Midway through the third quarter Samaje Perine received the hand off on a zone read from quarterback Trevor Knight, just as he did so many times a season ago.
He made one cut toward the middle of the field. He ran past a pair of TCU defenders. And then he ran over another.
Oklahoma’s newest 1,000-yard rusher then regained his balance and surged up field, traveling 72 yards to the end zone on a bum ankle. Austin Seibert’s extra point gave OU its 30th and final point of the night.
And with 8:45 remaining in the third quarter, that’s all the Sooners would need.
The first half of No. 7 Oklahoma’s 30-29 victory over No. 18 TCU was like any other Sooners' effort since losing to Texas on Oct 10.
Baker Mayfield wasn’t efficient — he completed just six of his first 14 passes — but he was effective. He threw for two touchdowns and didn’t turn the ball over.
One of those touchdowns came after the play that eventually ended his night. Mayfield was on the wrong end of a targeting call, with TCU linebacker Ty Summers delivering the hit.
After finishing the half, Mayfield admitted to the training staff that he had a headache. Finally exhibiting signs of a concussion that OU feared, his day was done.
Trevor Knight relieved Mayfield, but the offense was not the same. With Knight on the field, the Sooners managed just six plays of more than six yards.
“We had to try to find a way to get a first down, and we didn’t end up doing that as much as we wanted to,” Knight said.
OU struggled to move the ball, but it was able to keep it away from the Horned Frogs. The Sooners won the time-of-possession battle by more than five minutes in the second half, running the ball 27 times.
And even though Sterling Shepard didn’t find the end zone in the second half, he made two long catches that extended drives for Oklahoma. He also caught four of Knight’s five completions in the second half.
Those plays — coupled with Perine’s enormous run — gave the Sooners a chance to hold on.
“Work horses,” Knight said. “That’s why (Perine and Sterling Shepard) are out there on the field. Big time players do make big time plays in big time moments, and they did.”
Still, it’s hard to ignore how abysmal the Sooners were in the second half offensively.
Removing Perine’s big gain, Oklahoma averaged just 3.4 yards play after Mayfield left the game.
“We weren’t aggressive enough,” offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said. “We got away from who we are offensively and that’s my fault. That’ can’t happen.”
Riley was limited by Knight’s poor play. He completed just five of 16 passes for 76 yards and an interception. Still, he came to Knight’s defense after the game.
“There’s not anything in this offense that he can’t do,” Riley said. “This is a guy that came as close as it could be to going into the season as the starter and has won a lot of major games. I had full confidence in him.
“I wouldn’t say any position group didn’t play well in the second half. We were just okay. We had some things there that kind of just went the other way.”
If Mayfield isn’t able to go on Saturday against Oklahoma State, the Sooners will once again look to Perine and Shepard to carry the offense.
But this time, it could be with a playoff spot on the line.
