With yet another statement road victory, Sooners prove they're "hard to kill"
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — This year’s Oklahoma team has embraced a simple moniker.
“Hard to kill.”
It’s inspired by “Gladiator” and “Gladiator 2”, with the coaching staff splicing clips from the movies in the team’s film sessions. Before arriving in Tuscaloosa Friday, the team handed out black t-shirts with their new moniker on the front.
It’s a new slogan, but it embodies the theme that has driven the Sooners all season.
“It’s just a mentality,” OU defensive tackle David Stone said. “Hard to kill. That’s what you gotta live by. We practice by it. Every day. It came out to fruition this Saturday night.”
It certainly did. Despite an imperfect performance that featured plenty of mistakes, the Sooners went to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday and left with a 23-21 win over No. 4 Alabama.
It all started with the defense.
The Sooners opened the game by forcing back-to-back three-and-outs. On Alabama’s third possession, Eli Bowen intercepted Ty Simpson and returned it for an 87-yard touchdown. Late in the third quarter, Taylor Wein forced a strip sack against Simpson that the Sooners recovered, which led to a Tate Sandell field goal that gave them the lead for good.
It wasn’t a perfect performance by any stretch. Simpson carved up OU’s defense, particularly in the first half. He threw for 246 of his 326 yards before halftime and completed five passes of 20-plus yards. But the Sooners also tightened up in the second half, allowing just 80 passing yards, 132 total yards and seven points after halftime.
And, of course, they made game-changing plays. The Sooners forced three turnovers, which led to 17 points, and added three sacks. Alabama finished with just 80 yards on 33 carries. Even without star defensive end R Mason Thomas, the defense created chaos and tightened up when it mattered.
“We have a bunch of young men who were raised right,” OU coach Brent Venables said. “We have recruited a lot of tough guys that believe in themselves and each other in how we do, what we do. Try to put a lot of pressure on them constantly as we develop our team. At the end of the day, the guts and the will and the edge and the belief that comes from our players. We try to create vision for them. I think it starts with that.
“Then it’s belief. Then you have to be able to kick the door and take the action that it requires. Then be the one that kind of lines up nose to nose. It’s about competing and competing to win. Everything has magnitude and everything matters. Our players have really bought into that. They haven’t flinched. When the fire is raging, when things are looking a little desolate, they have responded several times this year. Certainly, have the last couple of weeks when it has mattered the most.”
It was an impressive path to victory for the Sooners, particularly with the offense struggling for most of the game. The offense finished with just 212 yards, their fewest in a win since 2001. The Sooners scored just one offensive touchdown and three field goals in 11 possessions.
But the Sooners found other ways to win. They didn’t commit a turnover. They got several key plays on special teams — including three more field goals from ironman Tate Sandell, a 42-yard punt return from Isaiah Sategna that led to three points and a fumble recovery by Sammy Omosigho.
“I think they just have great mental fortitude,” OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “They’re a team that has great player led leadership, and everything they do, they’re internally motivated. These kids, they work hard every single day because they want to be good for the guy next to them. And I think it says a lot about them and how they’ve been on the road, and they just keep on showing up each week.”
The “hard to kill” moniker might seem like a gimmick. But it’s hard to argue with the results.
The Sooners now have back-to-back road victories against ranked opponents in hostile environments. They finished with a perfect 4-0 road record, with two home games left on the schedule. And despite a couple of tough losses to Texas and Ole Miss, the Sooners now sit at 8-2 (4-2 SEC) on the season. They control their own destiny to the College Football Playoff.
And they’ve done it by finding ways to win, even when it isn’t pretty.
“You’re trained for these moments,” Stone said. “That’s the biggest thing I can say. You’re trained for it. ‘Hard to kill’ is a daily theme. You can’t practice soft and be like, ‘Ahh, I’m hard to kill.’ You’re not really working for it. We work hard, man. It’s a lot of stuff that the media or the people outside the stadium don’t see.”
The Sooners know their work isn’t done yet. They have to win two more games against Missouri and LSU if they hope to truly accomplish their goal of making the playoff.
But they’ve put themselves in prime position to do it with a team-wide mentality they’ve embraced.
“We know what we’re up against and what the stakes are if we do lose,” OU quarterback John Mateer said. “We’re fighting to survive, and that’s where it comes from.
“I just say, when you have belief, it’s a powerful thing. We don’t fold, and we don’t turn on each other when anything goes bad. We know we’re playing good teams, and I think we’re lead by a great human and a great coach in coach Venables and all the other coaches around him. They give us the right message.”