2022 Bedlam Recap: We're going Bowling!

Saturday, November 19th, 2022. The Oklahoma Sooners, sitting at 5-5 on the season, looked for a crucial revenge win against their in-state rivals. A win on senior night would've given us revenge against the Cowboys and bowl eligibility. A loss would have put the Sooners at 5-6 on the season and in dire need of a win next week in Lubbock. So. OSU, what happened?

The Oklahoma defense. That's what happened. (Picture below courtesy of The Oklahoman)

One touchdown was allowed across 19 drives. 4 Interceptions (CJ Coldon's interception pictured above, the first of the game, and his third on the season). 13 tackles for a loss. 12 quarterback hurries. Seven pass deflections. Six sacks. Only allowing 7 third down conversions on 22 attempts and 0 fourth down conversions on two attempts. The OU Defense put on a master class against one of the top offenses in the country.

First Quarter: OU fans will never forget this first quarter. The game was won in the first quarter. We started with a spectacular 33-yard diving catch by Drake Stoops, followed by a Dillon Gabriel Touchdown run. After forcing a three-and-out, Gabriel hit Jalil Farooq wide-open for a 30-yard touchdown. The Sooners forced an interception on two consecutive drives, the first one to CJ Coldon and the second deflected by Woodi Washington into the hands of Jonah Laulu. The Cowboys didn't even get a first down until their fifth drive of the game. After a touchdown run by Eric Gray and a phenomenal throw and amazing catch from Dillon Gabriel to Drake Stoops, the score was 28-0 at the end of the first quarter. 299 total yards of offense by Oklahoma in the 1st quarter.

Second Quarter: We started off the quarter with an interception by Billy Bowman, and then our offense didn't do anything. By this point, the OU defense already had 3 interceptions. We kept allowing OSU to drive a little, then would force a punt. After a field goal from OSU, the score at half was 28-3. Nervousness set in amongst Sooner fans, as we taught Baylor in 2019 that a 28-3 lead isn't safe, and the offense had gone completely stagnant.

Third Quarter: Believe it or not, the third quarter was worse for us on offense than the second quarter. Our defense saved our bacon. They kept stopping the cowboys, despite the constant 3-and-outs for our offense. The Cowboys did get an eventual touchdown, with the score going into the fourth quarter being 28-10 OU.

Fourth Quarter: This is when the defense really stepped into high gear, stopping the cowboys on all but one drive, in which the Cowboys got a field goal. DaShaun White getting a crucial interception in the endzone nearly sealed the game for us, and a stop on fourth down officially sealed it. Final score: 28-13 OU.

As an OU fan, there is so much to be excited about. The main thing is the defense. Brent Venables is beginning to transform the defense into what we saw at Clemson.

Our defensive line was just dominating the Cowboy's offensive line. We held them to 2.9 yards per carry. Considering how explosive the Cowboys' offense is, that is a massive accomplishment. Jordan Kelley had 2 sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss (TFL), Isaiah Coe and Jonah Laulu both had 2 TFLs and 0.5 sacks, and Ethan Downs had a single sack and 1.5 TFLs. That D-Line was eating.

Our secondary constantly went after the ball. CJ Coldon, instead of watching it sail, sprinted after a horrible pass by Spencer Sanders and intercepted it. Woodi Washington slapped the ball away from a Cowboy receiver on third down right into the hands of DL Jonah Laulu (we love to see the big boys get an INT). Then, to start the third quarter, the cowboys appeared to have a wide-open man sprinting for the endzone. That is, until Billy Bowman revealed himself, snatching the ball out of the air. Our secondary wasn't going to allow anything deep. The Cowboy's longest pass play of the game got most of its yardage after the catch.

Our linebackers decided to make a statement as well in this game. The number one, number two, and tied for number three tacklers were David Ugwoegbu, Danny Stutsman, and DaShaun White, respectively. Anytime a tackle was made, one of them was there. That doesn't include the plays they made in coverage.

Despite our offensive woes, the Sooners did so well, and the fans have much to be proud of. With five-star recruits QB Jackson Arnold (OU Commit), S Peyton Bowen (Notre Dame Commit), and David "DJ" Hicks (Texas A&M Commit) in attendance, the Sooners made sure they did all they could to impress.

All stats above courtesy of ESPN.

OU is now 91-19-7 against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. We got our revenge game on senior night. We left Spencer Sanders with the bad taste in his mouth he was so sure he would leave with us. It was a great day of football. Boomer Sooner!