Oklahoma football has not lost back-to-back games since 1998. Saturday’s matchup against Iowa State will keep that streak or set a new mark.
Last week’s loss to Kansas State not only sent the Sooners back 15 spots in the polls but proved there is never a time to let off the gas pedal until that final whistle blows. Oklahoma was up 28-7 with a little over six minutes left in the third quarter against the Wildcats. Kansas State scored 31 points in a quarter and a half to beat the Sooners. Now Oklahoma heads to Ames, Iowa for another trap game.
Iowa State has only beaten the Sooners six times and tied twice, while Oklahoma beat Iowa State 76 times. Last year, Iowa State should have gotten its seventh win. Iowa State trailed by one point with 24 seconds left and decided to go for two and possibly give the Sooners their second loss of the season. Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy rolled out left and had a wide open Charlie Kolar running across the goal line. He missed him and went toward the back of the end zone where it was picked off by Parnell Motley, securing the Sooners one point victory.
In 2018, the Sooners went to Ames and again escaped winning 37-27. In 2017, the Sooners lost at home to the Cyclones 38-31.
This game is more than crucial for Oklahoma to show it can fix its mistakes and that the loss to the Wildcats was a fluke. In the past three years, Oklahoma had that one game during the regular season where it just blows it to a team that is not nearly as talented as the Sooners. After that loss, Oklahoma has gone on to win out until the College Football Playoff.
Iowa State’s first game of the season was a loss to Louisiana-Monroe 31-14. Kansas State’s first loss of the season was to Arkansas State 38-31. Oklahoma cannot let up on any games this season because the Wildcats showed the Sooners what happens when you do. Every team plays better and is more prepared against the Sooners because they know who they are playing against. Oklahoma knows by now it cannot look past any games this season, especially since the game after Iowa State is the Red River Rivalry against Texas where the Sooners will most likely have their toughest conference game of 2020.
This game is very important to give the young Sooners some confidence and swagger back to their game. It also will be a confidence booster for the young squad before it plays its biggest conference game so far. Even if the offense gets rolling again, that Alex Grinch defense needs to bounce back. With missed tackles, no quarterback pressure and blown coverage, this defense will be the boost the Sooners’ need for conference play this season.
The Sooners are out of the playoff talk quite yet. Besides Clemson and Ohio State, every team in the top 10 will lose at least one game. People are tired of seeing the Sooners in the playoffs, but most of those people are cheering for teams that haven’t been in the playoffs because they did not win their conference. If Oklahoma football wins out and proves its one loss was a fluke, it can go back to the College Football Playoff. First order of business is to take care of the Cyclones in Ames on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of KStateSports.com
Hi there! My name is John Barry. I am a sports journalist at the University of Oklahoma and will be giving you updates and inside scoops on all things Sooners. Have a question or story? Email me @john.f.barry-1@ou.edu