PASADENA, Calif. – Every play matters in a college football game but some tell the story of a game better than others. Here are the five from Oklahoma’s victory at UCLA.
OU 48, UCLA 14
Play No. 1: Hurts takes off
Don’t you have to start here? First play from scrimmage, and Hurts starts right, goes left and down the sideline for 52 yards untouched until being pushed out of bounds.
The records Hurts set in that first quarter were pretty nuts, including rushing for 99 yards on one drive and become the first OU quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards in the first quarter.
It really set the tone of the evening as what looked like could have been a potential trap game was actually going to be another blowout victory for the Sooners.
Hurts finished with 439 total yards, accounting for four more scores and is still without an interception this season.
Play No. 2: Redmond attacks
This is sort of a two-for-one combo here among the OU defensive line in Jalen Redmond and Ronnie Perkins.
The Sooners were up 20-7 midway through the second quarter when Redmond had an explosive 15-yard sack of Dorrian Thompson-Robinson.
Thompson-Robinson started backing up for his life when Redmond got through, and you could see all the skill on display as Redmond starts to become a bigger and more consistent factor.
“Another playmaker, really. Always brag on him,” Perkins said. “He’s a big dude. Fast dude. You don’t get a lot of those guys, especially on the d-line. He’s definitely a big-time playmaker.”
Perkins would follow with a tackle for no gain, and it was time for OU to get the ball again and score and start separating on the scoreboard.
Play No. 3: Ballers ball
The good ones know when they have to go outside of the design to make something happen, and that’s exactly what Hurts and wide receiver Charleston Rambo did on the next possession.
Facing a second-and-10 at the UCLA 48 yard line, Hurts’ initial read wasn’t there. He kept the play alive and kept looking down field until he could find someone.
Who he found was Rambo streaking across the middle of the field, then using his speed to finish the 48-yard touchdown connection to give OU a 27-7 advantage.
“I was watching him. I was open and I see him,” Rambo said. “He was kind of ducking, dodging. I'm like, all right, I see a seam, let me go to it. He found me.”
Rambo led the team with five catches for 116 yards and two scores.
Play No. 4: Davis doing the little things
Not sure many would have predicted freshman cornerback Jaden Davis would be the team’s leading tackler and making some good ones in open space as well.
On two separate occasions, Davis made a third down tackle to keep the Bruins from getting a first down. On the initial one, Justin Broiles was able to break up a fourth down attempt by UCLA.
Then the second one, with OU leading 41-14 to start the fourth quarter, a nice open-field stop by Davis was followed by a missed field goal.
“But to kind of highlight a kid like Jaden Davis,” defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said. “He just continues to impress as a young guy in the program and obviously there’s been a need in the secondary for a mature kid to come in and produce for us.”
Play No. 5: Asamoah beginning to flash
What this is saying more than anything is the defensive depth is starting to be built by Grinch and company, especially when it comes to defensive line and linebackers.
Guys like Isaiah Thomas, Nik Bonitto and Brian Asamoah are providing depth and production. It’s not just about giving starters a breather, it’s about playing like one, too.
Asamoah saw a lot of snaps in the fourth quarter and made them count. He had a nice stop in the run game and punctuated his evening with a sack late in the fourth quarter that really fired up some of his fellow linebackers.
Remains to be seen if these guys can really help OU in conference play, but it’s an encouraging sign to see how well they’re faring with their number being called so far.
