That’s not how the first game of the season was supposed to go down for Oklahoma. The No. 2-ranked team in the country needed one major defensive play to avoid another historic collapse in Norman and avoid blowing a 23-point halftime lead.

It was Nik Bonitto and Perrion Winfrey to the rescue, combining for a huge sack to help preserve OU’s 40-35 win against Tulane on Saturday afternoon at Owen Field in the season opener for both teams.

And exhale.

The Sooners have been in this position too many times before where it has felt like a blowout is about to ensue only to see everything evaporate and fall apart and having to cling for a victory.

The game originally scheduled for New Orleans was moved to Norman on Monday afternoon because of the damaged sustained in the New Orleans area from Hurricane Ida.

Whether you want to say Tulane was playing inspired or OU let its foot off the gas pedal, heck, it’s all accurate. Maybe the only bright side is it’s a win for the Sooners, where last year it was a couple of early-season losses that were the learning lessons.

“Honestly, any questions you guys are getting ready to ask, whether about a player or a side of the ball, it’s kind of all the same to me right now,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “Moments of brilliance, some really, really good things in the first half. But a team that mentally was not prepared to come out in the second half and play the way that we needed to play. Thinking well, the game’s over just because we went on a good run there.

“It’s gotta be better. It’s gotta get coached better starting with me. We almost let one get away from us that had no business happening.”

It was eerily reminiscent to last year’s loss vs. KSU where OU led by 21 points in the third quarter before faltering. This time around, it was a 37-14 cushion at halftime.

As OU felt the win was already in the bag, somebody forgot to tell the Green Wave, outscoring the Sooners 21-3 in the second half and outplaying them by perhaps even a bigger margin.

“That's a tough team,” quarterback Spencer Rattler said. “That was one of the hardest hitting teams, one of the most physical teams I've played. They came out there, and they played great, better than us, for sure. They wanted to win more than us. You could tell it.”

The numbers say Rattler had a fine afternoon, completing 30 of 39 passes for 304 yards for a touchdown and running for another. But he threw two interceptions, including on the first drive of the game. And with the offense stuck in neutral for most of the second half, he couldn’t rally the troops to get it rolling again.

Defensively, Tulane hit OU in the mouth with back-to-back scoring drives before Alex Grinch’s group settled down. Creating three turnovers in the second quarter, but then starting to wilt a bit in the heat down the stretch.

After Tulane scored to make it 40-35 with 2:18 left in the game, the Green Wave recovered the onside kick and had a chance for the win.

Bonitto and Winfrey combined for a third down sack, and Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt scrambled and dove for 12 yards on fourth-and-13.

“Just knowing that we always preach finishing in the fourth quarter,” Bonitto said. “The defense knew we needed a stop and I feel like we did a good job rallying up before that drive and making sure that we could finish the game. I felt like we did a really good job of finishing and came out with a win.”

OU took over, Kennedy Brooks was able to burn the rest of the clock, and the Sooners took a knee to secure the win that sure didn’t feel like one.

“I mean right now, we didn't play to the best of our (abilities),” said wide receiver Marvin Mims, who had five catches for a game-high 117 yards. “But we're feeling good. We're coming off a win. You know, it's hard to win in college football. That's why there are so many upsets and all that stuff that happens every year.

“It's hard to win a football game. I think it's hard for people on the outside to see that, but at the same time, we won, so there's obviously something to be happy about.”

Something to happy about, but knowing full well that No. 2 ranking doesn’t mean a thing anymore. You can count on one or two hiccups a season with the Sooners, they better hope they got this one out of their system early and can show who they really are the rest of the way.