Sooners Dominate the Second Half To Send Riley Back To LA With An L
Boone Tillman // Sooner Born • Published: January 1st, 2031
We all know how much Lincoln Riley enjoys getting on planes headed to Los Angeles, and thanks to Armando Leon and the Oklahoma Sooners, he'll be heading to LA early this year after a dominant second half helped Oklahoma send the Trojans packing with a 35-23 victory.
Although the final score looks like a comfortable margin, the game was anything but for Sooners fans. The USC Trojans opened the game with a pair of field goal drives, while our own Sooners offense looked a tad out of touch without offensive coordinator Jerry Mack patrolling the sideline. Trailing 6-0 after two defensive stands forced field goals, Nickey and Co. got to work. That is, until Juan Peters stepped in front of a slant route and ended the drive abruptly.
To add insult to injury, Isaiah Devoe broke three tackles on a post route on the very next play from scrimmage, exploding for an 82-yard touchdown that gave USC a surprising 13-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Terrance Butcher could be seen engaged in a passionate conversation with interim OC DeMarco Murray after the interception, and many thought it was Butch demanding more carries after only touching the ball three times in the first three drives.
Butcher would carry the ball five times for 72 yards and a touchdown on the ensuing drive, cutting into the deficit to draw within a touchdown at 13-7. Brian Pennel was on fire for most of the night, in what would be his final collegiate game, and was a perfect 5/5 for 62 yards and a touchdown, with a 25-yard scramble thrown in for good measure, as he once again found Devoe for a touchdown to push the lead to 20-7 with just 34 seconds left.
With Nickey struggling and time winding down, Sooners fans expected a few running plays as the Sooners would look to regroup at the half. That thinking would be entirely wrong.
Instead, DeMarco Murray had his offense come out firing. Nickey hit Dillon Booker for a 13-yard reception and the Sooners started to move. Armed with all three timeouts, Nickey completed four of his five passes for 66 yards as Oklahoma quickly marched. A 33-yard completion to Franklin Murphy pulled Oklahoma to the nine-yard line with just 7 seconds remaining.
Armando Leon had a timeout, but let Nickey scramble the offense down the field. As time ticked down, Nickey lined up the Sooners, and executed what may be the play of the game.
Nickey found TE Maurice Lucky on a wiggle route ,just under the linebacker in coverage, and Lucky powered his way into the end zone for the last-second touchdown.
Oklahoma went into the half trailing 20-14, but with all the momentum you could ask for as the losing team.
The Sooners executed the "double dip' perfectly out of the break, with Terrance Butcher rushing for a 32-yard touchdown and the Sooners sideline was buzzing.
USC would briefly retake the lead on their next drive, but the first sack of the game was recorded by Tyler Jacques, snuffing out a promising would-be touchdown drive and forcing a field goal instead. Oklahoma would then score 21 straight points and intercept Pennel in the red zone with USC trailing 35-23 and desperate for points to close out the resurgent second half with a Sugar Bowl victory.
•••
Question One - James McDavid (OU Daily): "Coach Leon, your offense looked sluggish at first until the final touchdown drives of the first half, while USC looked like a well-oil machine. Is that due to the long rest time after the SEC Championship Game, the absence of Jerry Mack, or a combination of both?"
Armando Leon: "I think the rest myth is a little trite at this point, James. Everyone wants to say that extra week hurts your team, but they don't account for all of the guys who get healthy in that time. It's not like we don't practice or prepare the same in the lead up, so you'll never find me up here blaming rest on a poor performance. I think it was all attributed to Jerry's absence, and before anyone takes that out of context, that says nothing about the job DeMarco did in his shoes. Jerry is becoming an SEC head coach for a reason, he's talented. Anytime you lose someone with his abilities in your corner, it's going to hurt. DeMarco is learning on the job and I think he did a fantastic job of regrouping and reassessing as the game went on, as we dominated the second half."
Question Two - Romeo Taylor (The Daily Trojan): "Brian Pennel has thrown for at least 375+ yards and two touchdowns every time he has faced you and your defense Coach. What about Pennel gives you fits and how have you managed to keep him in check long enough to win the last two contests?"
Armando Leon: "It's all about picking your spots with Brian, Romeo. He isn't a quarterback you can take away for a full game. We didn't even have our first sack until midway through the third quarter and while that specifically wasn't by design, our lack of pressure was. We stuck with mostly vanilla rushing schemes in the first half, then dialed it up in the back half hoping to cause some confusion and get home. The plan, by all accounts, worked. Three sacks in the second half, forcing another field goal in the red zone, then obviously Trainer ending the game with the red zone interception. That's what you have to do against good players, take them away in the big moments and live with the rest."
