |
| 1st | Oklahoma | 3:14 | Oscar Robledo, 11 Yd Pass From Cole Welliver | 0 | 7 |
| 1st | Oklahoma | 1:10 | Iosefa Topa, 34 Yd Pass From Cole Welliver | 0 | 14 |
| 2nd | Oklahoma | 4:04 | Oscar Robledo, 35 Yd Run | 0 | 21 |
| 2nd | Oklahoma State | 0:00 | John Bautista, 28 Yd FG | 3 | 21 |
| 3rd | Oklahoma | 5:44 | Isaac Adcock, 1 Yd Run | 3 | 28 |
| 3rd | Oklahoma | 1:16 | Brian Rowe, 36 Yd FG | 3 | 31 |
| 4th | Oklahoma | 9:48 | Dom Ivory, Returned Fumble 32 Yds | 3 | 38 |
| 4th | Oklahoma | 3:27 | Ja'Kayden Ferguson, 10 Yd Pass From AJ Hatchett | 3 | 45 |
Oklahoma State Oklahoma Passing | Stats Passing | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Andrew Alford | 8/16, 81 Yds Cole Welliver | 16/21, 205 Yds, 2 TD, INT LaMichael Jamerson | 6/8, 76 Yds, INT AJ Hatchett | 8/13, 67 Yds, TD, INT Rushing | Stats Rushing | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ DJ Dugar Jr | 10 Att, 22 Yds Oscar Robledo | 14 Att, 129 Yds, TD LaMarcus Kalis | 5 Att, 25 Yds Terrance Butcher | 6 Att, 44 Yds LaMichael Jamerson | 7 Att, -32 Yds Isaac Adcock | 3 Att, 11 Yds, TD Receiving | Stats Receiving | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Miles Talbot | 4 Rec, 60 Yds Elijah Thomas | 5 Rec, 85 Yds Desmond Sweat | 3 Rec, 20 Yds Ja'Kayden Ferguson | 4 Rec, 21 Yds, TD Royal Capell | 2 Rec, 20 Yds Iosefa Topa | 3 Rec, 50 Yds, TD Defensive | Stats Defensive | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ LB Eric Sabri | 8 TKl, TFL, 2 INT MLB Kyle Brink | 13 Tkl, 4 TFL, Sack, FF DT Nico Spann | 2 Tkl, 2 TFL DT Karlos Vigil | 4 Tkl, 2 TFL, 2 Sacks DE Jimmy Cannida | Tkl, TFL, Sack DE Leon Britt | 6 Tkl, 2 TFL, 2 Sacks
SEC Week One Results
24 #5 Auburn @ North Carolina 21
45 #11 Missouri @ Cal 24
42 #1 Georgia @ #15 Oregon 28
23 Mississippi State @ #3 Miami 31
21 Arizona @ Kentucky 42
37 #10 Texas A&M @ #13 Clemson 35
25 Boston College @ Vanderbilt 31
38 #16 NC State (0-1) @ #7 Tennessee 44
16 Northern Illinois @ #14 Ole Miss 45
3 FCS @ Florida 59
0 FCS @ #4 LSU 63
17 Arkansas @ #9 Ohio State 38
10 FCS @ Alabama 48
7 FCS @ South Carolina 31
38 #6 Texas @ #2 Duke 50
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