Every play matters in a college football game but some do a better job of explaining the outcome than others. Here are the five plays that told the story of Oklahoma’s 33-3 win vs. Kent State.
OU 33, Kent State 3
Play No. 1: Mims wakes everybody up
Not sure anybody expected OU to be scoreless for the first 29 minutes of the game, but that’s the way it worked out.
The Kent State missed field goal set the tone for the final drive, and then Dillon Gabriel and Marvin Mims took it the rest of the way.
Back-to-back-to-back completions to Mims, culminating in the 36-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left in the first half.
“He’s an explosive player. I trust Marv,” Gabriel said. “I know what he can do with the football in his hands. You know special things can happen when that happens. A lot to learn from, a lot to fix, but it you look at it from another perspective, I’m glad of how the guys all stuck together. I’m proud of how we found an answer and didn’t hit the panic button.”
Gabriel would find Mims again in the second half for another touchdown as well.
Play No. 2: Bowman makes imprint
OU came out of the second half gate strong, putting up a touchdown. And then the defense got involved in the act.
On Kent State’s opening drive of the third quarter, a team effort by defensive backs Billy Bowman and Jaden Davis got the ball rolling.
Bowman and Davis both went for the strip, with Bowman causing the fumble and recovering it.
“It was very important. We were looking for one the whole first half,” Bowman said. “We just needed somebody to make a play and it just happened to be me. If was anyone else, it would have been the same way.”
It led to a field goal to put just a little more breathing room on the scoreboard.
Play No. 3: Stoops’ effort
And here’s the touchdown that let everybody know you can exhale and enjoy the rest of the show.
This drive shows you what can happen when Jeff Lebby’s offense is humming. Four plays, 80 yards in 58 seconds, end zone.
A great individual effort by Drake Stoops on an 18-yard touchdown reception, where he lost his shoe in the process.
“What a baller. He does that about once every single game. At least once, right? What a fun guy to watch play and compete,” head coach Brent Venables said. “What a great example for guys because he doesn’t say anything. He just shows up every day, man, and he just lays it out there every day.”
Now 24-3, and OU had found its groove.
Play No. 4: Stutsman stones ‘em
You can’t talk about OU’s defensive performance without mentioning the performance from linebacker Danny Stutsman.
Need one play to epitomize it, and this is it.
With Kent State facing a fourth-and-one at OU’s 18 yard line, Stutsman and Jalen Redmond combined to make the play and make the stop.
“Man, the kid’s a player. You know, he plays really, really hard,” defensive end Reggie Grimes said. “He does his job really, really well. Do we have a lot of things to work on? Sure. But just taking time to congratulate and understand and respect the work that he and the rest of the guys put in is really, really important.”
Stutsman finished with a whopping 12 tackles, a sack and four tackles for loss.
Play No. 5: Harrington’s story continues
We shall end with a feel-good moment as Justin Harrington’s redemption story continues with his first-career interception.
He’s been humbled, and Harrington is simply willing to do whatever is asked of him, wherever it’s asked of him by this coaching staff.
“If you know your role and know your job in coverage, plays are going to come to you if you’re doing the right thing,” Harrington said. “As coaches say, if you’re not doing the right thing, this game will expose you in a good way or expose you in a bad way.”
Harrington was a little disappointed that he couldn’t take it back to the end zone, but it’s clear in the first two games how different of a player he is this time around.
