Postgame Thoughts: South Carolina 35, Oklahoma 9
The Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday entered a new circle of the hell that is their 2024 season, falling to the South Carolina Gamecocks by a final score of 35-9 in Norman. Not long after settling into their seats, attendees of the homecoming festivities found the home team trailing 21-0. A barrage of errors in the first five minutes of the contest put OU at an insurmountable disadvantage, and little else about how the game played out suggested the situation is improving.
A pastiche of musings about the loss based on my preliminary viewing of the game…
*Prior to the season, I expressed my misgivings about OU’s offensive line. The unit undoubtedly put a cap on the squad’s prospects for this year. The fact that the Sooners have seen a steady diet of some of the nation’s best defensive lines this year – and the South Carolina DL is undoubtedly one of them – has highlighted just how flawed this group really is.
Whatever your objections to the rest of the game plan and execution may be, the ineptitude of the OL rendered just about anything OU wanted to do irrelevant.
*Nine sacks allowed… nine.
*Given the OL constraints, how do you evaluate the offensive game plan? Leaving tight ends and running backs to block players like defensive end Dylan Stewart one-on-one wasn’t good. OU probably ran the ball as effectively as it has all season, though. And giving Jackson Arnold some quick throws seemed to help him establish some rhythm after he entered the game at quarterback.
Overall, the catastrophic start makes it hard to find many positives.
*Speaking of Arnold, his confidence didn’t seem particularly rattled by getting benched a few weeks ago. His final stats (18-of-36 pass attempts for 225 yards and a touchdown) admittedly looked pedestrian, but a bevy of drops by his receivers did him no favors.
Arnold generally appeared more settled than in previous outings. Maybe the benching helped get his mind right. Whatever the case may be, he played well enough to earn the job back.
*OU needs a receiver or two to get healthy soon in the worst way.
*Frankly, I find things like OU fumbling six times on Saturday almost as distressing as the state of the offensive line. A turnover margin of minus-four won’t win many games.
*I didn’t care for the fake punt, but we should acknowledge the Sooners had reached desperation mode by that point.
*Let’s break down South Carolina’s scoring:
One TD on a fumble return;
One TD on an interception return;
TDs on drives of 41 yards and 75 yards; and
Field goals on drives of four and six yards.
All in all, a solid day at the office for the defense.
*OU’s pass rush performed at its highest level so far this season, producing six sacks. Elusive South Carolina QB Lanorris Sellers managed to scramble out of trouble on a handful of other occasions in which he was pressured.
Defensive linemen Gracen Halton, David Stone and Jayden Jackson all played particularly well. Defensive end P.J. Adebawore also gave his best performance of the year.
*OU was equally stout against the run. The Sooners bottled up Gamecocks running back Rocket Sanders, who pounded out just 33 yards on 15 carries. Again, the DL had a major hand in that success by controlling the line of scrimmage when South Carolina had the ball.
*More Dasan McCullough and Sam Omosigho, please.