AUBURN, Alabama — Oklahoma struck first with 12:50 left in the first quarter.

But that wasn't a sign of things to come for the Sooners, who are officially in the danger zone against Auburn. The Sooners trail Auburn 14-7, as the Tigers have scored two unanswered touchdowns.

Here's two takeaways and notes from the first half:

It was the best start the true freshman could've hoped for in his first career start.

After the OU defense forced a three and out to start the game, Hawkins found Brenen Thompson for a 15-yard gain on the Sooners' first offensive play. Three plays later, Hawkins stepped up in the pocket, found a seam and scampered for a 48-yard touchdown.

The score marked the longest run by an OU true freshman since Caleb Williams in 2021.

It was an impressive read and run for Hawkins. However, the Sooners haven't come close to sustaining that type of success.

Since that first drive, here are the results of the Sooners' other five possessions:

3 yards, 5 plays, punt

3 plays, -10 yards, punt

6 plays, 29 yards, punt

3 plays, 5 yards, punt

The Sooners' struggles have continued. Outside of that Hawkins touchdown run, the Sooners have gained just 63 yards. They've leaned heavily on the running game, but it hasn't produced much — Jovantae Barnes has just seven carries for 19 yards. Hawkins has just three yards on his other five carries, and he's completed five of six passes for 41 yards.

Most importantly, the Sooners have converted on just one of five third-down attempts. Things are going to go south quickly if they can't move the ball in the second half.

Just like Hawkins' touchdown run, it was the ideal start for the defense to force a three and out.

Since then, it hasn't been the dominant unit that we saw last weekend against Tennessee.

Auburn has 278 total yards of offense and is averaging 7.0 yards per play. They've routinely burned OU's secondary, with both touchdowns coming on pass plays of 31 and 48 yards, respectively.

The first touchdown came against Dez Malone, who didn't turn to find the ball and was beat down field by KeAndre Lambert Smith. The second touchdown went to Malcolm Simmons, who burned Kani Walker with a post route. The main reason has been the lack of pressure on quarterback Payton Thorne — the Sooners have yet to register a quarterback hurry, and their only sack came with 37 seconds left in the second quarter (courtesy of Kobie McKinzie). Thorne has completed 11/16 passes for 189 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Most importantly, the Sooners haven't been able to force a turnover. They've come close, and Trace Ford forced Thorne to fumble late in the second quarter before Thorne was able to jump on it. But the Tigers came into the game having committed 14 turnovers on the season — the most in the FBS — and that hasn't come to pass so far.

Auburn has been content to set back in max pass protection and burn the clock. They held possession for over 19 minutes in the first half, and their 23 rushes for 83 yards (3.6 yards per carry) has been just effective enough to allow the Tigers to control the pace.

— The Sooners are fortunate to not be down 17-7. With no timeouts and the clock running, the Tigers attempted a fire-drill field goal to end the first half. They missed the field goal, but the Sooners were whistled for illegal subsitution, allowing the Tigers to re-kick the field goal with no time remaining.

Towns McCough still missed it from 27 yards out.

— Jake Taylor was activated before the game and played the first half at right tackle. From left to right, this has been OU's O-line: Michael Tarquin, Jake Taylor, Branson Hickman, Febechi Nwaiwu, Taylor.

Essentially, it's been the ideal unit for OU up front.

— Jacobe Johnson has yet to play a snap for OU, on either side of the ball.

— The Sooners get the ball to start the second half.