The Oklahoma Sooners took a road trip through the land of corn to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in their third game of the season. Questions surrounded Nebraskas’s football program after the firing of coach Scott Frost and Mickey Joseph being named the interim coach. Despite the Cornhuskers getting off to a 7-0 start on an impressive drive, the Sooners were able to dominate for the rest of the game. The 49 points Sooners put up is the most scored by the Sooners against the Cornhuskers in the 88 games between these two teams. While victory is sweet, here are a few takeaways from the game to think about.
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Sooners Offense Has Another Slow Start
While the Sooners’ offense was impressive, they got off to a slow start. After punting on their first possession, six out of the next eight possessions resulted in touchdowns. Most may look at that and be happy, and your should. However, Dillon Gabriel was just 11 of 20 in the first half of the game. So how much of the offensive issues are on the Sooners’ offensive coaching, and how much blame should be placed on the environment? Perhaps a little bit of both. They were slow to start last week at home against Kent State, and though the slow start against Nebraska was not as bad, it was still noticeable.
Welcome to Oklahoma Football, Jaren Kanak
Kanak came into the game after DaShaun White was ejected following a targeting penalty. He is a recruit that followed Brent Venables from Clemson to Oklahoma, and it looks like he might be a part of the bright future for the defense. Kanak had ten total tackles, three solo and seven assisted. While he did not get a sack, he caused quite a bit of disruption for the Nebraska offense.
Defense Comes Through
The Sooners’ defense held Nebraska to 327 total yards, with 163 rushing and 164 passing. While they didn’t fully contain the Cornhusker offense, the Sooners’ defense also made up for that with nine tackles for a loss of 56 yards. Seven players for the Sooners are credited with tackles for the loss of yards, and four players are credited with sacks. It is good to see that the job is evenly spread throughout the defense instead of relying on one or two players to make the big plays.
Sooners Ready for Big 12
The first three games have been a warmup for the rest of the season. Starting next week, the rest of the season is all Big 12 games for the Sooners. They will start by taking on Kansas State at home in Norman. Despite the slow starts, there is no denying the Sooners are looking good. Now, we will see if they can make the run through the Big 12 to recapture the Championship that the Baylor Bears won last season. Although the big games are against the Texas Longhorns, Baylor Bears, and Oklahoma State, do not discount the other teams that have regularly been thorns in the side of the Sooners.
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