Rough starts are hard to overcome on the road and that’s exactly the position Oklahoma put themselves in out in West Texas. Kyler Murray started the game 1-for-4 passing with two of the incomplete passes being interceptions. The turnovers led to a 14-0 deficit, putting the Texas Tech crowd in a frenzy and the Sooners under a lot of pressure.
Murray settled in to lead Oklahoma on four consecutive scoring drives, cutting the 14-point deficit to just three at the half (31-28). Murray was 12-of-20 for 208 yards and two touchdowns in the first thirty minutes. He also accounted for 72 yards and a score on the ground, leading OU to 390 total first half yards.
Sermon with a punishing stiff arm at the end of this run. #Sooners https://t.co/F1dAAeCLrQ
— Sooner Gridiron (@soonergridiron) November 4, 2018
Oklahoma’s offense wasn’t necessarily at juggernaut status in the third quarter but a 46-yard touchdown pass from Murray to Lee Morris put the Sooners up 35-31 before the remainder of the quarter became filled with penalties and sloppiness.
The Red Raiders pulled within a point at the start of the fourth quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Clayton Hatfield, but a 20-yard touchdown run by Trey Sermon. on Oklahoma’s next possession, gave the Sooners their largest lead of the night at 42-34.
That lead, and score, wasn’t close to holding though as Oklahoma’s revamped defense was taken to task by the Red Raiders offense. Sermon would score again, this time from 30-yards out, to make the score 51-40 in response to a Tech touchdown and failed 2-point conversion that was returned for a safety by Robert Barnes.
ROBERT BARNES ➡️ THE HOUSE FOR 2. #BoomerSooner https://t.co/ZBb4BtKR43
— Sooner Gridiron (@soonergridiron) November 4, 2018
Sermon finished with 206 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
One last garbage time score pulled the Red Raiders into a final score of 51-46, giving the Sooners their 19th consecutive true road win but also leaving a lot of doubt about a defense that had put together two solid outings previously.
The Sooners are now 8-1 on the season.