Study Hall: Oklahoma 31, Texas 26

Oklahoma 31, Texas 26

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I figured the strangest game of the week was a good place to start. Covered this a bit in today's Numerical.

Texas outgained Oklahoma by 250 yards, committed only one turnover, held OU to 1-for-11 success on third downs, and lost on Saturday, 31-26. That's really difficult to do.

So how did it happen?

Field position: Oklahoma didn't hold a significant advantage here but still started its drives 6.2 yards further up the field (31.4 to 25.2). Texas didn't have many huge plays and would usually figure out a way to stall out before the end zone. Plus, almost every Texas drive either ended in points or simply ended quickly. Texas went three-and-out four times and four-and-out twice. OU also went three-and-out five times, but Texas couldn't take advantage from a field-tilting perspective.

Returns: That one Texas turnover? A pick-six by Zack Sanchez. Alex Ross also had a 91-yard kick return score. They allowed the Sooners to go up 17-3 without the offense being on the field.

Penalties: Penalties aren't always as important as we tend to think -- they hold almost no correlation to win percentages -- but when one team commits 11 for 85 yards and the other commits three for 20, it gives the less-penalized team an opportunity. Texas committed three false starts and a delay of game penalty on the first drive; two of those penalties came on the last set of downs and forced Texas to settle for a field goal. Another false start and a hold forced a three-and-out. A kick catch interference penalty set OU up in UT field position on an early field goal drive. A third-quarter personal foul led to a punt. Penalties might not be as costly as you think, but they were poorly timed for the 'Horns.

That's about it. The early return scores gave OU a cushion, and then the Sooners used up that cushion. UT cut it to 17-13 at halftime while outgaining OU, 273-19. (Plays: Texas 47, Oklahoma 15.) The second half was even and by the book.

At some point, I'll get a grasp on adding special teams to this layout, and if I had, then obviously OU's kick return touchdown would have made the "projected scoring margin" about even. Still, the flow of this game was as strange as you'll see.