Game Recap: West Virginia

The bad streak is over. This was the OU team from the first half of the season that showed up to play tonight. A dominant performance by OU on both sides of the ball led the team to a 59-20 victory over West Virginia. Let's do our traditional recap with one exception: I am writing all the bits about the offense, and blog admin/my brother Sam Knight will write the defensive excerpts for each quarter. Check out the graphic below for a list of the statistical leaders from the game.

1st Quarter

This was a weird quarter offensively. Dillon Gabriel was hitting receivers in stride on the numbers or missing them by 15 yards. We also didn't look great in goal-to-go scenarios. On both first and second down with goal to go, we ran four first-quarter plays that netted one yard. Not ideal. But our running game? Lethal. Gavin Sawchuck was shredding the WVU defense this quarter, averaging almost 10 yards per carry. The Gavin Sawchuck we expected to see at the start of the season showed up tonight. On top of all this, the offensive line showed up to play—great game by then. The biggest factor in this quarter, however, was Dillon Gabriel. I mentioned he got off to a slow start. But when he was hitting his guys, he was lethal. Quite a few big passes to gain first downs and two rushing touchdowns. He was playing grown-man football.

The defense started the game in a probing position, using soft coverage on the outside and not much penetration into the backfield. Naturally, this resulted in an opening-drive touchdown for the Mountaineers. After this, the Sooners tightened up at the line of scrimmage and improved their coverage in the middle of the field. LB Danny Stutsman and Jaren Kanak were key in this adjustment. During the rest of this quarter, they held West Virginia to zero total yards across three drives. It was capped off by a missed FG at the end of a sudden-change possession for West Virginia off of Gavin Freeman’s muffed punt. Overall, the adjustments through the quarter gave OU a very successful opening quarter defensively.

Score at the end of this quarter: 14-7 OU.

2nd Quarter

Dillon Gabriel took his time finding his rhythm through the air. But wow, he found it in the second quarter. For a bit, it seemed like he couldn't miss. A 63-yard yard completion to Nic Anderson. A 23-yard run. A touchdown pass to Austin Stogner. 32-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Gibson (after multiple 20+ yard completions on the drive). Dillon Gabriel was doing his best to re-enter his name into the Heisman conversation in this quarter. That bomb to Jayden Gibson was a beauty. The offensive line continued their dominant performance by not just protecting Gabriel. Austin Stogner's massive first half continued in this quarter as well. In his press conference earlier this week, Venables took an indirect shot at the lack of production from the tight end room, and Stogner clearly listened. Seeing Stogner ball out for OU again really made me happy.

The strong defensive play from most of the first quarter carried into the second. The first two drives of the second half exhibited stellar playmaking capabilities from the defense’s playmakers, namely Danny Stutsman. He was key in forcing a turnover on downs, and our defensive line forced pressure at opportune moments to create bad throws by Garrett Greene. The Mountaineers’ third drive exposed some openings in our secondary, with numerous plays being directed Kani Walker’s way. He was able to hold his own on some of these plays but saw a lot of action and couldn’t find success for some of the drive. However, the drive led to another statement goal-line stand by our defensive unit. Coach Venables was predictably thrilled, and it brought our fans back to life on what had been a long drive. Toward the end of the half, West Virginia used questionable penalties and TE Kole Taylor’s favorable matchup against Kani Walker to punch in a score and come within 17 points of OU, casting a brief shadow over what was otherwise a stellar half of football from our defense.

Score at the end of this quarter: 31-14 OU.

3rd Quarter

In his last prime-time game in Norman, Drake Stoops had the game of his life. Most of the credit goes to his work in the second half. While he had some nice plays in the first half, this is when he exploded. His first catch of the second half went for 60 yards and a touchdown (over 40 yards were after the catch). Two drives later, Stoops had three catches for 47 yards and a touchdown. He had one more catch before the end of the quarter. But Drake Stoops wanted to make sure this night was a special one. Remember, he's not done yet in this recap. Dillon Gabriel continued to shred the defense. The offensive line didn't have their best quarter, but they didn't look bad. Overall, this was a phenomenal quarter offensively.

The Sooners gave up an opening drive touchdown to West Virginia but never looked back afterward, allowing 57 yards and forcing one turnover in the third quarter.

Score at the end of this quarter: 45-20 OU.

4th Quarter

The dominant offensive performance did not slow down in the fourth quarter too much. Drake Stoops caught yet another touchdown. He got leveled in the endzone trying to catch his final pass, but he held on, giving him his third touchdown. Dillon Gabriel continued torching the defense with his arm. The offensive line started bullying the defensive line. At this point, they were doing whatever they wanted. One interesting decision that occurred late in the game was the QB change. When OU began to put the game away, many across Sooner Nation expected Jackson Arnold to get some action. Instead, Davis Beville went into the game. Some think it is because Beville is a Senior, and this could be his last chance to play. Others believe it was to preserve Arnold's redshirt, as he has already played in four games this year. The real reason, I don't know if we'll find out. Regardless, the game can be summed up in one word: dominance.

This quarter's defensive breakdown includes the thoughts from the entire second half. West Virginia could never again find the end zone, or any points for that matter. Trace Ford, Da’Jon Terry, and Danny Stutsman created nightmare scenarios for Garrett Greene and eventual replacement QB Nicco Marchiol. Pressure was much more effective as a result of these three, with Kendall Dolby inserting himself as well on a third down play, pummeling Greene. The secondary was lights-out as well, forcing two interceptions and preventing any deep completions or meaningful gains. To give up 103 total yards, six points, and forcing two turnovers for the entire second half was a dream scenario, and the Venables-led defense brought that dream to life Saturday night in a strong bounce-back victory.

Final score: 59-20 OU.

Observations

• The OU team from the first half of the season is back, and they've come back with a vengeance.

• Drake Stoops continues to be that guy.

• The impact Danny Stutsman has on our defense is outstanding. His impact on the game tonight was immeasurable.

• The secondary is improving. West Virginia saw something that made them comfortable taking shot after shot, but they're getting better.

• Woodi Washington is a great CB.

• If this team showed up the last two weeks, we'd be 10-0 right now.

• Our running game has finally found consistency, and I'm here for it.

Key Players

• Dillon Gabriel: 23-36, 423 yards, five touchdowns passing. 10 rushes, 45 yards, three rushing touchdowns. Eight total touchdowns.

• Drake Stoops: 10 catches, 164 yards, three touchdowns.

• Danny Stutsman: Eight tackles, three solo, two tackles for loss.

• Nic Anderson: Four receptions, 119 yards.

• Austin Stogner: Four receptions, 69 yards, one touchdown.

• Billy Bowman: Seven tackles, four solo, 0.5 tackles for loss, one pass deflection (which was intercepted by Reggie Pearson).

Other Stats

• Offense: 23-36, 423 yards, 11.5 yards per pass, five touchdowns. 42 runs, 221 yards, 5.3 yards per carry, three touchdowns. 8-14 on third down, 2-2 on fourth down, 25 total first downs.

• Defense: 4/16 on third down, 2-4 on fourth down, allowed five yards per pass and 4.3 yards per run—17 total first downs.

Oklahoma looks like the team it was at the beginning of the season. With UCF's obliteration of Oklahoma State earlier, we still have a chance at making it to the Big 12 Championship. Let's finish this season strong. Boomer Sooner!

All stats courtesy of ESPN.