“So it sends an impressive message to anybody who’s watching”. Houston made the best possible statement to join that conference.
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On the play, the Sooners had five offensive linemen on the field – Quinn Mittermeier, Dru Samia, Cody Ford, Orlando Brown and Sam Grant – as well as deep snapper Wesley Horky on the front with defensive lineman Charles Walker.
From that point, OU fumbled the ball away on two subsequent possessions and further contributed to their own demise with poor execution on offense.
Speight, who beat out Houston transfer John O’Korn for the job, finished 10 of 13 for 145 yards as MI recorded its most decisive win since beating Northwestern by 69 points four decades ago. In OU coach Bob Stoops’ 18 years at the helm, this is just the third time a season began with a loss. Based on what we saw from the Cougars against the Sooners, it seems highly unlikely that the team will stub its toe in AAC play like it did last season. Mayfield indicted himself for failing to make a critical option pitch in the second quarter on a third-and-short option play. That was a big case and we couldn’t, and that’s the bottom line. We had guys in certain spots that would have been easier throws and would have helped us..
“In the second half, we got a little greedy”, Mayfield said. It was at that moment the Sooners looked exactly like what they were billed to be in the preseason: A legitimate Top 5 team, which could make it back to the playoff and maybe even win the whole thing.
But UCLA’s offense finally got going after that, scoring twice in two minutes with the second one coming on a 62-yard pass by Rosen to cut it two 2. “We only worry about who we have to play that week”. But the Cougars offense was somewhat limited upon reaching the red zone, coming out of the half with the 19-17 lead because kicker Ty Cummings went a flawless four-for-four on his field goal tries, including a career-long 47-yarder just as the clock expired for the half.
No doubt the Sooners defense played significantly better in the second half, but the Cougars also had a comfortable two-score margin for almost the whole final 30 minutes. He wasn’t necessarily efficient, either - he completed just 57.5 percent of his throws and totaled 1 rushing yard - but some whimsical third-down conversions kept the Cougars’ offense moving steadily down the field.
When Oklahoma kicker Austin Seibert’s 54-yard field goal attempt came up just short, Wilson reached up to catch the ball while barely keeping his feet in bounds. Houston’s Brandon Wilson secured it at the back of the end zone and proceeded to run it the length of the field the other way for a touchdown, giving the Cougars a 26-17 lead.
There was still plenty of time left in the game, but it was evident to all that OU was defeated after Wilson’s touchdown.
After the halftime, Houston’s defense appeared determined to stop the Sooners at all cost, but Houston still needed that one play that would change the momentum into their favor. The Sooners had less than 20 called runs. There is no guarantee that even if Houston can finish undefeated with wins against Oklahoma and Louisville that they will be in the playoff, but losing would’ve knocked them out of consideration.
Washington 48, Rutgers 13 – Jake Browning threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns, John Ross caught two TD passes and returned a kickoff for another score, and the No. 14 Huskies (1-0) looked every bit a Top 25 team with a rout of the Scarlet Knights in Seattle.
So forget about the silly media feuds.
With the Big 12 studying expansion and the Cougars mentioned as a likely candidate, the game was an audition of sorts.
It was Mayfield’s first time in a pressure situation at Oklahoma without Sterling Shepard, his star receiver and security blanket last season.
“I was just looking for flags, ” Herman said. We expected to win. Are you having fun?
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“He’s just a great kid”, Navy Coach Ken Niumatalolo said about Smith. The Cougars aren’t a fluke. If the Cougars keep this going, the College Football Playoff might go a long way in making the decision for both.
