NORMAN, Okla. — Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson’s pass near the end of the first quarter was on target. Blaise Gammon got his hands on a pass nearly 20 yards downfield that probably would have been the Wildcats’ longest play from scrimmage Saturday. But Oklahoma freshman defensive back Brendan “Bookie” Radley-Hiles crept over from his safety spot, lowered his shoulder and broke up the pass attempt with one of the — if not the — most pulverizing hits of the season by any Sooners defender.
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Throughout No. 8 Oklahoma’s resounding 51-14 win over Kansas State, the Sooners matched the Wildcats’ physicality, blow-for-blow. OU held Kansas State to 245 yards of total offense — a season-low for Sooners opponents. Wildcats running back Alex Barnes entered Saturday as the Big 12’s leading rusher and finished with 28 yards on 13 carries.
On the other side of the ball, Oklahoma was its usual phenomenal self, finishing with 702 yards of offense — averaging an unbelievable 10.3 yards per play — behind an offensive line that played nasty and relentless.
“Oh, yeah,” senior left guard Ben Powers responded when asked if he felt like the team’s attitude has been different the past few weeks. “We’re coming for it all.”
It should be noted that Oklahoma’s two wins since the Texas loss have come against what appear to be two of the worst teams in the Big 12. One week after losing to the Sooners, TCU lost Saturday at Kansas, and Kansas State dropped to 3-5 with Saturday’s loss.
Still, the Sooners have looked and played with more of an attitude and an edge since dropping a 48-45 Red River Showdown to Texas that cost then-defensive coordinator Mike Stoops his job. That has especially been the case on defense.
“Honestly, after every game, we still feel like we’re doubted,” sophomore safety Robert Barnes said. “We still feel like people are still going to say, ‘OK, it was a fluke; maybe the team wasn’t very good.’
“I know for us, each and every week, we’re just going to keep working on that physicality every practice and come out here every Saturday and just prove the world wrong every game.”
What happened Saturday was especially encouraging considering how Oklahoma had fared against the more physical teams on its schedule. Army, of course, gashed the Sooners’ defense to the tune of 339 rushing yards and kept Kyler Murray and OU’s prolific offense off the field. Oklahoma needed overtime to beat the Black Knights. Then, in the loss to Texas, Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger rushed for three touchdowns.
Those games often were cited as evidence that Oklahoma might be in trouble Saturday against the Wildcats, who can run the ball effectively and have a quarterback in Thompson who plays a lot like Ehlinger. But with a new defensive coordinator — and that new edge — the Sooners effectively shut down the Wildcats’ offense, which scored only seven points Saturday against OU’s first-team defense.
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“Our players did hear that all week,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said. “We pride ourselves on being the most physical team on the field every time we step on and being the most physical team in this conference.
“So, every week’s a challenge that way. Kansas State certainly is one. We’ve had a lot of epic battles with them over the years and probably will continue to do so. You know if you’re going to beat them, you can’t let them just beat you down like they do a lot of opponents. Our guys responded.”
Murray bolstered his Heisman résumé, going 19-of-24 for 352 yards and three touchdowns, and he also rushed for 46 yards and a score. The Sooners scored touchdowns of at least 80 yards via the air and on the ground.
But those kinds of numbers and performances have become so normal that they are almost expected each week. The defensive improvement — albeit against weaker competition — is apparent two games into this new, post-Stoops era. Runs that would have been 3-yard gains before are being stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage. There are fewer missed tackles. And more players are making more plays.
Radley-Hiles was a ballyhooed recruit whom Sooners fans expected to be great almost from the moment he arrived on campus. That hasn’t happened, of course, because that rarely happens with true freshmen. And there is some evidence that he wasn’t connecting with Stoops.
The monster hit on Gammon actually sidelined Radley-Hiles for the rest of the game, though he seemed to be in good spirits on the sideline and probably will be fine moving forward.
“We’re watching a completely different defense from the first half of the season,” Powers said.
Things are about to get a lot tougher for the Sooners, who play next week at Texas Tech and still have Oklahoma State and West Virginia on the schedule. But for the first time in at least a couple years, there is some optimism surrounding the defense.
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“We worry about how we can get better on defense at each position, at each group, us as coaches,” defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said. “Practice is vital. How you focus in walk-throughs is vital. And how you focus in meetings is vital. We’ve been talking about that as a group, and I think that’s the most important thing.”