Kip Lewis

Redshirt sophomore linebacker Kip Lewis during Walk of Champions on Sept. 21.

 Annie Davenport/OU Daily

With a little over eight and a half minutes to go left in the fourth quarter, Auburn got the ball back after Oklahoma cut the Tigers deficit to 21-16. 

A 2-yard touchdown from junior running back Jovantae Barnes, and a failed 2-point conversion from freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. put the Tigers in a prime position to win. Auburn was making an attempt to gain a couple of first downs and chew the clock to give the Sooners as little time to put a drive together late.

However, on a third and four with less than five minutes in the game, Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne threw his SEC-leading sixth interception of the season to OU redshirt sophomore linebacker Kip Lewis. Lewis would then return it 63 yards for a touchdown, giving the Sooners their first lead since 12:30 in the first quarter.

Lewis would ultimately help solidify the win for Oklahoma, as the Sooners defense came through late with several stops, leading them to a 27-21 victory over Auburn on Saturday.

“I was just trying to get my breath back and finish the game,” Lewis said of his game-changing interception. “I knew that we still had to go back out there and finish it off.”

Lewis and the rest of the Oklahoma defense were able to limit Auburn to just 1-7 on third downs, and sacked Thorne three times in the second half.

“I love watching him play,” Venables said postgame. “He plays with so much joy and happiness. When you’re chewing him out, he’s a happy guy, but a lot of fun helping those guys celebrate some success.”

While the Sooners allowed Auburn to connect on some long passes in the first half, the Tigers only managed one scoring drive in the second half, and the Auburn offense could not find its rhythm after Thorne’s pick six.

On the day, Auburn outgained the Sooners 482-291 and had 35 minutes and 26 seconds of possession during the game compared to OU’s 24 minutes and 34 seconds. But the Sooners were the ones that made the right stops at the right times.

“It can be the heartbeat of a locker room,” Venables said when describing the defense. “They’ve shown a lot more of good than not good through the first five games.”

“Those last four drives were outstanding … they found a way, and I’m so thankful for those guys.”

Despite OU giving up more total yards than it has in any game this season, the defense was able to get off the field at the right time. On Auburn’s second drive of the game, senior defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. was able to stop the Tigers on a 4th and goal on their 13th play of the drive.

Oklahoma was also able to benefit from Auburn’s special teams miscues on Saturday.

The Tigers were without their starting kicker Alex McPherson — who made all 13 of his field goals last season — on Saturday. 

Auburn was forced to start redshirt freshman kicker Towns McGough against the Sooners, but McGough couldn’t capitalize on his opportunities. He missed a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, and missed a 51-yarder with 10:12 left in the fourth quarter.

Following McGough’s second missed field goal, Oklahoma was able to drive down the field and cut the lead to five following a Barnes touchdown. 

With the win on Saturday, OU gets its first win in SEC play in program history. With the grueling schedule the Sooners have the rest of the season, wins like the one OU had against Auburn will be hard to earn.

“Every week it gets harder and harder to win, it never gets easier,” co-defensive coordinator Zac Alley said. “You’ve got to put in the work every single week, and I think they feel that coming out of this game. We’re not where we want to be, but we’re on our way.” 

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