Lessons from OU's 16-12 win over Houston

NORMAN – The Sooners were 30-point favorites before Saturday's game against Houston.

But their performance was anything but dominant.

The Sooners took an early lead but had to hold on for all four quarters and were able to pull away with a narrow 16-12 win over the Cougars. Many of the themes from last week's win over Temple resurfaced against the Cougars, as the offense struggled again.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

Given last week's difficulties, the focus on Saturday was solely on the Sooners' offensive line. To make matters worse, Branson Hickman And Geirian Hatchett got dressed, but did not play, and Troy Everett was back in civilian clothes. But Jake Taylor returned after missing the opening game against Temple, which would likely give him a boost.

Instead, it was a nightmare for the offense.

It was Michael Tarquin, Jacob Küster, Joshua Bates, Febechi Nwaiwu and Taylor, who got the start, but the offensive line never found a rhythm. After allowing three sacks against Temple last week, the offensive line allowed Temple to Jackson-Arnold twice while allowing six tackles for loss.

The running game was nonexistent. The Sooners ran the ball 29 times and managed just 75 yards (2.6 yards per run), and 11 of those runs were completed by Arnold. Jovantae Barnes led the backfield with 12 runs over 40 yards, while Gavin Sawchuk And Taylor-Tatum a total of 10 yards in five attempts.

The data from Pro Football Focus will be interesting to watch. But one thing is clear: This offensive line should have looked better than it did against Temple, and it looked worse. This group has a tonne Questions that need to be answered before SEC play begins.

There were signs that this was going to be a tough game for the offense. The Sooners went three out on the first drive of the game and gained zero yards, and the first down was a jet sweep for Deion Burks that lost six yards.

However, they got a gift when they recovered a botched punt from Houston at the 10-yard line. Jackson-Arnold found Brendan Thompson for a touchdown on the next play, giving OU an early 7-0 lead.

From then on, it was just a struggle. The only other touchdown came two drives later, when Arnold found Jake Roberts with an 11-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight-play, 82-yard drive.

The Sooners finished the game with 249 yards, their fewest since their 49-0 loss to Texas in 2022 (195).

Here are the results of all 11 OU rides:

3 games, 0 yards, PUNT

1 play, 10 yards, TD

5 plays, 19 yards, PUNT

8 games, 81 yards, TD

6 plays, 16 yards, PUNT

4 plays, 13 yards, PUNT

3 games, 0 yards, PUNT

9 games, 34 yards, INT

3 plays, 1 yard, PUNT

4 games, 4 yards, FGA missed

11 games, 34 yards, PUNT

5 plays, 17 yards, PUNT

Aside from Roberts' touchdown, the Sooners gained 167 yards on 10 possessions. The second half offense was even worse, as they scored zero points and gained just 110 yards on offense.

In addition to the difficulties in the running game, Arnold also failed to find rhythm in the passing game. He completed only 19 of 32 passes (59%) for 174 yards, two touchdowns and one interception due to an apparent miscommunication with Deion Burks.

To make matters worse, the Sooners only converted four of their 13 third down attempts (31%). Combine that with last week, and the Sooners have now made 5 of 25 third downs in the first two weeks. That was a big reason why the Sooners only had possession of the ball for 24:51 of the game.

The Sooners were in the danger zone with less than two minutes left in the game. The offense had to punt again while clinging to a 14-12 lead, and the Cougars lined up at the five-yard line, all three timeouts and a chance to win.

Halton had other plans. He thwarted Houston's attempt to hand the ball off and tackled RB Stacey Sneed in the end zone for a safety that increased OU's lead to four points and gave the ball back to the offense.

These were the only points Oklahoma scored in the second half.

That was the play of the game for Halton, who was arguably the MVP of the game with two tackles for loss, a sack and a safety.

This play also perfectly summed up the Sooners' performance. With the offense struggling, the defense had to bear the brunt of the load. Aside from Houston's 12-play, 63-yard drive earlier in the game – which ended in a field goal – the defense mostly limited the Cougars' offense. Only three of Houston's 12 drives ended in points, and the Sooners forced three three-and-outs.

The Cougars only managed 318 yards of offense, including 58 rushing yards on 35 attempts (1.7 yards per run). The Sooners were able to increase their takeaway total with Robert Spears Jennings' Interception early in the fourth quarter.

There were actually only two blemishes. Houston's only touchdown came from a 44-yard pass from Donovan Smith To Joseph Manjackwhich appeared to be a failure in coverage. The other flaw was time of possession – Houston had the ball for over 35 minutes.

But the defense was able to make up for this with enough plays and made the difference between a narrow victory and a devastating, unexpected defeat.

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