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Oklahoma held Tulane to 4.2 yards per play and 19 points in a home victory on Saturday.
After the game, Green Wave head coach Jon Sumrall said Oklahoma’s defense is “a legitimate SEC defense.” With the Sooners set to open SEC play in a week, that assessment will be tested immediately.
“I think Oklahoma is one of the best defenses I’ve ever seen,” Sumrall said after the game, per Sooner Scoop’s Georgia Stoia.
Oklahoma never quite felt comfortable in the game, but for a second week in a row, the Sooner defense kept things from spiraling while the offense sorted itself out.
Tulane opened the game with 3-and-outs on 3 of its first 4 possessions. In the second quarter, when Tulane was finally able to string some first downs together, OU stiffened up inside the 40 and forced 3 straight incompletions to stall out the drive. And the Green Wave would miss the field goal.
Tulane had 4 possessions in the fourth quarter. It went 3-and-out, threw a pick, went 4-and-out, and then fumbled the ball. The Sooners outscored Tulane 10-6 in the fourth quarter to secure a win, but the defense technically pitched a shutout.
The lone score in the fourth quarter was a pick-6 off of quarterback Jackson Arnold.
Per game on paper, Tulane posted a 34% success rate and just a 7% explosive play rate. Tulane was 5-for-15 on third downs and averaged only 3.6 yards on first downs. Situationally speaking, Oklahoma took care of business.
And Sumrall knows a thing or 2 about SEC defenses. He coached on the Ole Miss staff in 2018 and then the Kentucky staff from 2019-21. He also coached against Ole Miss as the head coach at Troy in 2022.
Through 3 games, the Sooners’ defense has given up just 3 touchdowns. They will be tested tremendously in Week 4 by a Tennessee team that put 65 points on the board in the first half against Kent State. The Volunteers scored on all 9 of their first-half possessions.
Kickoff in that game is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC next Saturday. ESPN’s College GameDay will feature the matchup on next week’s show as well.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
