Sooners look to continue dominating since shocking loss to Texas
Oklahoma was figuring out how to handle an upset loss to Texas three weeks ago when senior offensive linemen Ty Darlington and Nila Kasitati and offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh spoke up the next day.
"We watched the film and realized we got punched in the mouth and got embarrassed," Darlington said. "Myself, Nila and Coach B really threw down the challenge at that point to not accept it, and to make it personal and to change it."
Whether their words were the catalyst for No. 14 Oklahoma's resurgence is debatable, but the dominance that has followed is a fact entering Saturday's matchup with Iowa State.
The Sooners (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) have gained at least 30 first downs in three straight games for the first time in program history and have scored 50 or more points in three straight for the first time since 2008 - the year Sam Bradford won the Heisman Trophy.
The surge began with a 55-0 win over Kansas State, followed by a 63-27 victory over Texas Tech and a 62-7 win against Kansas.
"We're executing right now," quarterback Baker Mayfield said. "It's because we're focusing on our job and our job only. It doesn't matter what the defense is coming out and doing. It doesn't matter who we're playing if we go out and execute."
At the heart of it all is the running game. The Sooners were throwing the ball all over the field early in the season with limited success on the ground, but now they've found balance in new offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley's Air Raid attack.
Over the first five games, they averaged 144.7 yards rushing, but in the past three that number has jumped to 300.7 while the passing yardage has remained virtually the same.
The combination of running backs Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon has emerged. Perine, a sophomore, started the season slow but now has rushed for 711 yards and a conference-leading nine TDs. Mixon, a freshman, has rushed for 431 yards and has 302 yards receiving.
"It's unbelievable the effect those two guys have on a defense and how they want to play us," Mayfield said.
The Cyclones (3-5, 2-3) certainly have their work cut out for them since they rank seventh in the 10-team Big 12 with 178.5 rushing yards allowed per game and have given up 270 or more three times this season.
Oklahoma's ground game has also helped Mayfield become even more efficient. Over the past three games, he has completed 77 percent of his passes for 877 yards with 11 touchdowns and just one interception. He's moved up to No. 2 nationally in passing efficiency behind Baylor's Seth Russell, who is out for the season with a neck injury.
Play-action passes have been especially damaging.
"The more effective you are, the better you are running the football - generally, the play-action passes become a lot more available," coach Bob Stoops said. "So we've had more of them, and we're executing them really well."
The Sooners have seven players with at least 10 receptions and five have at least 200 yards. Sterling Shepard leads the way with 43 catches for 732 yards and six touchdowns. Dede Westbrook, a junior college transfer, has 35 grabs for 533 yards and Durron Neal has 28 receptions for 401 yards. Five of Mark Andrews' 15 catches have gone for touchdowns.
"There's more depth, and there's more guys stepping up making plays, so we're trying to use a lot of people," Stoops said.
Iowa State's offense never found a consistent identity under Mark Mangino, but five days after his departure as offensive coordinator, the Cyclones found their running game.
They ran 54 times last weekend to beat Texas 24-0 and end a three-game skid. Sustaining it may be hard against the Sooners, who haven't lost to Iowa State since 1990.
"You've got to run to win," tackle Jake Campos said.
Perhaps the main reason the Cyclones have shifted to a run-first philosophy was a simple matter of personnel. Mike Warren, a backup in September, now leads all freshmen nationally with 954 yards. Since the third week of the season, he is third in the country among all backs with 154.3 yards per game.
Sophomore quarterback Joel Lanning is also a threat to run, so the Cyclones are hoping their ground game can eat up the clock and keep the Sooners' offense off the field.
"With Mike in the backfield running the way he's running, and then Joel adding that extra threat, I think it really adds a lot of diversity," Campos said.
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