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Oklahoma defeated Tulane 34-19 on Saturday afternoon in Norman.
Like last week against Houston, it wasn’t an easy victory for the Sooners. Tulane got within 5 points in the 4th quarter before Oklahoma was able to pull away in the 4th quarter thanks to a couple of takeaways on defense.
Here are 3 takeaways from Oklahoma’s victory:
Inconsistent offense
Oklahoma’s offense started out looking better on Saturday vs. Tulane, but the inconsistency issues were still there. The Sooners ended up only averaging 4.7yards per play on the day and had a stretch of 4 drives in the second half where they managed just 1 first down.
That abysmal period in the second half also included a pick-6 from Arnold, which made it a 1-possession game in the second half.
Arnold once again struggled to push the ball downfield. He completed 18-of-29 passes for 169 yards, 1 touchdown and that costly interception. That’s just 5.8 yards per attempt — well below what Oklahoma is looking for from its passing game.
On the bright side, Oklahoma did appear to find something in the running game. Arnold was effective using his legs, rushing for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win — including a 24-yard run on 3rd-and-long midway through the 4th quarter to give the Sooners some breathing room.
Freshman running back Taylor Tatum also continues to play well out of the backfield. He scored rushing and receiving touchdowns on the day. Javontae Barnes led all running backs with 53 yards on 14 attempts.
Strong defensive performance
Outside of a couple of long scoring drives for Tulane, it was another nice performance for the Oklahoma defense. The Sooners earned stops on Tulane’s first 5 drives of the game. On those 5 drives, the Green Wave managed just 79 total yards on 26 plays.
However, Tulane did figure some things out late in the first half. It scored back-to-back touchdown drives of 75 yards to close out the first half and open the third quarter. That combined with Arnold’s pick-6 was enough to put Oklahoma on upset alert in the 4th quarter.
Oklahoma’s defense was dominant after that, though. Tulane’s last 3 possessions ended in an interception, a turnover on downs and a fumble recovery. R Mason Thomas was the hero on defense in the 4th quarter as he repeatedly pressured Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah. He was credited with 3 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Tulane averaged just 4.2 yards per play on the day.
Oklahoma is out of tune-up games
Next week, Oklahoma will host Tennessee in its first-ever SEC contest. The Sooners have had an underwhelming start to the 2024 season, but they will carry a 3-0 record into next week’s game against the Vols.
Oklahoma is hoping to be healthier for the Tennessee game. Notably, center Branson Hickman and right tackle Jake Taylor both remained out for this game but could return next week against the Vols.
The Sooners will hope to get more out of its banged-up wide receiver room going forward as well. Nic Anderson and Andrel Anthony are 2 players who could contribute more going forward after being limited due to injury in the early part of this season.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
