
My septuagenarian father waddled into my house around 11 p.m. Saturday, badly in need of an upcoming knee surgery and way past his bedtime. He made a loud proclamation.
“That was the best damn win I’ve seen in person at OU’s stadium, and that’s coming from a 70-year-old man.”
Raymond “Poop” Cowen — a 1972 graduate of Haileyville High School, a former all-district noseguard, a favorite player of his coach (and my grandfather) and a current resident of Hartshorne — had attended the Sooners’ 24-3 victory over seventh-ranked Alabama.
Was his statement hyperbole? Probably. I mean, my father has regularly attended OU games since the early 1970s. He always spoke of plays by Billy Sims, Elvis Peacock, Steve Owens and — his favorite OU player — Joe Washington.
Still, I think how Star Trek’s Gabriel Lorca proclaimed in an early episode of Star Trek Discovery: “Universal law is for lackeys. Context is for kings.” In the case of my dad — and, quite frankly, all OU fans this weekend — context made what mattered matter even more.
Heading into Saturday, the Sooners appeared ready to wallow in the final weeks of a nightmarish season. What we had all hoped would be a triumphant welcome into the Southeastern Conference had turned into an apparent drudge toward a losing record and OU’s first non-bowl season since 1998.
Yet, there my dad stood on Saturday night, ready to drink a couple of beers (Skydance’s Switzer Light Lager, as a matter of fact) before he limped off to bed. Why? Because, as he said, he had just witnessed the “best damn win” by his beloved Sooners in what seemed like forever.
I watched the game with fellow NonDoc writer Matt Patterson on the patio at Cowenstan National Stadium, and we both awaited what we were sure would be the electric return of my dad, my mom, my sister and my brother-in-law from the game. Traffic delayed their return too long for Matt to hang around, but I was sure happy I remained awake to see their exuberance as they crossed the threshold into my abode.
Did Saturday’s win fix all the ills that have befallen OU’s program over the past year, or even the three years since former head coach Lincoln Riley bolted for the West Coast? Of course it didn’t.
Yet, for a fleeting moment, did it seem like it?
Of course it did … because context matters.
With a belly full of Switzer’s lager — appropriate for a victory that featured 260 rushing yards for the Sooners — let’s get to the Hangover Highlights:
- The Sooners 24-3 win over Alabama was absolutely, unequivocally brought to fruition by an OU dominant defense I have maligned several times as not being elite. While I’d still argue it isn’t, based on the season as a whole, OU’s defense played as elite a game on Saturday as ANY DEFENSE HAS PLAYED IN THE COUNTRY THIS SEASON.
- While my dad’s earlier words might have been in-the-moment hyperbole, my ones above are not. Hampered by a dubious penalty call that negated an astounding toe-tap touchdown reception by freshman phenom Ryan Williams, Alabama failed to score a TD for the first time since 2011 and totaled its fewest points since 2004. The Crimson Tide had thrown up scores of 52, 42 and 34 in their previous three contests, and they came into Saturday ranked seventh nationally in scoring offense, putting up an average of 39.5 points per game.
- Not to be Debbie Downer, but Alabama’s offense did play right into OU’s defensive strengths. Last year, in this column, I mentioned how ‘Bama QB Jalen Milroe was a glorified — yet effective — single-wing quarterback. What I meant is that he constitutes a handful in the running game, but he is iffy when asked to pass a lot. This season, the OU defense has proven to be stout against the run, although questionable against the pass. This deficiency reared its head early in Saturday’s game when ‘Bama converted a couple of third-down-and-long opportunities. Yet, overall, the Sooners’ ability to snuff Alabama’s run game essentially derailed the Crimson Tide offense.
- Besides points prevented, the Sooner defense also had a direct hand in points scored. Kip Lewis continued to torment the state of Alabama with a pick-six in the third quarter, while another interception by Eli Bowen directly led to another third-quarter OU score.
- Those plays proved critical because, frankly, the OU passing game remained pitiful. Sooners’ quarterback Jackson Arnold mustered an embarrassing 68 passing yards on just nine completions. He only attempted 11 passes, but many other called pass plays were short-circuited by receivers not being open or a break down in pass protection.
- Surprisingly, it was the running game that provided a spark. While the ABC announcers kept talking about him like he was a walk-on instead of a two-time state high school player of the year, freshman Xavier Robinson became the first running back for the Sooners to cross the 100-yard rushing mark against a SEC team this season. Arnold also contributed an astounding 131 yards on the ground, making one wonder which school actually had the “single-wing quarterback.”
- The game still featured warts for the Sooners. A first-half sequence where OU tight end Bauer Sharp whiffed on an easy trick-play TD reception, followed by the ugliest field goal miss on Owen Field in several years, certainly did not bode well for the home team. Additionally, a fumble by freshman running back Taylor Tatum — his fourth in only 53 carries this season — short-circuited another OU drive in the first quarter. (It’s time for Tatum to start carrying a football all over campus.)
