Better with Every Week

Since Big 12 Conference play began three weeks ago, Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops has pleaded for more consistency from his team on both sides of the ball. His Sooners have delivered each time, which is why they're off to a 3-0 start in league play.

Further consistency came with Saturday's methodical 38-17 victory over Kansas State before 86,049 wind-swept fans representing the 107th consecutive sellout at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

By no means, however, is OU the finished product. "It's a good win," Stoops said afterward. "I feel like we're starting to play a little more consistently, and that's what we've been after. Still can be better, and we'll keep pushing for that, but again, I thought it was a good, solid win."

"I feel like we're starting to play a little more consistently, and that's what we've been after."
? Bob Stoops

Battling a steady south wind of 20-plus mph, OU quarterback Baker Mayfield still managed to complete 25 of 31 passes (.806) for 346 yards and four touchdowns. In his two contests against KSU, Mayfield is a combined 45 for 58 (.776) passing for 628 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception.

Evidently, the stadium's new bowl configuration added a twist to Saturday's game. "It seemed like even though it (the wind) was out of the south, the advantage was from the north," Stoops explained. "I've never in 18 years experienced that out here."

Mayfield said he thought the wind affected only one of his throws, which was to a wide-open Dede Westbrook on a potential 51-yard touchdown connection early in the third quarter. "I'm pretty down on myself about that because that's something I can control," the self-effacing Westbrook said of misjudging the ball. "You know what I mean, for me to let my team down like that."

Westbrook still managed to catch nine passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns. His final catch was an 88-yard strike that was the longest scoring pass play in the Stoops era, the longest-ever TD pass at home and the fourth-longest pass in school history. "I think we did pretty good," Westbrook said calmly.

While nursing a tender hamstring the first three games of the season, Westbrook had 17 receptions for 154 yards and no touchdowns. Now healthy, he has rewritten school receiving records the past three games.

Against TCU and Texas the previous two games, Westbrook had 17 receptions for 390 yards, which was the most receiving yards in back-to-back games in school history. After Saturday against K-State, Westbrook now owns the OU record for total receiving yards in back-to-back-to-back games with 574 on 26 receptions (22.1 yards per catch). He also has eight touchdowns in those contests, a school record for TD receptions in a three-game span.

"He's separated himself," Sooners offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said of Westbrook. "He's doing a lot for us, similar to what Shep (current New York Giant Sterling Shepard) did for us last year, but in a different way. When Dede gets one-on-one, he can win the battle down the field. That's been important for us against teams trying to load up and stop our run game."

Westbrook's eight scoring receptions in the last three games have averaged 48.6 yards-per-catch.

"Dede was, again, exceptional," Stoops said. "He's got incredible speed and quickness, and he's a great route runner with that suddenness, and sure-handed. In fact, I can't believe he dropped the one, though it wasn't easy. The wind kind of did make him turn around on that one that he was open. Dede was great."

Redshirt sophomore running back Joe Mixon, who entered the game fourth nationally in all-purpose yardage, amassed 177 yards against the Wildcats that included a 26-yard touchdown pass to Westbrook on a fake run around right end. It marked the first time an OU running back threw for a touchdown since Joe Washington connected with Tinker Owens against Texas on Oct. 13, 1973.

"Joe's capable of anything," Riley said of Mixon. "There's not much that guy can't do."

Stoops said as soon as he noticed Riley's trick-play design in practice, "I said, 'Ah, that's one of those. That's a score.' Some of them, like Dimitri (Flowers)'s last year against Iowa State, it's like, 'Yeah, that's a score.' So, as soon as you see it, it's like, 'Yeah, that's going to be tough.' Fortunately though, they executed it well. Dede Westbrook caught a wobbly duck that Joe threw."

The OU offense amassed 510 total yards (7.8 yards per play for the second straight week) and did so missing bullish running back Samaje Perine, who played only the first five minutes before leaving with a leg injury. Stoops said the injury was a "slight pulled muscle" and Perine could have returned if he was needed. He wasn't.

"The difference is that we allowed guys to run absolutely free and catch the football," longtime KSU coach Bill Snyder said. "If you don't play defense, they could score anytime they snap the ball. On that halfback pass, we didn't have anyone out there covering it, and on that last touchdown pass to Dede, you've got to cover. If you don't cover people, you're going to get that."

The OU defense limited KSU to half its scoring average (34.2) coming into the game. Asked what he liked about his team's defensive performance, Stoops said, "I liked a lot of it. I'd say some other games, maybe 60, 70 percent of it. Today's probably more like 80, 85 percent of it."

It was the 10th straight Big 12 win for the Sooners who, despite a 1-2 non-conference start to the season, are searching for their 10th conference title in 18 years under Stoops.

Stoops is now 11-3 all-time against KSU (where he served an assistant under Snyder from 1989-95) and the Sooners have outscored the Wildcats 93-17 the last two years. However, Saturday marked OU's first win over the K-State in Norman since 2009.

The Sooners (4-2, 3-0) now face Texas Tech (3-3, 1-2) next Saturday in a 7 p.m. contest in Mayfield's old stomping grounds of Lubbock, where he walked on and started as a true freshman.

"They will be ready for me when I get down there, that's for sure," Mayfield said. "I'm excited for it. It's always fun playing in Lubbock and this time I'm obviously on the other side of it. It'll be an interesting matchup. I'll get my guys ready and it should be a pretty good time."

Baker Mayfield will play his first game in Lubbock next week since his freshman season for the Red Raiders in 2013.

Players Mentioned

Baker Mayfield

Joe Mixon

Samaje Perine

Sterling Shepard

Dede Westbrook

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics