OU quarterback Drew Allen makes his case to be No. 2 quarterback for Sooners

Outplaying Blake Bell, Allen completed 16 of 29 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown, propelling the Red to a 20-14 victory over the White before a crowd of 25,598 at Owen Field.

“He should take confidence from the way he played, whether it was front of people or not,” Stoops said. “Making decisions, running the offense, he did a really good job of it.

“It was exciting to see.”

On a team with 16 starters returning and so few questions remaining, the matter of who will be backing up Landry Jones next season seemed to be one of the most pressing issues of the spring.

Allen backed up Jones last season, but only attempted 14 passes and never played a meaningful down the entire season, prompting the belief that Bell, a former 5-star recruit, could make a push for the position.

Instead, Allen all but confirmed the job is his until further notice.

From the outset, he displayed command in the pocket, engineered OU's patented quick tempo and made several crisp throws downfield.

And on the Red's second possession, Allen found a groove that carried through the rest of the first half. He zipped a pass through traffic to Dejuan Miller across the middle of the field for a 20-yard first down. Came back to Kenny Stills for 10 yards on a quick out. Then, recognizing he had a free play when the defense jumped, Allen hummed a pass over the outstretched hands of cornerback Joe Powell and into the arms of Miller at the far pylon for a 16-yard touchdown.