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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Big Opportunity Awaits in Norman
November 20, 2016 | Football
For the second straight year, Bedlam will determine who will win the season's Big 12 Conference football title. But for the first time ever, Oklahoma has an opportunity to claim the Big 12 crown while playing on its home field.
The Sooners have won nine Big 12 championships and each has come in the era of coach Bob Stoops.
With its 56-28 disposal of West Virginia on a snowy Saturday night in Morgantown, OU (9-2 overall, 8-0 in Big 12) remains alive for its first undefeated Big 12 season since 2004. The Sooners also had unbeaten Big 12 regular seasons in 2000 and 2003.
After a six-year hiatus, the Big 12 Conference championship game will return next season at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. However, this year's championship site will be staged at Gaylord Family ? Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Dec. 3. Kickoff will be at 11 a.m. or 2:30 p.m.
Standing in the way of the Sooners' 10th conference title in 18 seasons under Stoops is intrastate rival Oklahoma State (9-2, 7-1). Stoops is 13-4 all-time against the Cowboys.
Saturday night's game at West Virginia (8-2, 5-2) started and ended in heavy snow flurries. “What a great atmosphere to come out in,” Stoops said of the pre-game setting. “Just crazy how the warm-up couldn't have been nicer. I thought ?Man, this is going to be a perfect day.' And I came back out and it was a white out. (I'm) proud of my players here for how we managed it all.”
Between blizzard conditions were some dropped passes, missed tackles, turnovers, plenty of barking between teams and several chippy moments. “It's always chippy when you play them because it's typically a physical type of game,” Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield said afterward.
There also was some early opportunistic excellence from OU, which scored four touchdowns (27 points) off four West Virginia turnovers that were simply too much for the Mountaineers to overcome.
When the Sooners took a 34-0 lead with 2:26 left in the second quarter, many in the previously revved-up crowd of 57,645 at Milan Puskar Stadium headed toward the exits and created a halftime traffic jam that's usually reserved for postgame.
Early in the third quarter, OU senior linebacker Jordan Evans returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown to make the score 41-7. It was one of a season-high four takeaways by the Sooners. Evans, who one week earlier against Baylor became the first player in school history to have two interceptions and two sacks in the same game, suffered a hamstring cramp on the interception return as he approached the end zone and did not return to the game.
Redshirt sophomore running back Joe Mixon became the 22nd player in OU history to break the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a single season and now stands at 1,084. Mixon amassed 116 yards on 14 carries in the first quarter alone and finished with 147 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown.
Junior running back Samaje Perine led the Sooners with 160 yards rushing on 32 carries and had two touchdowns. He moved into sixth place in OU history for career rushing yards with 3,797. Perine also surpassed 4,000 career all-purpose yards, becoming the 12th Sooner to do so.
Mayfield, who ran for the game's last two touchdowns, posted his most modest passing line of the season, completing 9-of-15 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns, including a 75-yard score on a screen pass to sizzling receiver Dede Westbrook, who had 100 yards on two catches.
Saturday marked the first time OU had multiple 100-yard rushers and a 100-yard receiver since the 2008 Big 12 Championship against Missouri, and these three Sooners achieved this in the first half alone.
Mayfield credited his offensive line for the team's 316 rushing yards and 485 total yards against the Big 12's top defense. “And obviously (credit) our two running backs,” Mayfield said of Perine and Mixon. “(They're) two of the most talented guys in the country. When you have them, you might as well utilize them.”
The Sooners had a season-high 64 rushing attempts compared to a measly 15 passes. “I'm just here to win games,” Mayfield said of keeping the ball on the ground. “And if I'm handing off, that's fine with me.”
"We're playing well. We just need to keep on making statements and just win the Big 12 and see what happens from there.”
- Baker Mayfield
Despite the convincing margin of victory, the OU defense surrendered big yardage.
West Virginia gained 388 yards rushing on just 38 carries, an average of 10.2 yards per carry. Backup running back Justin Crawford exploded for 331 yards on 24 carries. WVU also had 191 passing yards to finish with 579 total yards.
“This is a tricky team,” Sooners defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said of the Mountaineers. “We played well early, made some big plays. We struggled stopping the run, obviously. That part's disappointing. They did some good things. Thought their back (Crawford) was really good. Really pleased (with us). First half was good. Second half, not so much.”
After a 1-2 start to the season, OU has since gone unbeaten, though not unscathed with multiple injuries, particularly on defense. The victory over West Virginia presumably will move OU up slightly from its No. 9 slot in the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night.
“They are a good football team,” Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said of the Sooners afterward. “Can't make mistakes against a good football team. Everybody wants to say they are not very good because of what happened earlier in the year. They are a different football team right now than they were earlier in the year. They've got a bunch of healthy people and more experience. They're going to be in contention here down the road.”
Asked if OU was still playing for a playoff spot, Mayfield said, “We absolutely are. Just the type of game we're playing right now. We're playing well. We're playing well. We just need to keep on making statements and just win the Big 12 and see what happens from there.”
One last chance for a statement win comes in two weeks against their in-state rival. On Championship Saturday. On Owen Field. For the first time.
Players Mentioned
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