Don’t look now but Oklahoma has a defense and college football is in trouble

Don’t look now but Oklahoma football has themselves a defense after dominating Texas and the rest of college football is in trouble.

Oklahoma beat rival Texas in the Red River Rivalry to remain in the driver’s seat for the Big 12 title and keep their place in the College Football Playoff. Jalen Hurts combined for four total touchdowns on a day he wasn’t at his best with two red-zone turnovers and flirting with more, but it was CeeDee Lamb‘s exploits on the perimeter and the Sooners defense that was the difference.

The Sooners had 15 tackles for loss, the second-most they’ve had vs. Texas and nine sacks, which is a school record, as they did their best impression of the 1985 Chicago Bears in the Red River Rivalry.

Do you remember that scene in Happy Gilmore when he learns how to putt? He had the long game off the tee but he couldn’t seal the deal with the putter. That was like Oklahoma in the last two years. The Sooners had an unstoppable offense with Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and now with Hurts. But what stopped Oklahoma from winning a national title over the last two years was the lack of a defense they could trust to make stops, especially in big-time situations in big-time games.

That’s no longer the case with new defensive coordinator Alex Grinch dialing up pressure and creating havoc in the backfield.

Oklahoma’s defense made life miserable for Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger and the rest of the Longhorns offense. Texas only had 79 yards of offense in the first half and only eight of those yards came on the ground. It was a stark contrast to last year’s game when the two teams nearly combined for 100 points.

Outside of a few big gash plays from converted running back Roschon Johnson, Texas was neutralized by Kenneth Murray, Neville Gallimore and the rest of the Oklahoma defense.

With this type of defensive performance against their rival in their biggest game of the year, Oklahoma is more than a dangerous offense who will wilt against other great offenses in the College Football Playoff.

Now, if Oklahoma is able to get into the postseason, they have a unit that can support their prolific offense and be a legitimate threat to win it all.

Texas finished with 310 total yards, which was 36 yards less than Hurts accounted for himself for Oklahoma.

Look out college football, Oklahoma has a defense now.

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