Oklahoma vs TCU: Highlights, score and recap

Highlights from the Oklahoma Sooners dramatic 52-46 win over the No. 21 TCU Horned Frodgs on Saturday night in Fort Worth.

The Oklahoma Sooners announced they are still in the Big 12 race following a nightmare nonconference slate with a 52-46 road win over the No. 21 TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday evening.

Oklahoma did not get off to an ideal start after having a bye week to recover from the Week 3 beatdown at the hands of Ohio State. On the first seried of the game, Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield fumbled on a sack by Denzel Johnson, which led to a Kenny Hill 18-yard touchdown pass the next play.

The Sooners’ defense would quickly recover with its first interception of the season, and a fired up Mayfield scored on a wild four-yard touchdown run to knot things up at seven at the 7:39 mark of the first. That didn’t generate any momentum, as TCU marched 80 yards down the field in eight plays to regain the lead on another Hill touchdown pass to Cole Hunt.

TCU continued to rack up big plays on Oklahoma’s beleaguered secondary, including a 61-yard touchdown catch and run by Kyle Hicks to go up 21-7 at the end of the first. The Sooners responded by finally getting their running game going, and tied things up four minutes into the second on a Samaje Perine run following a rare Horned Frogs three-and-out.

Five minutes later, the Sooners made it 21 straight on a beautiful flea flicker from Mayfield to Dede Westbook. Mayfield found Westbrook again on a 40-yard strike to extend the lead to 35-21  as Oklahoma looked to be in complete control prior to a potentially disastrous play just before half.

TCU recorded its second strip sack of the game when Joseph Broadnax leveled Mayfield, leading to a field goal with one second left in the half. Still, the Sooners had to be pleased with the defensive effort in the second quarter, as they finally got some pressure on the quarterback and played much better in the secondary.

Despite being shaken up, Mayfield remained in the game to start the second half, and Joe Mixon’s 65 yard run helped push the advantage to 42-24. Poor offensive line play and drops continued to hurt the TCU offense, which looked out of rhythm after going up 21-7.

Before the end of the third, Perine extended the margin to 49-24 on his 41st career touchdown to tie Adrian Peterson for sixth all-time in Oklahoma history. However, the Horned Frogs would score twice quickly thanks to a pair of explosive plays from receivers Taj Williams and Emanuel Porter to make things interesting with eight minutes left.

Following the third straight defensive stop for TCU, the Sooners secondary broke down yet again on a 74-yard touchdown for Williams to make it a 49-46 game following a two-point conversion. Mayfield calmly led the Sooners to a pair of first downs to milk some clock, and Austin Seibert’s 35-yard field goal made the lead 52-46 with 1:55 left.

Even with one timeout remaining, that felt like an eternity for the explosive TCU offense. A controversial intentional grounding call on first down set the Horned Frogs behind schedule, and Hill was unable to convert on fourth and 20 to seal the Oklahoma victory.

After lackluster efforts against Houston and Ohio State, Mayfield and the Oklahoma offense had easily its best game of the season. TCU is going to score a bunch of points in Big 12 play, but asking the offense to make up for the defensive deficiencies is going to be a tough task.

Three Stars

3. Obo Okoronkwo, DE, Oklahoma. While the final defensive stats weren’t pretty, helped Oklahoma do just enough by generating constant pressure on Hill in the second half while holding TCU to just 65 rushing yards.

2. Taj Williams, WR, TCU. Fueled TCU fast start and late comeback with five catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns.

1. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma. Bounced back from tough Ohio State game by completing 23/30 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns, plus another 55 yards and two scores on the ground.

Highlights

"WATCH: Baker Mayfield spins off a TCU defender to tie it 7-7 #Sooners https://t.co/JWp4RO2qxZ— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) October 1, 2016"

"WATCH: #Sooners take the lead 28-21 on the flea flicker. 67 yards from Mayfield to Westbrook! https://t.co/Rggsxl7pyL— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) October 1, 2016"

"TOUCHDOWN!! Taj Williams goes way deep for this 64-yard TD pass from Kenny Hill! https://t.co/5lnj38Vflq— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) October 1, 2016"

"The #Sooners defense stops TCU on fourth down. Oklahoma will win the Big 12 opener. https://t.co/0lapTOXweX— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) October 2, 2016r"

What’s Next?

Oklahoma will look to get above .500 and avoid a second straight upset in the Red River Showdown against Texas. TCU should be able to move to 4-2 with a win over Kansas, although the Jayhawks only lost 23-17 in the matchup a year ago.