OU-Miami: a possession that haunts the Sooners
Everyone is talking about OU’s final offensive series against Miami, when the Sooners threatened but settled for a field goal. Here’s what I think was the killer series for the Sooners, who lost 21-20.
Second possession of the second half. Miami had just scored, one play after Landry Jones’ fumble, to take a 14-10 lead and commandeer all momentum.
But the Sooners came back. Mossis Madu returned the kickoff 21 yards to the OU 34-yard line, which on this night was excellent field position for the Sooners. Then Jones completed a 3rd-and-10 pass to Cameron Kinney for 12 yards. And OU got a pass interference penalty on 3rd-and-15. Finally, Jones sneaked for two yards on 3rd-and-1. OU had a first down at the Miami 33.
Then it all fell apart. Jones threw two straight incompletions. Chris Brown lost two yards on a 3rd-and-10 draw play. Worse yet, Trent Williams was called for unnecessary roughness, sending the Sooners back to the 50. Then Brown mouthed off, and 15 more penalty yards, this for unsportsmanlike conduct. Suddenly, OU went from first down in field-goal range to 4th-and-42 from its 35, one yard past where it had started THREE FIRST DOWNS AGO.
Fourth-and-42. Tress Way, who otherwise had a superb night punting, didn’t even get his subsequent punt 42 yards. It went 38 yards, to the Miami 27, the same general real estate OU had been just a moment before. Eight plays later, the Hurricanes had a touchdown and a 21-10 lead.
It was a runaway mine train of momentum for Miami, much of which could have been squelched with a scoring drive. Jimmy Stevens, bless his soul, suddenly is a decent kicker. From the Miami 33, even six or seven yards would have set up a 43-yard field goal. Maybe a 14-13 game.
Instead, OU played uphill all night, with one of the worst series of plays in recent Sooner history.
Everyone wants to talk about the fourth quarter. For good reason. But the third quarter beat the Sooners.
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