Sooner Magic & A Star Is Born | 5 Takeaways From Oklahoma’s 27-21 Win At Auburn

M. HofeldSeptember 29, 2024 No Comments

Oklahoma’s 27-21 victory over Auburn showcased their resilience and ability to overcome adversity. Trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter, the Sooners rallied with 17 unanswered points, highlighted by Kip Lewis’ game-winning interception return and Zach Schmit’s crucial field goals.

Michael Hawkins Jr. impressed in his first career start, gaining 230 total yards of offense and leading the team effectively. While Oklahoma’s offense struggled at times, their defense once again stepped up, forcing a crucial turnover and limiting Auburn’s scoring opportunities.

This victory marked Oklahoma’s first SEC win, and demonstrated their potential as a competitive team in the conference.

5 Takeaways

  1. Resilience and Comeback Ability: The Sooners demonstrated their ability to overcome adversity and mount a comeback. Trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter, fans were calling for coaches heads to roll on social media as a loss seemed to be a foregone conclusion. Oklahoma rallied with 17 unanswered points to secure the victory. This win highlights their resilience and determination, proving that Sooner Magic is still very much alive and well.
  2. Defensive Dominance: Oklahoma’s defense was put to a stronger test than anticipated. For most of the game, the Sooners got a more potent and and efficient Tiger offense than they’ve shown this season. Yet Oklahoma was able to rise to the occasion, producing four quarterback sacks, eight tackles for loss, a goal line stand, and the game-changing pick-six from Kip Lewis.

3. Special Teams Impact: The impact that special teams can have on a game were on full display in this game. Both teams were playing their backup kickers. Auburn’s Towns McGough has been in the spotlight all season. He was 0/2 on the day, missing from 27 and 51 yards. Meanwhile Oklahoma’s Zach Schmit took full advantage of his chance for redemption connecting on both field goal attempts, of 24 and 39 yards, essentially giving the Sooners their margin of victory.

4. Hawkins’ Potential: You could say that a star was born with Michael Hawkins Jr.. The freshman showcased his big-play potential as Oklahoma’s quarterback. He gained 230 total yards of offense and made key plays throughout the game, including a late 60-yard dart to JJ Hester and a 48-yard rushing touchdown on Oklahoma’s opening possession.

    Hawkins’ dual-threat ability adds a dimension to the Sooner offense that hasn’t been there. He just has the “It Factor” in terms of his decisions, athleticism, and ability to make huge plays. Moving forward, this is 100% Michael Hawkins’ team.

    5.Turnovers and Missed Opportunities: I already addressed Auburn’s missed field goals and the pick-6 from Kip Lewis. A week ago the Sooners failed to capitalize on opportunities provided by the defense. This week, they flipped the script. It was their opponent who wasted opportunities and committed costly turnovers. Forcing those types of mistakes is becoming the identification of this team, which may indicate that the Tennessee game was more of an anomaly than reality.

      Follow us on Twitter: @SportsHeartland

      Leave a Reply