The Houston Cougars returned to Norman to face off against the Oklahoma Sooners. After a long day of upsets and close games, the pressure was on the Sooners. Oklahoma faltered against Houston but ultimately prevailed. It’s yet another sign that this is going to be an insane season.
Oklahoma Sooners Barely Escape Houston Cougars at 16-12
A Worrying Start for Oklahoma
Oklahoma started with the football last week against the Temple Owls, the Sooners started the game with a quick touchdown. This game was very different. After failing to make any progress, Oklahoma punted the ball back to Houston. Unfortunately for the Cougars, the ball bounced off of the intended receiver and was quickly recovered by Lewis Carter.
One play-action pass to Brennan Thompson later and the Sooners went up 7-0. The next drive was sure to have more energy and intensity. Until then, the Sooners defense had to take the field.
Houston’s first offensive drive was slow, but more promising than Oklahoma’s. Relying heavily on the ground game, the Cougars seemed intent on draining as much of the clock as possible. A deep pass to Joseph Manjack IV put Houston in the red zone, but a sack by Damonic Williams quickly ended those hopes. Joseph Kim put Houston on the board with a 41-yard field goal.
Controlling the Tempo
Oklahoma’s tempo last week was upbeat, intense, and explosive on both sides of the ball. As has been clear since the pre-season, their game plan week-to-week was to keep up this energy. In theory, this keeps opponents guessing and wears down opposing teams. When put into practice, however, it quickly becomes predictable.
Head coach Willie Fritz transformed Tulane into a championship team over the past eight years. Although this is his first year with the Houston Cougars, it’s clear he’s looking to once again create a powerhouse. No matter how many hours he spent poring over film in preparation for Oklahoma this week, it was worth it.
Whether on offense or defense, Houston remained in control of the tempo. Oklahoma’s best answer to this was to rely on Javonte Barnes’ explosive speed to occasionally escape the line of scrimmage. Houston’s experienced backfield also kept Jackson Arnold from performing at the expected level. Even when the Sooners went to a four-wide scheme, Houston’s defense kept tight coverage and forced countless incompletions.
The Panic Sets In
At first, Arnold remained composed when faced with this challenge. When the pocket collapsed, he could scramble out, keep his eyes on his receivers, and run when needed. As the game continued, however, the pressure to make some kind of impact against Houston forced Arnold to panic on nearly every drive.
A short pass from Arnold to Jake Roberts for a touchdown widened the gap briefly. However, when the Cougars began passing that gap vanished. Only the clock stood in their way and forced them to call for a field goal instead. Heading into the second half, the Sooners barely led Houston. At 14-6, this game was closer than anyone expected.
An Evening of Woes
Houston began the third quarter on offense. A 44-yard deep pass to Manjack put Houston just two points behind Oklahoma. The two-point conversion, however, would keep them there.
Barnes, Roberts, and Deion Burks teamed up to quickly move the ball down the field for the Sooners. Houston’s Jeremiah Wilson would intercept a wild pass from Arnold to end their drive.
A series of penalties, incompletions, and lost yardage would keep the Sooners scoreless in the third quarter. Oklahoma’s inability to convert on third down was only matched by Houston’s dogged dedication to the run game. Neither team could make any meaningful progress.
The Fourth Quarter
A missed field goal prevented the Sooners from pulling away. Long, slogging drives from both Houston and Oklahoma burned away most of the next ten minutes. With just over six minutes to go, the trepidation in Gaylord Stadium was palpable. Another failed drive looked to end the Sooners’ hopes to recover this game. Oklahoma, who has failed to convert nearly every third down this season, was at a crossroads with a close 4th and one. A hard count from Arnold forced Houston to jump offsides and kept the drive alive.
After being sacked on a 3rd and long, it was all over again. Oklahoma gave the ball back to Houston with just two minutes to go. With all three timeouts on their side, there was no way Houston could fumble this game away now.
That’s when Oklahoma’s defense forced a safety.
Arnold finally pulled himself together and lobbed a pass to Roberts for a 28-yard gain. Quick runs from Barnes drained the play clock and it looked to be all over. Arnold stepped into the victory formation and took a knee.
A personal foul by Oklahoma’s Joshua Bates upended the hopes for a quiet end.
With thirty seconds remaining, Houston would have the final drive. Two short passes and a deep lob by Smith pushed the Cougars down to the midfield to end the game.
By The Numbers
At the end of the night, Oklahoma put up a total of 249 yards of offense. The Sooners managed 15 total first downs and held the ball for 24:57. Arnold escaped with 174 passing yards and just 19 of his 32 passes completed. Barnes gained forty total yards on the run, while Burks came away with 53 receiving yards and nine total catches. With a final score of 16-12, it’s an embarrassing win, to say the least.
In nearly every area, Houston outclassed Oklahoma. Smith completed 24 of his 28 passes for 260 yards. Manjack achieved 72 receiving yards in only three catches. The Cougars achieved 318 total yards over the Sooners and gained 18 total first downs. Even in a losing effort, Houston held the majority possession time at thirty-five minutes.
Arnold, as previously discussed, is a gunslinger. He scrambles and throws without truly seeing the field. While this can often surprise and catch other teams off guard, it’s a risky play style. He may have escaped last week against Temple, but not tonight. It’s not too unexpected for the sophomore quarterback, but head coach Brent Venables has to do something before they head out against SEC teams. When Houston brought the pressure, Arnold was clearly unable to keep his composure. Unless they figure out something soon, Oklahoma may be heading for disaster this season.
Thankful for Victory
The Sooners escaped the Cougars- but only just. If this game was proof of anything, it’s that Venables hasn’t quite ironed out all the kinks in this team yet. Venables said as much to The Franchise, “We played undisciplined and sloppy enough, we deserved to lose the game. I’m thankful for victory, but we’ve got a lot to clean up.”
Next week, Oklahoma goes on to face Tulane in what was expected to be the only difficult non-conference matchup. If Saturday was anything to go by, it’s clear that no opponent can be taken lightly this season. It’s time to officially put the Sooners on upset alert.
