Oklahoma Football: Sooners Sugar Bowl Win by the Numbers
Oklahoma football tasted the sweet nectar of a Sugar Bowl win Monday night, putting away the SEC’s second-best team this season by a convincing count of 35-19.
Jan 2, 2017; New Orleans , LA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Dede Westbrook (11) catches a pass against Auburn Tigers defensive back Stephen Roberts (14) for a touchdown in the third quarter of the 2017 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Winning your last game every year is always important, and it is especially sweet when it comes against at team from the power-packed Southeastern Conference.
Oklahoma’s 35 points is the most given up by Auburn this season. The Tigers came into the Sugar Bowl game ranked 5th in the nation in scoring defense. Ole Miss scored 29 in a losing effort against Auburn, and Alabama posted a 30-12 win over Auburn in the annual Iron Bowl rivalry.
The Sooners have not lost since the Ohio State game on Sept. 17. That adds up to 10 consecutive wins. Only Alabama has a longer active streak at 26 games.
During OU’s 10-game win streak, they have outscored their opponents by 185 points, an average of 18.5 points a game. The Sooners also have outgained their opponents over the last 10 games by an average of 136 yards per game.
Here are a dozen more notable numbers from OU’s Sugar Bowl triumph over the Auburn Tigers:
2 – Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon both finished the season with over 1,000 rushing yards (Mixon with 1,274; Perine went over 1,000 yards for the season in the Sugar Bowl, finishing with 1,063 for 2016). It is only the fifth time that two Sooners have exceeded 1,000 rushing yards in the same season and the second time under Bob Stoops. The past pair of OU running backs to accomplish the feat were DeMarco Murray (1,002) and Chris Brown (1,220) in 2008.
3 – In the third quarter of the Sugar Bowl, the Sooners ran 30 plays for 274 yards. During that same quarter, Auburn ran nine plays for a total of 21 yards.
Jan 2, 2017; New Orleans , LA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Joe Mixon (25) leaps away from the tackle attempt of Auburn Tigers linebacker Deshaun Davis (57) in the second quarter of the 2017 Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
4 – Oklahoma faced four ranked teams – No. 25 Baylor, No. 10 West Virginia, No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 14 Auburn – in its final four games of the 2016 season and won all four by an average scoring margin of 20.8.
17 – Heisman Trophy finalist and Biletnikoff Award winner Dede Westbrook caught a seven-yard touchdown pass in the Sooners’ Sugar Bowl win, his 17th of the season. That extended his single-season OU school record.
7.54 – The Sooners’ average yards per play this season, the most under Bob Stoops and the second most in program history.
12 – The win over Auburn gave Oklahoma 11 wins for the 2016 season, the 12th time in Bob Stoops’ 18 seasons as the Sooners head coach that they have recorded 11 or more wins.
71 – Baker Mayfield’s completion percentage in 2016, a new Oklahoma single-season record.
86 – Rushing yards by Samaje Perine, giving him 4,122 for his career at Oklahoma, a new OU rushing record. Billy Sims had the career mark previously, at 4,118 yards.
90 – Oklahoma marched 90 yards on a touchdown drive in the second quarter of the Sugar Bowl for its first score of the game. That was the longest scoring drive since the 2009 Sun Bowl. The drive lasted 6:39 and the Sooners faced second and 35 and third and 27 during the possession.
185 – Oklahoma held the vaunted Auburn rushing attack to 185 total yards, nearly 100 yards below the Tigers’ season average. Auburn came into the Sugar Bowl game ranked sixth in the nation in rushing offense.
196.4 – Quarterback Baker Mayfield ended the 2016 season with a passing efficiency rating of 196.4, a new NCAA record for a single season. Mayfield blew away the old mark of 191.8, set by Russell Westbrook playing for Wisconsin.
2,331 – All-purpose yards by Joe Mixon this season, a new Oklahoma single-season record. DeMarco Murray held the old mark, with 2,171 all-purpose yards in 2008.
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