On Oklahoma’s first two drives in Lubbock on Saturday night, Sooner quarterback Kyler Murray completed passes to Vaughnte Dorsey, Texas Tech’s senior defensive back. It set the Red Raiders up for touchdown drives of three and 25 yards, and Tech bolted to a 14-0 lead.
Oklahoma’s biggest opponent for the Big 12 title is Oklahoma
When the Sooners aren’t turning the ball over, no one in the Big 12 can touch them.
Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
From that point forward, the Sooners outscored the home team by a 51-32 margin. The total yardage figure was lopsided, 687-473 in favor of the Sooners. It felt the Sooners were in control even down 14. From the moment Murray stopped throwing the ball to the other team, the result felt preordained, even if it was technically in doubt until either Trey Sermon’s 30-yard touchdown run with 2:51 left (which put the Sooners up 51-40) or Texas Tech’s failed onside kick with 1:05 left.
On one hand, the Big 12 race is still quite close to being messy as hell. West Virginia and Oklahoma are tied for first, but Texas (which holds the tie-breaker advantage over OU) and Iowa State (which holds the tie-breaker advantage over WVU) are only a game back, and either OU or WVU are guaranteed to lose when they play each other on November 23.
On the other hand, it feels like OU is in complete control. The Sooners’ biggest opponents in this race are themselves.
OU had a minus-3 turnover margin in the loss to Texas on October 6, and the Sooners were minus-2 on Saturday. Because of the early turnovers, they needed a couple of two-point conversion stops to survive.
When their turnover margin is zero or above, the Sooners are 6-0 with an average scoring margin of plus-27. Their offense ranked first in Off. S&P+ heading into Week 10 — better than even Alabama’s dominant unit — and there’s little chance that changes.
Even with the two picks, Murray’s passer rating on Saturday night was a healthy 160.4 (20-for-35 for 360 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs), which would rank 16th in FBS over a full season. (Granted, it dragged his full-season rating down from 227.3, which was second to only Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa.) Meanwhile, Sermon rushed 26 times for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Murray added 10 non-sack rushes for 102 yards. OU scored touchdowns on four consecutive drives after the picks, and with the game still in doubt, they put it away with two more almost-perfect TD drives late. Five different players caught at least one 25-yard pass, and star CeeDee Lamb wasn’t even one of them.
This team has too damn many weapons for anyone in this conference as long as it’s not shooting itself in the foot.
The defense showed legitimate improvement in its first couple of games under new coordinator Ruffin McNeill, who took over for the fired Mike Stoops. On Saturday in Lubbock, it limped by, benefiting from an injury to Tech quarterback Alan Bowman. Jett Duffey did throw for 139 yards and two touchdowns, but the Tech offense is at its best with Bowman behind center, and that wasn’t an option. Few defenses slow Tech down all that much, but this was a setback.
Still, only WVU stands in the way of another Big 12 title and a potential College Football Playoff bid. The Sooners will have to beat Oklahoma State in Norman and, after a rehearsal against Kansas, win at WVU to officially seal a bid in the conference title game. There are still hurdles to be cleared, but if or when this offense is humming, only mistakes can slow things down.
See More:
