•Five defining plays this season for OU and Alabama.
Comeback that fell short
Opponent: Texas The situation: The Sooners had cut what was a 21-point halftime deficit to 14 with 8:28 remaining, then Oklahoma’s defense forced a punt but the Sooners needed another quick score.
Key moment: Kyler Murray pulled off perhaps his most electric play of the season, tight-roping down the sidelines for a 67-yard touchdown run on the first play after the punt to put the Sooners right in the thick of it. Texas wound up winning on a last-second field goal, but Murray’s touchdown opened the door for the Sooners to tie it late and with the razor-thin margin Oklahoma made the playoff by, the fourth-quarter comeback that turned the Oct. 6 game from a blowout into a tight game could’ve played a role in getting the Sooners into the CFP.
Brown’s Bedlam save
Opponent: Oklahoma State
The situation: Oklahoma trailed 35-34 late in the third quarter, and after Kenneth Edison-McGruder’s sack, the Sooners faced a thirdand-11 at their own 26.
Key moment: Kyler Murray didn’t try to do too much, going through his reads and getting the ball to Marquise Brown on a shallow cross. Brown used his speed to get through A.J. Green and Rodarius Williams before he reached the first-down marker, eventually ending up with a 25-yard gain. Four plays later, Kennedy Brooks scored a touchdown to put the Sooners ahead. The Cowboys eventually tied it again before OU led for good but it was Brown’s big third-down conversion that helped make that possible.
Sermon takes over
Opponent: Texas Tech The situation: With less than seven minutes to go in the game, the Red Raiders scored to pull within two points, but Robert Barnes intercepted the 2-point conversion and took it back for two points the other way before the Sooners got the ball back.
Key moment: Oklahoma leaned heavily on Trey Sermon on the ensuing drive, giving it to him six consecutive times after Kyler Murray started with a 16-yard run. Sermon’s final run of the night was a 30-yard touchdown with 2:51 left in what was the first of four consecutive wins by the Sooners where they gave up 40 or more points.
Bolton comes up big
Opponent: West Virginia
The situation: The Sooners were hanging on by a thread early in the fourth quarter, leading 52-49 on the road and two plays earlier, Kennedy McCoy broke off a 33-yard run for the Mountaineers.
Key moment: Oklahoma defensive end Ronnie Perkins hit Mountaineers quarterback Will Grier, spinning him around. Grier tried to throw anyway, then Kenneth Mann hit him from the other side, jarring the ball free. After it bounced around between two WVU linemen, linebacker Curtis Bolton scooped it up and went 48 yards for a touchdown. There were still dicey moments after Bolton’s scoopand-score, but it proved to be the game-winner.
Corner blitz
Opponent: Texas (Big 12 championship game)
The situation: Oklahoma was up three, 30-27, after CeeDee Lamb’s fumble gave the Longhorns the ball back with 9:06 left.
Key moment: On the second play of the drive, with the ball on the Texas 7, defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill dialed up a cornerback blitz, bringing Tre Brown off the edge. Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger never saw him and got pummeled for a safety. The Sooners then went on a touchdown drive that ate up more than six minutes, finishing with a fantastic Grant Calcaterra catch that put the game away.