LUBBOCK — The goalposts fell swiftly, much like Oklahoma has this season, as the Sooners dejectedly trudged back to their locker room.
Texas Tech fans overwhelmed Cody Campbell Field and knocked over the uprights immediately after the Red Raiders’ stunning 51-48 upset of the Sooners via an overtime field goal. “We Are the Champions,” by Queen reverberated through Jones AT&T Stadium and into the night.
The Red Raiders and their posse didn’t hold back after a season-crowning win over the soon-to-be SEC bound Sooners, who again showed signs they’re not quite ready to compete in college football’s most prestigious conference.
“We didn’t coach or play good enough today,” first-year OU coach Brent Venables said afterward, his culture-building work this season tested again by a frustrating defeat. “Our guys fought their guts out. I’m just disappointed we couldn’t do more to help them.”
Following the fourth one-possession loss Oklahoma (6-6, 3-6 Big 12) has suffered this season, one of the program’s worst since the late 1990s, no fun remained to be had. Too many mistakes made for a chaotic game that ended in disaster. Even worse: in other vestibules of the college football landscape, former Sooners were having all the fun.
Not long after Venables’ comments, his players soberly lumbered up the southeast stadium tunnel to their charter buses. Kicker Zach Schmit, who missed a 43-yarder that would’ve given the Sooners a three-point overtime lead, stopped briefly for encouragement from former Oklahoma offensive lineman Gabe Ikard, but many walked silently on by.
“It was a big learning experience for everyone,” said wide receiver Theo Wease, reflecting on the end of the regular season. “Everyone in the locker room... we've never had a season like this before. So it was just a lot of growing pains.”
Sooners during the game against Texas Tech in Lubbock on Nov. 26.
OU received everything it could’ve asked of quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who threw for a season-high 449 yards and career-high six touchdowns. Running back Eric Gray grinded for 161 yards and receiver Marvin Mims ripped the Red Raiders (7-5, 5-4) for 162 more and two scores in the first half. Defensively, linebacker Danny Stutsman was all over the field, making a career-high 18 total tackles.
But, as Venables put it, “the wheels fell off,” after the first quarter, and the Sooners quit playing complimentary football. That was especially evident in the second quarter, when OU was up 24-6 with under seven minutes left, but allowed the Red Raiders to score 17 unanswered points and cut their halftime deficit to one.
Consecutive three-and-outs, one ending in a Gabriel interception on Oklahoma’s 20-yard line, set Texas Tech up perfectly. The Sooners also had a touchdown negated by a penalty twice in the second.
“We had opportunities to slam the door and we didn't slam the door,” said tight end Brayden Willis, who played through a foot injury suffered during pregame warmups. “We had critical mistakes, and when you play in a conference like this where everybody is good, critical mistakes will get you beat.”
Another opportunity came with 5:16 remaining in the fourth, when cornerback C.J. Coldon notched his team-leading fourth interception, positioning the Sooners on Texas Tech’s 33-yard line. But Oklahoma’s offense gained just eight yards on three plays, and with a paltry 1-for-4 mark on fourth down, it opted for Schmit’s 42-yard field goal.
The first play of overtime saw Gabriel clobbered as he corralled a trick-play pass from Drake Stoops, forcing him to the sideline for a play. That completely wrecked the plan for the drive, according to offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.
Gabriel later reentered and was sacked on third down, giving way to Schmit’s miss and Texas Tech kicker Trey Wolffe’s eventual 35-yard game-winner.
“I was on the field and I saw (the field goal) go over, and I thought it was good,” Willis said of Schmidt’s kick. “I guess they thought otherwise. Can't really do too much about that. We just shouldn't have been in that position to allow the refs to control the game.”
"SEC" sign during the game against Texas Tech in Lubbock on Nov. 26.
Around seven hours and 30 minutes before OU’s loss, 1,253 miles east, former Sooners quarterback Spencer Rattler leaned against a locker inside the bowels of Clemson Memorial Stadium, puffing smoke from a large cigar before grinning ear to ear.
Led by former OU tight ends coach Shane Beamer, he engineered South Carolina’s 31-30 upset of No. 8 Clemson, throwing for 360 yards and recording three total touchdowns while knocking the Tigers out of College Football Playoff contention.
— Gamecock Football (@GamecockFB) November 26, 2022
And while Oklahoma was stumbling through the night, 1,110 miles west in sunny Los Angeles, another former Sooners star, Caleb Williams, was dancing his way to four total touchdowns and striking the pose synonymous with the Heisman Trophy he will likely win this season.
Led by former OU coach Lincoln Riley, whose departure for USC will hit its one-year anniversary on Monday, the No. 6 Trojans topped No. 15 Notre Dame 38-27. Riley has USC in the thick of the final College Football Playoff push as his former team continues its free fall.
Caleb with the Heisman poseđź‘€ pic.twitter.com/7zOqKJJYr9
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 27, 2022
Would any of the current Sooners who battled alongside Rattler, Williams and Riley last season trade their current situation for greener grass?
“Whether the way the season went or not, I'm not regretting coming back here,” Mims said. “I love this place. I love this community. I love this family and coaches that they brought up to the staff. I mean, I love those guys that are at other schools too. I still talk to a bunch of them, see how they're doing, but that was their choice. My choice was to stay here. Did I have the choice to leave? Yeah, but I wanted to just stay here and just enjoy this, this program and these people.”
Willis added: “Those guys have worked hard. I've seen those guys work hard and I'm happy they're having success. The success here will come. First we gotta go through adversity. And that's OK. Like I said, I'm not gonna be able to see the fruits of my labor this year, but in due time, we will. We don't wish ill will upon nobody and we just keep our head down, keep on swinging, and it’s gonna go right for us.”
But nothing went right in Lubbock, and if Texas Tech fans had the manpower, they might’ve knocked down their north end zone in anticipation of the new facilities being built there after this season, like head coach Joey McGuire predicted back in July they would after beating OU. The narrowly founded uprights, much easier to fell, were deemed a sufficient sacrifice.
The Sooners are confident they won't bend like those goalposts in the future because of how the coaching staff has mentored them this fall. Through a trying first season as a head coach, Venables’ team has looked flimsy at times, but his players believe he’s rebuilding Oklahoma into a sturdy football coliseum.
“The coaching staff does a great job,” Willis said. “Like I said, they pour into us. This is a great group of coaches that know what they're doing, and once we get everything rolling, we don't make the mistakes that we have in four close games this season, it's a totally different season.”
