NORMAN — Brent Venables’ The defense has every reason to celebrate on Saturday evening.
A last-minute safety sealed a nerve-wracking 16-12 win over Houston, allowing No. 15 Oklahoma to keep its clean sheet in 2024 and avoid an embarrassing loss to the Cougars.
Eight days after the Sooners dominated Temple, the defense was the only unit that had a good night at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
The offense was constantly missing shots and OU’s special teams were shaky, allowing Houston to keep up throughout Saturday’s game.
Two first-half touchdowns were enough for Venables’ defense to seal the win, but the Sooners (2-0) left Week 2 with more questions than answers as the program’s SEC debut looms in two weeks.
In Week 1, Oklahoma’s offense was unconvincing.
Against Houston, Seth Littrell Group completely disappointed.
The opening script was ineffective, as the Sooners gave up three points on their first drive – a sign of things to come.
quarterback Jackson-Arnold took advantage of a botched Houston punt for a 10-yard touchdown drive.
Later in the half, OU marched 81 yards in eight plays to take a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter.
The next six possessions? Four punts, an interception and a missed field goal.
Oklahoma got the ball back at their own 10-yard line with 7:48 minutes left and had a chance to decide the game, but the Sooners could only run five and a half minutes off the clock.
The offense should have called an offside flag to extend the drive, but momentum stalled near the halfway line and OU had to settle for a punt.
Arnold finished the game with 19 of 32 aerial throws for 174 yards, two scores and an interception as the passing attack still hasn’t gotten going in 2024.
Oklahoma’s offense is used to avoiding the defense.
In 2024, the script will be turned on its head.
While the offense stumbled through the game, Venables and Zac Alley’s Unit carried the banner in Norman.
Houston’s only touchdown came from a coverage bust – a play after OU cornerback Woodi Washington’s The interception was erased from the scoreboard due to a controversial pass interference call.
Otherwise, the Cougars were only able to score two field goals.
When Houston cut the deficit to 14-12, Oklahoma’s defense responded by forcing a punt and then intercepting the Houston quarterback’s ball. Donovan Smith in Cougar territory to give the offense enough time to give the entire team a two-point lead.
OU followed the interception with a missed field goal, putting the defense back in a decisive position at 14-12 early in the fourth quarter.
Venables’ unit fought back again. They allowed Houston two first downs, but ultimately forced a punt and maintained the two-point lead.
As the offense stalled again, the defense had to make a stop at the last minute.
Houston got the ball back at their own 5-yard line with 1:48 minutes left.
Defensive attack Grace Halton broke the first play of possession, scored a safety and secured the 16-12 victory.
The problems on offense won’t just magically disappear. Bill Bedenbaugh’s The offensive line is still banged up, the wide receivers are still weakened, and Arnold will still make his freshman mistakes in his first year as a starter for OU.
Oklahoma faces much stronger competition and the defense must remain strong to keep the Sooners in the game.
A glaring problem for the Sooners in the Temple game was their attack efficiency on third down.
OU started its Week 1 contest with 0-for-11 on third down and needed running back Taylor-Tatum to score on the last third try of the game and achieve his first conversion success.
These problems arose again on Saturday.
Oklahoma only managed a meager 4 of 14 on the third attempt against Houston’s defense.
The average distance to the sticks on third down for OU was 9.1 on Saturday night, putting the entire drive on Arnold’s right arm.
Oklahoma only had to complete one third down attempt of four yards or less (which it also converted), but managed 1 of 6 third down attempts with nine or more yards of gain.
The final third down of the night didn’t go well for the Sooners either, as center Joshua Bates was charged with a personal foul after Arnold attempted to hit the ball with his knee and run out the clock.
Replacing the entire offensive line while breaking in a new quarterback and offensive coordinator was never going to be easy, but two weeks into the year, OU’s offense is clearly lagging behind.
