Big 12 Conference is defenseless
MORGANTOWN 鈥� Defense wins championships 鈥� unless you play in the Big 12.
Oklahoma蘑菇视频 59-56 victory over West Virginia on Friday night at Milan Puskar Stadium showed a national audience that if you are looking for a defensive struggle in a college football game, you may want to watch another conference.
However, if you tuned into the Los Angeles Rams鈥� 54-51 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football last week, defenses in the NFL aren鈥檛 looking that great either.
It is largely based on the rules and style of play. The offenses have expanded their playbooks and the rules generally favor offensive production.
There are college football conferences that seem to rely on defense to win championships, such as the SEC, but in the Big 12, it蘑菇视频 usually about what offense can outlast the other.
I don鈥檛 think the Mountaineers or Sooners are giving up so many points because of a lack of effort, and I don鈥檛 like to judge athletes while I sit on the couch, so I won鈥檛 even say it蘑菇视频 skills. High-scoring games are the norm in the conference.
Maybe it蘑菇视频 because all of the teams besides West Virginia are in locations where shootouts were common years ago? There were a lot of gunslingers in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
WVU蘑菇视频 Will Grier and Oklahoma蘑菇视频 Kyler Murray had their guns locked and loaded on Black Friday.
Grier, who could be a first-round pick in April蘑菇视频 NFL Draft, was 32 of 49 for 539 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Murray, who was drafted ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2018 MLB Draft on June 4, was 20 of 27 for 364 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He rushed for 114 yards on nine carries with a long of 55.
Murray, who will report to spring training for the Athletics in 2019, has a minimum of two and maximum of three football games left in his career, but hasn鈥檛 disappointed in his only year starting for the Sooners, and is in the running for the Heisman Trophy.
Oklahoma junior wide receiver Marquise Brown, who is the cousin of Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver, Antonio Brown, was just as, if not more impressive than, Grier and Murray in catching 11 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns with a long of 65.
Maybe Marquise wanted to impress his famous cousin, who was in attendance. Antonio may be one of the best receivers to ever play in the NFL, but Marquise could have the opportunity to play at the next level if he continues to play like he did in Morgantown.
The Mountaineers鈥� Gary Jennings Jr., who played his final game at Milan Puskar Stadium as a senior, wasn鈥檛 the only wide receiver to go over 200 yards. Jennings gained 225 yards on seven receptions and caught two touchdown passes with a long of 75.
Fellow senior and wideout David Sills V pulled in eight receptions for 131 yards with two touchdowns and a long of 41.
The rushing attack had its way with the defenses as well. The Sooners鈥� Kennedy Brooks gained 182 yards on 21 carries and one touchdown with a long of 68.
WVU蘑菇视频 Kennedy McCoy had 81 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown with a long of 33. Teammate Martell Pettaway added 76 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns and a long of 17.
The two teams combined for 115 points, which was well over the 85 points that were projected to be scored on the latest betting lines.
The Mountaineers gained 704 yards on 90 plays, while Oklahoma had 668 on 65 plays. There were three punts as WVU had two and the Sooners one. West Virginia was 12 of 18 on third down and two of three on fourth, and Oklahoma was four for nine on third down and two of two on fourth.
Even though the defenses took their lumps, it was two defensive plays that made the difference for the Sooners as Curtis Bolton蘑菇视频 48-yard fumble return for a touchdown after Grier was sacked by Kenneth Mann at 9:58 of the fourth quarter proved to be the winning score for Oklahoma.
The Sooners鈥� Caleb Kelly had a 10-yard fumble recovery after he sacked Grier and picked up the fumble for a touchdown at 3:06 of the second quarter for a 35-21 lead, which was the largest lead of the game for either team.
The Mountaineers had two key takeaways on defense, with the first being David Long Jr. stripping Murray and Kenny Robinson recovering at the WVU 22 with 8:45 left in the second quarter. Robinson intercepted Murray in the end zone at 10:32 of the third quarter after Oklahoma had driven to the West Virginia 13 on its opening possession of the second half.
Despite the two defenses forcing two key turnovers apiece, the offenses stole the show on Friday night in front of a national TV audience, and expect the same to happen when the Sooners face Texas for the Big 12 Championship next Saturday at 12 p.m. at AT&T Stadium.
The over/under should be about 85.
Sports betting isn鈥檛 legal in Oklahoma or Texas, but if you are in a state that allows it, (i.e.) Nevada and West Virginia, take the over.
蘑菇视频 sports writer can be reached at jguth@heraldstandard.com