The first time the defense took the field in Oklahoma’s 35-9 loss to South Carolina on Saturday, it was not under normal circumstances.
Early in the first quarter, boos were already echoing throughout the stands at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. had immediately thrown an interception, giving the Gamecocks great field position, and in five quick plays, South Carolina already led 7-0.
Then, a touchdown off a fumble recovery and a pick-six on back-to-back possessions grew the Gamecocks’ lead to 21-0.
Oklahoma’s defense – which has been impressive through the first half of the season – walked onto the field already a step behind, supporting the concept that OU’s strength as a defense is not always supported by the numbers.
Of the 149 points given up so far this season, nearly a third of them (47) came off of turnovers committed by OU.
“As we know, nothing influences and impacts the game like turnovers and (losing) the turnover margin, which we have the last two weeks,” head coach Brent Venables said postgame.
The narrative that OU fans have gotten used to this season was emphasized on Saturday. Oklahoma’s offense failed to capitalize on opportunities, such as its inability to score in the fourth quarter even after a defensive pass interference call.
The offense has consistently put the defense in a tough spot, but it has continued to deliver. Sophomore linebacker Kip Lewis and senior defensive end Ethan Downs embodied this as they ran along the OU’s sideline, waving their arms and jumping up and down in an attempt to hype up their teammates and the fans.
The less-than-ideal situation for the defense hasn’t ruined their morale, according to Venables.
“I know these guys on defense. They’re not going to flinch. These guys got the right stuff,” Venables said. “Are there moments where they would be disappointed or frustrated? Absolutely, they’re human. Would they let that steer themselves to a place to be negative, finger-pointing, playing the blame game, making up excuses and being pissed at their teammates? Absolutely not.”
Evidence of this philosophy can be seen as sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold took over in the first quarter, and OU finally avoided a turnover and punted. The defense took the field for its first true set of drives.
There, South Carolina only picked up one first down as defensive tackle Jayden Jackson was able to record a sack to help the effort and get the Gamecocks off the field.
The Sooners were solid on defense through the remainder of the game as they continued to attack the pocket. In the second quarter, junior defensive tackle Gracen Halton had a sack for loss on third down. He finished with 1.5 sacks, giving him four sacks on the season.
The defense was able to push South Carolina off the field in the second half despite not much reciprocity by the offense.
Oklahoma’s defense finished with six sacks, 11 tackles for loss and five quarterback hurries.
Halton reiterated that there is no animosity between the offense and the defense and he knows they’ll keep moving forward as OU continues to battle through the second half of the season.
I will always be in that A gap with BV. 💯
— Gracen Halton (@GracenHalton1) October 19, 2024
“There’s no room in the game, no time to hang your head down or to feel some type of way,” Halton said on Saturday. “We’re a family, we’re together. So when they mess up, we all mess up. We can’t blame them before we blame each other. We just got to get better.”
This story was edited by Gracie Rawlings and Louis Raser.
