Sooners ‘control the volume’ in Nebraska blowout
LINCOLN, Neb. – All the elements were in play for something incredibly wacky to happen as Oklahoma made its first trip to Nebraska since 2009 with the rivalry being renewed.
First road game of the season. First road game for head coach Brent Venables. A rejuvenated Huskers team, following the firing of Scott Frost last Sunday.
Very combustible, could have been a disaster. Instead, it’s the initial stamp of the Venables era with a dominating 49-14 victory against Nebraska, the most points ever scored by an OU team in Lincoln.
There was already some revisionist history being thrown out there in the second half after OU took a 35-7 lead into intermission about LOL Nebraska. That’s easy to say in hindsight, but the atmosphere was real. Nobody was hinting at an epic blowout just days and minutes before kickoff.
It was electric for the first game for interim head coach Mickey Joseph, but it was the Sooners who absorbed the initial blow before responding with their own knockout punch.
“The best teams learn how to control the volume,” Venables said. “All right, whether it's home or away, we learn how to control the volume. So we were able to do that today.”
Sure didn’t look like it early after OU punted on its first possession and Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson marched the Huskers right down the field for a touchdown.
After Dillon Gabriel’s surprising and career-long 61-yard touchdown run, though, everybody breathed that sigh of relief.
OU went back to work and controlled both lines of scrimmages. And that deafening roar that welcomed OU during the beginning slowly got quieter until it was virtually non-existent for the second half.
“I think it just stamped our mindset with how we approach every single day but also every opportunity,” Gabriel said. “We can’t take it for granted, knowing that God put us here and blessed us with the opportunity to play this game. I have a lot of respect for the game, respect for the opponent and preparing as such, that’s really important. The mindset is what speaks the most in continuing forward.”
After allowing 77 yards on the opening TD drive, OU’s defense responded by allowing just 76 yards the rest of the half. Seven drives, five punts, turnover on downs and halftime.
Order was restored.
There’s a lot of pageantry whenever OU and Nebraska get together, but you have to look beyond that. It’s not just nostalgia, but about what the 2022 Sooners can do.
A lot of good in the first two wins, but most felt this would be the afternoon where you would get an idea of what can be.
It’s a heck of a way to close out the non-conference schedule and get ready for a showdown vs. Kansas State next Saturday night.
“Tough. Resilient. Edgy. Hungry. Never satisfied,” Venables said. “I think those would be the best… are those adjectives or not? I love the way we're developing. Our leadership and our mindset and these guys are super, super hungry and they want you to coach them hard. And when I say like they are literally sitting on the edge of their seat in every meeting. I can't say it any more clearly and truthful.”
Gabriel finished with 230 passing yards and two touchdowns (Jalil Farooq, Theo Wease) to go with his 61-yard score on the ground. Running back Eric Gray rushed for 113 yards and scored his first two touchdowns of the season.
“I think it’s a big testament to the O-line,” Gray said. “I think the O-line came out, they responded, they played great. We had a lot of downhill runs, we had a lot of space in there today. It’s a testament to my performance, to all the guys, over 300 yards rushing. That’s a big testament to the O-line.”
Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby went into his bag of tricks, and Brayden Willis delivered with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Major. Add it all up, 580 yards of offense.
The defense finished with four sacks, nine tackles for loss, a recovered fumble (Jaren Kanak) and an interception (Key Lawrence). By no means perfect, but there were stretches Saturday that saw the best complete performance by OU this season.
Another week of seeing the growth, of seeing OU not play down to its level of competition. It’s not a finished puzzle, but the pieces are coming together nicely and better and better by the minute.