Murray’s five best moments in 2018
Kyler Murray has made critical plays in crucial times for Oklahoma throughout this season. Oklahoman columnist Jenni Carlson takes a look at the Sooner quarterback’s five biggest plays:
Fourth-quarter fourth down: With 2:36 left in the game at West Virginia, OU faced fourthand-5. Giving the ball back to the Mountaineers was troublesome — the Sooner defense wasn’t stopping them — so Lincoln Riley went for it. West Virginia dropped eight players into coverage, and Murray scrambled around for seven seconds. Finally, he threw a pass to sliding CeeDee Lamb, who corralled the ball for an 8-yard gain. First down. Game over.
Fourth-quarter fourth down, Part II: Believe it or not, Murray had another fourth-quarter fourthdown completion at West Virginia. Trailing 49-45, the Sooners faced fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Three running plays had up short, but Murray’s pass zipped between two Mountainteers and into the hands of Grant Calcaterra. OU never trailed again.
Cross country at the Cotton Bowl: Trailing the Longhorns 45-24 after three quarters, the Sooners were on the verge of being blown out like Ohio State was against Purdue. Instead, OU made a game of it because of Murray’s three touchdowns. His most important one was a 67-yard run that extended the game. OU might best Ohio State in playoff selections because of that fourth quarter.
Overcoming in overtime: Unexpectedly, OU found itself in a close game against Army, then took a kick to the gut when Austin Seibert missed a chip shot of a field goal at the end of regulation. Murray didn’t blink. Even after a false start on the first play of overtime, Murray hit Myles Tease for 20 yards, then connected with Lamb for a 10-yard touchdown.
Good aim in Ames: Leading only 34-27 with 5:45 remaining, the Sooners faced third-and-5 at the Cyclone 24. Fail to move the chains, and the Sooners would’ve attempted a long and risky field goal. But Murray connected with Tease for an 8-yard gain. After going backward on the next three plays, Austin Seibert kicked a game-sealing 42-yard field goal. Even if he had missed, Murray and the offense had taken nearly 8 minutes off the clock and run the it under 3 minutes.