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Oklahoma football: Personal fouls hurt Sooners' defense in loss to Houston

Coach Stoops Reacts to Penalty

OU head coach Bob Stoops reacts to late-hit penalty on OU's defense at NGR Stadium, Saturday, September 3, 2016. OU fell to Houston 23-33 in the season opener. OU committed five penalties for 66 yards lost and lost two turnovers.

 Tyler Woodward/The Daily

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HOUSTON — No. 3 Oklahoma's defense struggled to control Houston quarterback Greg Ward but also struggled to control themselves Saturday as costly penalties helped extend the Cougars' drives. 

The Sooners (0-1) finished with five penalties for 66 yards, but the mistakes came in critical situations, helping No. 15 Houston (1-0) upset the defending Big 12 champions, 33-23. 

"We didn't play very smart," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "I thought a lot of the penalties, particularly on defense, really hurt us."

Trailing 17-13 in the second quarter, Houston was able to drive into Oklahoma territory and kick a field goal thanks to two personal foul calls on the Sooners. One, against freshman cornerback Parrish Cobb, moved the Cougars to OU's 37 yard line.

Then, a roughing the passer call negated an ineligible man down field call against the Cougars, resulting in offsetting penalties. 

"We had them in another bad situation, we get a personal foul," defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said. "We didn't do much right, especially in the first half of this game."

It happened again the next drive, when Greg Ward's short pass to junior receiver Steven Dunbar on third down was stopped well short of the sticks. 

But a roughing the passer call against junior linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, who appeared to hit Ward in the head with both hands after the senior released the ball. That gave the Cougars a first down, and seven plays later they kicked a field goal to take a 19-17 lead into halftime.

"The personal foul really just came from me trying to bat down the ball and following through when I didn't get the ball and hitting his head," Okoronkwo said. "That was just on me. That's just a dumb play on me, an undisciplined play."

Houston actually had more penalties, getting called 7 times for 75 yards. But the Cougars were able to turn the Sooners's mistakes into points.

Trailing 26-17 in the third quarter, a different type of penalty hurt the Sooners. Senior cornerback Dakota Austin was called for his second pass interference penalty of the game on third and goal, giving the Cougars a new set of downs. Ward found senior tight end Tyler Mccluskey for a touchdown on the next play.

Ward eluded the Sooners defense all day, throwing for 321 yards. The Sooners' pass rush, which is trying to replace departed outside linebackers Eric Striker and Devante Bond, sacked him just twice.

Personal fouls plagued the Sooners last season as well. The Sooners had 134 yards of penalties in the 2015 win over West Virginia, including three personal fouls on one drive.

"Those are personal fouls. That's what we can control," Okoronkwo said. "We're not frustrated at anybody but ourselves."

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