Gutsy 4th down call leads to game-winning TD
If there was any turning point Saturday night in the Sooners’ frustrating win it was Coach Bob Stoops’ decision to go for it on fourth and one at Oklahoma’s own 37 yard line in the third quarter. He called Demarco Murray’s number with less than a yard to move the chains.
With the interior line bunched up by a scrappy Utah State defense, Murray sped around left end and dove and stretched to the sideline, picking up the most crucial of his career-best 218 yards rushing and sending No. 7 Oklahoma to a 31-24 victory against the Aggies on Saturday night.
“I felt we could make a half a yard and I was almost wrong,” said Stoops.
Exactly two plays later, Murray scampered for a 63-yard touchdown run — his second of the night — to extend the Sooners’ lead to 28-17 midway through the third quarter. It proved to be the decisive series that allowed Oklahoma to stave off Utah State.
For much of the game, Utah State QB Diondre Borel made the Sooner secondary look silly. He threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns.
But, Jamell Fleming, who had been targeted as the Sooners’ weak link for most of the night by Borel, secured the 800th win in the program’s history by intercepting Borel’s pass in the final 5 minutes, dragging his feet to stay inbounds near the sideline. The Sooners are only the seventh Division I school to reach that mark, joining a handful of powerhouses including Michigan, Texas and Notre Dame.
It certainly didn’t come easy.
“As players, we thought we were at the top of the world, ranked seventh, all that,” linebacker Travis Lewis said. “A Utah State team comes in here and they almost beat us. So, it’s a great humbling experience as a team, as a defense and as players.”
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