Oklahoma Knocks Off Lincoln Riley and USC To Punch Their Ticket To Miami
Boone Tillman // Sooner Born • Published: January 10th, 2030
For the first time in nearly 30 years, the Oklahoma Sooners are National Championship bound after an electric 38-28 win over the USC Trojans and former Sooners' head coach Lincoln Riley. Despite two interceptions by Cole Welliver, only six plays from Oscar Robledo, and a frantic comeback attempt by Tavien St. Clair, the Sooners rode the combination of Terrance Butcher and Isaac Adcock to victory.
Oscar Robledo opened the game in the backfield for the Oklahoma Sooners and collected five carries on the opening drive, after a USC three-and-out started the contest, for 42 yards, but after coming up once again clutching his ankle things quickly fell apart for the Sooners. Cole Welliver was intercepted on third-and-seven trying to find Iosefa Topa on a crossing route and the early scoring threat fizzled out for Oklahoma.
Welliver rebounded on his second drive, despite the continued absence of Oscar Robledo, hitting Ja'Kayden Ferguson on a post to open the scoring in the second quarter with the 18-yard touchdown. Another stalled drive for the Trojans, who had collected only one first down to that point, turned into another touchdown drive by Cole Welliver as the Sooners looked poised to start pulling away.
Then, Tavien St. Clair and the Trojans offense kicked it into overdrive, mixing in the no-huddle as they quickly marched the length of the field before Isaiah Devore caught his own post, then shook off FS Nathan Tilmon to jet into the end zone for the 24-yard score to cut the lead back to seven.
Welliver's final drive of the first half ended with his second interception, but the Trojans didn't have enough time to manufacture any points out of the turnover, leaving the game sitting at 14-7 going into the break.
Oklahoma opened the second half with the ball and while the drive would march 13 plays and 49 yards, the most impactful play wasn't the eventual 35-yard field goal, but the player they lost in its wake. Oscar Robledo would return for the second half, his ankle heavily taped, but would only last one more run—a blistering 22-yard scamper that jumpstarted the second half for the Sooners. At the tail end of the electric run, Robledo planted hard on his injured ankle in an attempt to evade a Trojan defender, and quickly hit the deck. He would leave the field on his own power, albeit with a heavy limp, but would not return to the field again.
To make matters worse, USC quickly launched a counter-attack with Ben Romero slashing in from 18-yards out just four plays later, cutting the Sooners' lead to a meager three points.
With no Oscar Robledo and Cole Welliver's early interception struggles, Coach Leon turned to the reserves, Terrance Butcher and Isaac Adcock, to carry them home. And boy did they ever.
Butcher tallied 30 of his 84 yards in the pivotal fourth quarter, while all 88 of Adcock's yards came in the same frame, as the duo combined for three touchdowns to stave off a late rally from St. Clair and the Trojans to hold onto the 38-28 victory. When the Jet Award winner Adcock split the Trojans' special teams with a 76-yard touchdown that pushed the score to 38-14, it felt like the game was over.
Credit to St. Clair, who executed a pair of snappy touchdown drives to keep the pressure on the Sooners, but in the end they simply ran out of time.
•••
Question One - Meg Semental (SEC Network): "Coach, Tavien St. Clair and the Trojans had widespread success when they went to the no-huddle offense at the end of the second half, yet did not escalate the tempo again until they were trailing 38-14 in the fourth quarter. Did that decision surprise you, and what about their no-huddle attack left your defense backpedaling?"
Armando Leon: "We went into the half preparing to see that no-huddle for the majority of the second half, Meg, so it was a big surprise when they came back out and didn't press the issue. The problem with their no-huddle is we substitute a lot and with the amount of speed they have, you can only chase them around for so long until you're winded. Without being able to substitute and getting stuck in the wrong personnel formations, they exploited it. I don't think it's a stretch to say that if they had kept up that same pace for the whole game, it could be an entirely different result."
Question Two - Laura Rutledge (ESPN): "Coach Leon, Oscar Robledo only touched the ball six times in the game. Early on, it looked like Cole Welliver was finally starting to crack under the pressure. How much did it mean to this team for both Terrance Butcher and Isaac Adcock to step up in such a big way with the game on the line?"
