🏈 Wrapping up OU-Iowa State

Oklahoma topped Iowa State on Saturday to close its home schedule.

Nov 22, 2021

✌🏽 Happy Monday, friends. Let’s ride.

Oklahoma defensive lineman Jalen Redmond (31) picks up a fumble ahead of Iowa State offensive lineman Jarrod Hufford (54) during the first half of a game Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021, in Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

💭 Final thoughts

Oklahoma followed its first loss of the season with a gritty 28-21 win over Iowa State on Saturday.

Much like the September Sooners, OU (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) won with defense, while its offense failed to find its footing for a second consecutive week.

A few final thoughts on the Sooners’ victory:

The things that went right

Oklahoma’s defense had one of its best performances of the Alex Grinch era. Against a talented Iowa State team, the Sooners had a season-high seven sacks, four forced fumbles, two interceptions and one fumble recovery that turned into six. The Sooners also held the Cyclones' All-American running back, Breece Hall, to 58 yards rushing on 19 carries. From its pass rush to containing Hall, OU’s defense delivered in a must-win game. The Sooners’ defensive unit wasn’t all that bad against Baylor either. But between Jalen Redmond’s thick six™️ and Pat Fields’ game-saving interception, Grinch’s group ensured their effort wouldn’t go to waste back-to-back weeks.
Kennedy Brooks and the OU rushing attack also ensured an OU victory. The Sooners ran for 209 yards on 34 attempts. Kennedy Brooks led the way with 115 yards on 17 carries. Eric Gray had 23 yards and one TD on four carries. The Sooners have seemingly lost sight of their run game at times, but they were the catalyst for a 68-yard, 6-play drive in the fourth quarter that lasted all of 2:20 and put the Sooners ahead 28-14. It’s not the least bit surprising that OU had success running the ball. It’s just been a matter of getting them involved, and good things happened when OU finally placed more of an emphasis on Brooks and Gray on Saturday.
The way a quarterback takes care of their offensive line, the OU defense should collectively take good care of OU punter Michael Turk. The former Sun Devil has made a significant impact on OU’s 2021 campaign with his ability to flip the field. Turk had six punts against Iowa State, averaging 54.8 yards and pinning Iowa State inside its own 20-yard line three times. The defense’s success on Saturday was predicated on getting to Brock Purdy and forcing him to make mistakes. But Turk played just as big of a role, putting OU’s defense in position for success.

The things that went wrong

So, what’s up with Caleb Williams? Is his hand still bothering him? Maybe the shoulder he dinged on Saturday was worse than we thought? Is he just regressing to the mean? Whatever it is, Williams hasn’t been the quarterback he was in October. He threw for 87 yards on 8-of-18 passing. If not for a 74-yard touchdown run on OU's second offensive snap against Iowa State, it would have been a completely abysmal day for the freshman. The Sooner defense seems to be clicking at just the right time, but it won’t matter if Williams can’t figure out how to get this offense back to where it was a few weeks ago.
The Cyclones had a chance to tie the game with less than a minute remaining. OU’s defense prevented Iowa State from forcing overtime — or worse, scoring and then going for two. Both units deserve some blame. OU’s offense failed to do more with the opportunities the defense presented it on Saturday. And yeah, the defense could have maybe not let Iowa State TE Charlie Kolar get whatever he wanted in the fourth quarter. The Sooners deserve some credit for grinding it out and avoiding disaster. But man, what could’ve been an easy day on everyone’s blood pressure turned into another nail-biter in the final minutes.
The refs.