The golden hat returns to Norman. Watch our highlights from the #Sooners last minute victory over Texas:
Filmed and edited by Justin Jayne
No 6. Oklahoma (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) came back from an 18-point halftime deficit to defeat rival No. 21 Texas (4-2, 2-1), 55-48, on Saturday in Dallas.
Here’s what OU defensive coordinator Alex Grinch had to say after the victory:
On holding Texas to 27 rushing yards in the second half
“(Nik Bonitto and Reggie Grimes) without question were the MVPs defensively. Perrion (Winfrey) certainly stepped up as well. That front, as much as anything, we allow them to have an impact. We did a good job of not putting ourselves in bad spots to where we could feel their impact where we got guys to go down, not bust tackles, and limit explosive plays. I think without question they had a huge impact. It really changed what otherwise was a disappointing day."
On the game’s momentum swings
“We were dying for a swing in momentum, just something to right the ship. It just wasn't coming, and it's self inflicted on our parts. From a coaching standpoint, you're trying to find ways to put guys in a position to be successful, and certainly there were times today that we didn't.
"We talked about how it's not going to take one play. One play is not going to get this thing down. It's going to be a combination. It’s going to be finding a way. It's going to be trying to turn the tide and flipping the momentum within a drive, and we just were not able to do that early on.
"There were three sudden change opportunities where you got to find a way to get a stop. We did not do that, and so it added up to where there was a lot of momentum on that other side. In that second half, we just kept chipping away. As much as anything, it's one drive at a time.
"We may have held them to three, and maybe that three is gonna get us beat. But, in that moment, that's where they're at, and it's better than seven, and we gotta go find another way to get a stop. The crowd was tremendous to not give up on us and really helped us in the second half.”
On Danny Stutsman’s return
“He absolutely does (bring energy). There are some guys that just bring a lot of motor when they’re on the field, and he’s one of them. We felt it all the way back to fall camp. You just feel it when he's out there. He's only going to get better as we go through this thing.
"Adding him into the mix certainly helps us as we move forward. You’re talking about a true freshman that’s been out for so many weeks, and then you step back on the practice field this week, and in your first game, you go play against the University of Texas. He played well, so we're excited about him.”
On how OU’s productive offense motivated the defense
“From a defensive standpoint, you wanna give those guys on offense a chance and give them an opportunity. Just because a game starts a certain way doesn't mean it's going to finish that way. We've been on the other side of this. We know if we can keep momentum, that offense and that quarterback has a chance to inch back into this game. So we’re saying ‘Let's go find another way to get a stop. Let’s give those guys a chance.’ I thought our guys did that in the second half very well.”
