Oklahoma’s Special Teams Let Down a Key Piece of Tough Loss in Morgantown

After serving as a major power as lately as two weeks in the past in a win over Iowa State, Oklahoma’s particular groups had been removed from particular on Saturday within the Sooners’ newest loss.

In OU’s 23-20 defeat by the hands of West Virginia in Morgantown, the proverbial “third aspect of the ball” bit Brent Venables’ squad all through the afternoon.

Oklahoma missed two discipline objectives, allowed a giant kickoff return that led to a Mountaineer landing simply earlier than half and likewise gave up a faux punt in what would go on to be a game-tying landing drive within the fourth quarter.

For sure, in a sport determined by simply three factors, particular groups performed a significant function within the Sooners struggling their fifth lack of the season on Saturday.

“As we speak, clearly, it (particular groups) bit us,” Venables stated postgame. “We have been excellent there actually a lot of the yr. And right now once more, we had an alignment (on WVU’s faux punt) that is alleged to be alert. … Not simply an alert. However like an alignment that places us in an alignment to cease the faux. I believed we did a superb job of leveraging it. They tried to run round us. We set the sting and I believed the man for them did a very nice job of slicing again and making a play. Overpursued just a bit bit. Once more, he acquired it by a yard.

“There’s a gazillion of these on the day in my view. We’ll look again on it and present it to our guys once more on Monday and be taught. There’s a whole lot of performs similar to there the place we’re not on the fitting aspect of it and we acquired punished for it.”

After a rocky first half offensively, Oklahoma put collectively its finest drive of the day simply earlier than halftime, going 96 yards in simply over a minute to leap put out to a 10-0 lead.

However, OU’s kickoff protection failed them as West Virginia’s Sam James responded by returning the following kickoff 42 yards out to the WVU 47-yard line.

Simply three performs later, quarterback Garrett Greene ran within the Mountaineers’ first landing to attract the sport inside one rating going into halftime.

“Particular groups is at all times a giant a part of the sport,” defensive again Billy Bowman stated. “That’s why it’s a three-phase sport. So whoever wins the yards differential in particular groups more than likely will win the sport, and we misplaced that right now.”

Then there’s the 2 missed discipline objectives from the usually dependable Zach Schmit that each would have given the Sooners the lead had they been punched by.

The primary one, a 54-yard try that got here up quick by lower than ideally suited kicking situations, was on the primary drive of the sport. The second, although, was definitely the larger gut-punch of the 2.

With 6 1/2 minutes to play, Oklahoma was offered with a fourth-and-3 on the West Virginia 29-yard line.

Regardless of the sooner miss on his first kick (Schmit did make a 32-yard try within the second quarter), Venables elected to strive the redshirt sophomore kicker once more for a 46-yard strive somewhat than belief his offense.

The choice didn’t repay, as Schmit’s kick doinked off the fitting upright to present the ball again to the Mountaineers.

Oklahoma would by no means see the ball once more, as WVU then drained up the final six-plus minutes, hitting a game-winning discipline objective as time expired.

“Zach (Schmit) — he is been excellent,” Venables stated. “All the best way since spring ball. And as you noticed there he had loads of leg. The situations weren’t that dangerous on the sphere. And, once more, primarily based on how we had been, the dearth of execution all day, I did not suppose we had been going to miraculously give you this massive time conversion on fourth down offensively.”

All in all, it was removed from a banner day for the Sooners in particular groups as quite a few key turning factors of the sport had been seen with that unit on the sphere.

Venables and firm have put a a lot bigger emphasis on particular groups than the earlier regime, and for essentially the most half it has paid dividends all through the season.

However, on Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia did extra within the third part of the sport — doubtless serving because the distinction in a tightly contested sport.

Whereas removed from the one challenge plaguing Oklahoma towards the Mountaineers, particular groups will definitely be an space the place the Sooners will look to button issues up going into Bedlam subsequent weekend in Norman. 

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