Perine the Pristine: OU Freshman Leads Sooners to Victory

34 carries, 242 yards, and 4 touchdowns. That was the stat line for OU freshman running back, Samaje Perine, as he led the Sooners to a 45-33 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday in Morgantown. Mr. Perine looked unstoppable as Oklahoma Offensive Coordinator, Josh Heupel, found the niche in the offense that West Virginia just couldn’t seem to contain.

Oklahoma running back, Samaje Perine, breaks free in
Saturday's game in Morgantown, WV.

   For the first half of the game, it seemed like OU was in a fog. Down 17-24 with just over a minute left in the opening half, West Virginia looked as if they had the Sooners right where they wanted them. But then Alex Ross happened: the sophomore running back took the kickoff after a Mountaineer touchdown and returned it 101 yards to tie the game at 24 heading into the locker room. This play gave the Sooners the lift they needed in order to pull away in the second half.

   As for the Mountaineer quarterback, Clint Trickett, after a great first half, he struggled in the second and that cost West Virginia greatly. The OU defense, that seemed not to even lay a hand on the Mountaineer gunslinger, forced a fumble and 2 interceptions in the second half of the ballgame to seal a victory for the mighty Oklahoma Sooners. Zach Sanchez, the Oklahoma sophomore corner, snatched an interception for the 5^th straight game even with a sore shoulder. Among other contributions, wide receiver, Sterling Shepard, recorded another 100+ yard performance, and Michael Hunnicut, the kicker, broke the scoring record of DeMarco Murray to become the Sooners all-time leading scorer. For all the positives that came from Oklahoma’s win, there were some concerns as the Crimson Crew left Morgantown that Saturday night.

    The Sooners struggled on 3^rd down, once again, and they allowed 513 total yards on defense. The open-field tackling and secondary play was mediocre at best and West Virginia isn’t even the best team OU will play this season, by far. If Zach Sanchez and Anthony Thomas keep getting beat deep, the Sooners could be in for a rude awakening when they play a Baylor team on November 8^th in Norman.  As for the team they play before then, their offenses aren’t as potent. TCU, Texas, and Iowa State all have offenses that aren’t terrible, but they are nothing compared to what the Sooners just dealt with. To make matters worse, or just more difficult, after Baylor, OU still has to face Texas Tech and Oklahoma State to finish their season. Yes, Kansas is sandwiched between Tech and OSU, but the relief will be short-lived for the Sooner secondary. With all that being said, Oklahoma could find themselves on the outside of the 4-team playoff if they lose any one of these games. This is primarily due to the fact that losing a game late doesn’t give you the opportune make-up time to get back into the mix like losing a game early would do. Just some things to think about as OU looks forward to playing TCU on Saturday in Fort Worth.