The Oklahoma Sooners’ 52-0 destruction of the Iowa State Cyclones Saturday night won’t go down as the most dominant performance of the Bob Stoops era in Norman. It certainly shouldn’t.
Yet, for this team in this year, it was an A+, a perfect 10.
Don’t get me wrong: No one will ever mistake ISU for a good team. Just a week ago, Utah went into Ames and beat the Cyclones by 41 points.
Still, even given the level of competition, OU played as well as it possibly could.
In shutting out ISU, Oklahoma’s defense allowed a measly 3.0 yards per play. The Cyclones gained just 1.8 yards per rushing attempt and 4.6 yards per pass.
Perfectionists might complain that the Sooners didn’t force any turnovers, but who needs them when the other team can’t score? The Cyclones never even made it inside OU’s 20.
As good as the D was, OU’s offense was even better. Consider that the Sooners generated 37 first downs. In the salad days of 2008, OU was able to do that just once.
Even young bucks like Roy Finch, Brennan Clay and Drew Allen got in on the action, with Allen getting his first career touchdown.
To borrow a phrase from Lee Corso, with an undefeated Missouri squad waiting for the Sooners in Columbia next weekend, let’s hope OU didn’t shoot its wad. Put a few more of those performances together, and we’ll be talking Glendale.