Oklahoma escapes BYU: The good, the bad, the big-picture takeaways

PROVO, Utah — Oklahoma was a 25-point betting favorite heading into BYU on Saturday. The Cougars (5-6, 2-6 Big 12) weren't expected to have any chance against the Sooners.

But nothing about the Sooners' 31-24 victory was easy. In fact, BYU largely had the Sooners on the ropes. It was a 17-17 tie heading into halftime and a 24-24 tie heading into the fourth quarter. It didn't help things at all when Dillon Gabriel missed the second half due to an upper-body injury he suffered late in the second quarter.

The Sooners were merely a few plays away from another disappointing upset loss on the road that would surely knock them out of Big 12 contention. But this time, they made just enough big plays.

True freshman quarterback, Jackson Arnold, who was put in an impossible situation as the second-half starter in relief of Gabriel, connected with Jalil Farooq for an eight-yard gain on third-and-7 to seal the win. The Sooners' defense forced two second-half turnovers that both turned into touchdowns. And the Sooners, who committed just two penalties for 15 yards in the second half, didn't shoot themselves in the foot with silly turnovers or penalties.

No part of it was easy. Some parts of it were ugly. For example the Cougars recorded 390 yards of total offense, their highest total against any conference opponent. But when the Sooners needed to make plays, they made them.

Here's a look at the good, the bad and the big-picture takeaways from the Sooners' win:

Dillon Gabriel starts it, Arnold finishes it: Gabriel was playing pretty well before he exited the game. In about two quarters of play, he completed 13-of-21 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns, including a 27-yard strike to Jayden Gibson.

But right before halftime, Gabriel was tackled hard near the goal line and appeared to hit his head hard on the ground. At halftime, OU sideline reporter Chris Plank reported Gabriel was out for the second half.

That left Arnold to pick up the slack.

The true freshman quarterback didn't make any flashy plays — though he narrowly missed Anderson on a would-be deep touchdown pass — but he played largely solid. He connected on 5-of-9 passing attempts for 33 yards and ran eight times for 24 yards, including a 15-yard scramble early in the third quarter.

And, of course, he sealed the win on the throw to Farooq.

Venables said he expects Gabriel to return "quickly." But it was an encouraging performance from a true-freshman facing a hostile environment in a must-win game.

Gavin Sawchuk continues his ascension: The redshirt freshman running back has been stellar for the Sooners in recent weeks. So it was only fitting that his 16-yard touchdown put a bow on both the win and another great individual outing.

Sawchuk, who ran for a combined 246 yards in the two outings heading into Saturday, made his fifth-consecutive start and finished with 107 yards on 14 carries (7.6 yards per carry). It's his third straight game with over 100 yards while averaging over six YPC. Tawee Walker also helped out the cause with 25 yards on five attempts.

It's essentially official — after having an inconsistent running attack through much of the first seven weeks, the Sooners have finally found the formula to fielding an efficient, dangerous attack.

The turnover margin saves the Sooners: The six total turnovers that the Sooners committed at Kansas and at Oklahoma State helped sink them. Against BYU, winning the turnover battle 3-0 made the difference.

The biggest one came in the third quarter, when Billy Bowman picked off BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff in the end zone and returned it for a 100-yard pick-six, giving the Sooners a 24-17 lead. That play was particularly big considering BYU needed just three plays to travel 58 yards and set up shop at the two-yard line.

The other big one came with eight minutes to go, when Danny Stutsman forced a strip sack that was recovered by Jacob Lacey at the BYU 25-yard line, which setup Sawchuk's touchdown. That marked the first sack for the Sooners since the UCF game.

OU scored 21 points off of BYU turnovers. It was easily the biggest different in the game. And now the Sooners have outscored their opponents 91-3 off of turnovers this season.

OU’s run defense doesn’t show up to Provo: It’s hard to overstate how poor the Sooners defended BYU’s rushing attack.

The Cougars came into Saturday as the worst rushing offense in the Big 12, averaging 90.3 yards per game. They had crossed the 100-yard threshold in just three of their first 10 games. But against the Sooners, they got whatever they wanted. They finished with a season-high 217 yards on 5.7 yards per carry, led by Aidan Robbins’ 182 yards.

The Cougars utilized triple option early in the game but adjusted to using more RPOs (run-pass options) in the second half, and the Sooners rarely had an answer. Saturday marked just the second time this season the Sooners have surrendered more than 176 rushing yards in a game.

Special teams blunders... again: Zach Schmit came through with a 23-yard field goal late in the first half to put the Sooners up 17-14. But his inconsistency issues again struck in the fourth quarter, when he missed a 28-yard attempt that hooked wide left. The miss briefly kept the Sooners taking a lead. Schmit is now 12 of 18 on the season.

Had it not been for the takeaways or Arnold's late connection with Farooq, that miss could've cost the Sooners dearly. And while Schmit is still perfect on extra points this season, it's clear the Sooners have to address the kicking situation in the offseason.

The Sooners remain in the Big 12 hunt: There was a lot of buzz, and confusion, surrounding the conference's tiebreaker "clarification" earlier in the week. But for the Sooners, the larger goal remained the same.

They needed to win their final two games.

And while it wasn't pretty — in some ways, they escaped with a win — they've improved to 9-2 on the season with a legitimate chance as playing for a conference championship.

Though, they'll need a little help.

Road issues continue: The Sooners' struggles away from home have been well-documented. Since last season, the Sooners are 5-5 in true road games. This season, the Sooners have barely outscored their conference opponents 108-95 on the road.

While the Sooners have done just enough to stay viable in the Big 12, they've now struggled mightily against both Cincinnati and BYU on the road. Both teams are in the bottom of the conference standings.

It's clear the Sooners are simply a better, and different, team on the home, and by a significant margin. And while they play their final regular season game at home, the coaching staff needs to examine those issues before entering the SEC.