BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — It's been one step forward and one step backwards for Oklahoma.

The Sooners trail LSU 24-17 at halftime following a seesaw of momentum. The Sooners led 14-10 midway through the second quarter, then had it tied 17-17 late in the first half. However, a late LSU touchdown has the Sooners trailing again heading into halftime.

Here's a look at what's happened so far:

If anybody has proven they're not afraid of Death Valley at night, it's R Mason Thomas and Gracen Halton.

Halton has been a menace on the interior defensive line, leading the Sooners in tackles (6) to go with a sack and a tackle for loss. He was also the catalyst for the biggest play of the game for the Sooners.

With LSU pinned deep in its own territory, Halton blew past LSU's offensive line and hit Garrett Nussmeier, who fumbled. The person there to pick it up? Thomas, who returned it nine yards for a score. That tied the game up at 7-7 late in the first quarter.

That wasn't the only big-time play for Thomas. The junior has been a nightmare the entire first half, and blew up the left side of the offensive line for a sack in the second quarter.

The hit also injured Nussmeier, who exited the game and didn't play the next series. Nussmeier returned late in the second quarter.

Thomas has two tackles, a TFL and a sack.

The Sooners offense looked lost through the first quarter. They recorded just 24 yards and one first down on their first three drives, possessing the ball for just 3:37 of game time in the first quarter.

Then suddenly, Arnold found JJ Hester for a 50-yard bomb to open a second-quarter drive. Arnold then ran it on a quarterback keeper down to the two-yard line, and Xavier Robinson punched it in for a score to cap off a three-play, 75-yard drive.

That possession, which came 23 minutes into the game, gave the Sooners their first offensive points of the night.

Arnold, who didn't log a single rushing attempt in the first quarter, kept it going on the next drive. Arnold picked up gains of 12 and 10 yards, respectively, and found Jacob Jordan for a 17-yard completion that set up a 44-yard field.

While the offense round a rhythm in the second quarter, it's been a slow start for Robinson, who's turned seven carries into 17 yards. Gavin Sawchuk (1 carry, -1 yard) is the only other running back who has played.

The Sooners finished the first half with 152 yards. 133 of those yards came in the second quarter.

While Thomas and Halton have had some game-changing plays, it's been an inconsistent effort for OU's defense.

The Tigers marched on a seven-play, 53-yard drive to score the first points of the game midway through the first quarter. That drive was capped off by an 18-yard touchdown from Nussmeier to Kyren Lacy, who was wide open. It appeared the Sooners had a bust in coverage.

Right before halftime, Nussmeier found Chris Hilton Jr. for a 40-yard touchdown down the left sideline. Eli Bowen was there in coverage, but Hilton Jr. made an excellent play in the air.

However, that was indicative of the explosive plays the Sooners have allowed. The Sooners have allowed five plays of 15 yards or more — that includes a 50-yard rush from Caden Durham that set up a field goal, which marked the first 50-yard rush OU's defense has allowed this season. The Sooners came into the game ranked eighth nationally in rushes of 20 yards or more allowed (6).

To top it off, the Sooners allowed a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the second quarter. It's the first kickoff return for a touchdown the Sooners had allowed since 2021, and it came immediately after Robinson's two-yard score that gave OU a 14-10 lead.

If the Sooners hope to win, it has to start with limiting explosive plays from LSU.