The Oklahoma Sooners went into hostile territory with a new offensive coordinator and an offense that's been inconsistent and executed at the highest level we've seen in some time to beat the Florida Gators 23-7 on Saturday night.
The Sooners put an exclamation point on their performance with a 20-play drive that spanned the end of the third quarter and deep into the fourth. That's what it looks like to "take the air out of the football." The Oklahoma Sooners sucked the life out of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium en route to John Mateer's second passing touchdown of the day to make it a two-score game.
On the drive, the Sooners converted six third downs and overcame a questionable offensive pass interference call that set them back to first-and-20, extending
the drive and scoring in what had been a tight ballgame.
On the drive, the Sooners ran the ball 13 times and gained positive yards on all but one carry. Seven of those 13 carries went for four or more yards. When asked to throw the ball, Mateer was locked in, completing 6 of 7 passes, including a tight-window throw to Sategna for a six-yard score that finished the drive.
The drive took nearly 13 minutes off the clock, and when the Sooners gave the ball back, less than five minutes remained in the game, and Oklahoma was up two scores.
That drive symbolized the night. The Sooners' first two drives took more than 12 minutes off the game clock and put Oklahoma up 10-0 on the road. Though the Sooners struggled in the third quarter, mostly due to penalties, they pulled it together and executed at a high level on the 20-play drive that essentially sealed the game.
When you have a defense like the Oklahoma Sooners have, that's what complementary football looks like. The defense was able to stay fresh because the offense played keep-away. And when the defense did come back on the field with less than five minutes to play, they could pin their ears back and get after quarterback Tramell Jones.
“That’s winning football,” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said after the win over Florida. “Listen, I don’t care if they score in 30 seconds, but I do like the 13 minutes. That’s pretty fantastic. But that’s just winning football in every way.”
It's just one game with Jason Witten at the helm of the offense, but in that one game, the Sooners showed a lot more toughness, resiliency, and ability to execute than they have in most of the last two years.
In his first game as offensive coordinator, Witten and Mateer offered a glimpse of what the Sooners' offense could look like moving forward.
Here's a play-by-play recap of the Sooners' 20-play touchdown drive.
Start of the Drive
End of the Third Quarter
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma's 20-play drive sums up complementary night for offense