Armando Leon: "It's the old adage, next man up. Terrance has quietly been the steady presence behind Oscar all season, he's got nearly 1,000 yards in his own right, so when it came time to do some grown man shit, he was ready. Same goes to Isaac. Without Oscar we missed some of that sizzle out of the backfield, since Butch is more of a power runner, and he came in and provided that extra spark. That, and he showed why he won the Jet this year. Without that punt return, they're right in this game until the end. It's little plays like that, that help win championships."
Question Three - Ryan Parker (Big Ten Network): "Coach Leon, Tavien St. Clair was able to exploit more than a few holes in your defense on his way to 329 passing yards, three touchdowns, and an 85% completion percentage, but never used his legs. Was that the game plan, make him one-dimensional and bet on your unit to make enough big stops to keep them at bay?"
Armando Leon: "100%, Ryan. It's no secret my defenses have lived and died by the big play at times during my career. We wanted to flip the script tonight. Tavien is too talented to give him opportunities to get the juices flowing with a few big plays, so the game plan was keep everything in front of us, including St. Clair, and just make them earn every yard. They got some, but ultimately, not enough to get what matters most: the win."
•••
The Sooners are heading back to the National Championship, Lincoln "Two-Faced" Riley is heading home, and it turns out we may have known what we were doing with the Leon hire, even if it did fall into our laps.
The worry here is Oscar Robledo, he's been hobbled since an electric four-touchdown performance in the SEC Championship Game and you have to wonder how much, if anything, he has left in the tank. Don't get me wrong, Butch and Adcock filled the void admirably, but if the opposing team knows Oscar is potentially out for the National Championship, their game planning just got significantly easier.
For now, we wait. Missouri and Miami play tomorrow, knowing that the victor earns a showdown against the Sooners. Will it be the Miami Hurricanes, with home-field advantage behind them, that await in the National Championship, or a Missouri team looking to avenge a 49-17 beatdown in Norman earlier this year?
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| USC | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Oklahoma | 0 | 14 | 3 | 21 | 38 |
| Q | Team | Time | Play | USC | Oklahoma |
| 2nd | Oklahoma | 9:55 | Ja'Kayden Ferguson, 18 Yd Pass From Cole Welliver | 0 | 7 |
| 2nd | Oklahoma | 5:58 | Trynae Washington, 20 Yd Pass From Cole Welliver | 0 | 14 |
| 2nd | USC | 5:58 | Isaiah Devoe, 24 Yd Pass From Tavien St. Clair | 7 | 14 |
| 3rd | Oklahoma | 3:45 | Brian Rowe, 35 Yd FG | 7 | 17 |
| 3rd | USC | 1:23 | Ben Romero, 18 Yd Run | 14 | 17 |
| 4th | Oklahoma | 8:14 | Terrance Butcher, 3 Yd Run | 14 | 24 |
| 4th | Oklahoma | 7:18 | Isaac Adcock, Returned Punt 76 Yds | 14 | 31 |
| 4th | USC | 5:41 | Rico Vellano, 23 Yd Pass From Tavien St. Clair | 21 | 31 |
| 4th | Oklahoma | 2:37 | Isaac Adcock, 5 Yd Run | 21 | 38 |
| 4th | USC | 1:27 | Rico Vellano, 9 Yd Pass From Tavien St. Clair | 28 | 38 |
USC Oklahoma Passing | Stats Passing | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Tavien St. Clair | 24/28, 329 Yds, 3 TD Cole Welliver | 26/33, 226 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing | Stats Rushing | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Ben Romero | 12 Att, 83 Yds, TD Terrance Butcher | 13 Att, 84 Yds, TD Tavien St. Clair | 2 Att, -10 Yds Isaac Adcock | 10 Att, 88 Yds, TD Receiving | Stats Receiving | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ Jordan Cantrell | 8 Rec, 89 Yds Iosefa Topa | 6 Rec, 62 Yds Rico Vellano | 4 Rec, 52 Yds, TD Ja'Kayden Ferguson | 4 Rec, 60 Yds, TD Isaiah Devoe | 2 Rec, 42 Yds, TD Trynae Washington | 4 Rec, 45 Yds, TD Defensive | Stats Defensive | Stats ----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------ FS Colton Hepburn | 12 Tkl, TFL MLB Kyle Brink | 11 Tkl, 4 TFL MLB Barry Morrison | 9 Tkl, INT DE Greg Foxworth | 4 Tkl, 2 TFL, Sack LB Evan Coffey | 3 Tkl, INT MLB Alan Breckner | 4 Tkl, 2 TFL
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