Question Three - Meg Semental (SEC Network): "You predicted a big game from the running backs with DeMarco Murray running the offense. But, at least in my opinion, Markelle Nickey turned the tide with that spectacular final drive before the half. Run me through the thought process of not only letting a true freshman go for a touchdown with 34 seconds left, but not burning your final timeout despite the offense scrambling to the line with 12 seconds ticking away?"
Armando Leon: "We didn't hand him the keys to the Kingdom to babysit him with them. We had 34 seconds left. The plan was, go for a first down, if we get it, it's pedal to the metal. If we don't, we cut our losses and run out the clock. They got it, so we called the first timeout and planned the rest of the drive. As for the final play? They were gassed on the field and we had mismatches I liked. Rather than call the timeout, give them time to regroup, and try our luck, I wanted to strike while the iron is hot. But, I don't get credit for that. Nick made the call, executed the throw. We aren't talking about it if he doesn't follow through."
•••
I'ma be honest, folks. When I saw Nickey and the offense sprinting down the field to run another play with just 7 seconds left, I was screaming at my TV. We had the timeout, TAKE IT.
Then, Nickey comes through, the tide turns, and we run away in the second half. You have to wonder, does USC's spirit get broken if we take the field goal there?
You'll never know, but I don't think it does. And that's why Leon is a National Champion winning coach and I run a university funded podcast, ladies and gentlemen.
We took it on the chin today and came right back with our best shot. That's what championship caliber teams do. So long as Terrance Butcher can churn out 200-yard efforts in his sleep and the defense can get timely stops, I don't see a team left in the field that can match us.
Up next, Texas Christian University.
|
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| USC | 3 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| Oklahoma | 0 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
|
| Q | Team | Time | Play | USC | Oklahoma |
| 1st | USC | 5:35 | Caleb Cutting, 43 YD FG | 3 | 0 |
| 2nd | USC | 9:08 | Caleb Cutting, 33 Yd FG | 6 | 0 |
| 2nd | USC | 4:59 | Isaiah Devoe, 81 Yd Pass From Brain Pennel | 13 | 0 |
| 2nd | Oklahoma | 2:08 | Terrance Butcher, 2 Yd Run | 13 | 7 |
| 2nd | USC | 0:34 | Isaiah Devoe, 3 Yd Pass From Brian Pennel | 20 | 7 |
| 2nd | Oklahoma | 0:00 | Maurice Lucky, 9 Yd Pass From Markelle Nickey | 20 | 14 |
| 3rd | Oklahoma | 6:57 | Terrance Butcher, 32 Yd Run | 20 | 21 |
| 3rd | USC | 1:01 | Caleb Cutting 27 Yd FG | 23 | 21 |
| 3rd | Oklahoma | 0:10 | Brad Thorne, 72 Yd Pass From Markelle Nickey | 23 | 28 |
| 4th | Oklahoma | 2:58 | Terrance Butcher 1 Yd Run | 23 | 35 |
USC Oklahoma
Passing | Stats Passing | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Brian Pennel | 30/39, 398 Yds, 2 TD, INT Markelle Nickey | 18/25, 270 Yds, 2 TD, INT
Rushing | Stats Rushing | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Caleb Shurmur | 10 Att, 16 Yds Terrance Butcher | 20 Att, 219 Yds, 3 TD
Brian Pennel | 5 Att, 4 Yds Brad Thorne | 6 Att, 7 Yds
Receiving | Stats Receiving | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Isaiah Devoe | 7 Rec, 162 Yds, TD Brad Thorne | 3 Rec, 82 Yds, TD
Mitch Gaskin | 6 Rec, 57 Yds Maurice Lucky | 2 Rec, 28 Yds, TD
Jake Bloom | 5 Rec, 67 Yds Dillon Booker | 2 Rec, 21 Yds
Defensive | Stats Defensive | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
MLB Barry Morrison | 9 Tkl, TFL DE Leon Britt | 3 Tkl, 3 TFL
LB Brendan Hardee | 6 Tkl, TFL DT Cole Leo | 2 Tkl, 2 TFL, 1.5 Sacks
CB Juan Peters | 2 Tkl, INT CB Richard Trainer | 7 Tkl, TFL, INT
CFP Quarterfinal Results
Rose Bowl: 42 #5 Tennessee (11-3) @
#4 Clemson (12-2) 43
Peach Bowl: 10 #9 Arizona State (11-3) @
#1 Miami (13-1) 55
Fiesta Bowl: 34 #11 TCU (13-2) @ #3 Texas Tech (13-1) 31
its a big risk. What are the odds they take him at his word, versus drawing their own conclusions. Coaches and players have been blacklisted for less. Especially non yt ones