- Still, the Sooners proved resilient enough to pull off a season-saving victory.
- Did I say season-saving? What does that mean for a team butting up against a .500 mark? Well, it allows OU to play in a bowl game this year, which gives the entire squad 15 more practices and another game for a the slate of young players learning on the job. It also provides the Sooners a little momentum into the offseason, which could help retain players who might have a wandering eye upon the transfer portal. Maybe, it also could convince a hotshot offensive coordinator to climb aboard what might not be as quickly a sinking ship as previously led to believe.
- Ummm, speaking of sinking ships … in the fourth quarter of Oklahoma State’s game against Texas Tech, I received an on-point text from a good buddy. “One of them classic OSU v. Texas Tech games,” he said. He wasn’t wrong. In the grandest honor of Patrick Mahomes against Mason Rudolph, Texas Tech and OSU combined for more than 1,000 yards before the halfway mark of the fourth quarter had been reached.
- Of course, things didn’t end well for the home team, as OSU fell in a 56-48 shootout to the Red Raiders. The Cowboys’ offense performed well, as new OSU starting QB Maealiuaki Smith had more than 300 yards passing and Ollie Gorden II had better than 100 rushing yards. Yet, again, OSU’s defense ended up shredded like the proverbial Achilles heel.
- The Cowboys’ defense allowed astounding outputs from their Texas Tech counterparts: Tech QB Behren Morten had 366 passing yards; running back Tahj Brooks piled up 133 rushing yards; receivers Coy Eakin and Micah Hudson combined for nearly 200 yards.
- It’s all fine and good that OSU coach Mike Gundy keeps flipping the script at quarterback. I guess. I mean, it all seems like a shell game at this point. “Oh look, I’ve switched quarterbacks, so never mind the other steaming piles of fermenting crap.”
- Is Smith an upgrade from permanently middling starter Alan Bowman? I dunno. At least he represents a nod to the future for a failing team in need of a major overhaul. Beyond that, I’m not sure I care. Excuse me as I cast a circumspect eye upon quarterback changes on woefully underperforming teams where quarterback is approximately problem No. 132 out of a couple hundred that need to be addressed.
- Blowout became Saturday’s word of the day for other big games across the country. Ohio State corralled Indiana 38-15, and Notre Dame blitzed Army 49-14. While the two losing teams came into each contest undefeated, both left licking their wounds and questioning their strengths of schedule.
- Ohio State’s win, arguably, was a bit closer than the final score. A punt-return touchdown and a snap that simply flew between the Indiana punter’s hands resulted in 14 easy points for the Buckeyes.
- Take those events away and you’ve got a game.
- Also, add wheels to my late grandmother, and you’ve got a wagon.
- Army was just overmatched. The Black Knights had feasted on a pathetic schedule, but they appeared incompetent in the face of a blue-chip-laden Notre Dame squad. While the Army offense had some success here and there, watching the Notre Dame offense move effortlessly down the field was eye-opening.
- Auburn took down Texas A&M, 43-41, in four overtimes. Besides neutering any chance the Aggies had at a playoff berth, Auburn may also have a direct hand in spiking another Lone Star State team’s postseason possibilities. If A&M manages to beat the Texas Longhorns next weekend, the relatively weak strength of schedule for the Longhorns — further exacerbated by A&M’s loss this weekend — might keep them from participating in the 12-team postseason party.
- Kansas downed Colorado, 37-21, to become the first team with a losing record to defeat three straight top 25 teams. Yet, it was a single act in the full drama of Big 12 Conference madness.
- Arizona State, who had managed just six wins in the previous three years, threw its hat in the ring for a Big 12 championship berth after a 28-23 victory over BYU. The Sun Devils head into the final week of the season in a FOUR-way tie for first place in the league.
- There are also FIVE teams tied for second place.
- Next week, none of the four 6-2 teams in the Big 12 play each other, so several squads have the chance to play spoiler, including OSU traveling to Boulder to take on Deion Sanders’ Buffalos. Between Colorado’s electric offense and OSU’s fried defense, that game could cement a Travis Hunter Heisman trophy.
- Finally, Ole Miss eliminated itself from a playoff chance after a 24-17 loss at Florida. Maybe I should really say Jaxson Dart eliminated Ole Miss from any playoff chance. Dart, the quarterback for the Rebels, threw two of the ugliest interceptions this side of the OU quarterback situation while trying to rally his team in the fourth quarter. Neither pass visited the ZIP code of a receiver, and both were fielded like punts by defenders. Dart actually threw THREE interceptions in the final two minutes, but one was wiped off the board because the defender stepped out of bounds.
- I don’t think the application of context there comforted Dart as much as it did my dad and other OU fans.