OU Football suffers a huge loss at LSU and awaits a bowl destination

BATON ROUGE, La. – There was no second straight Miracle Saturday for OU football.

The Sooners held their own for much of the first half, but then Garrett Nussmeier dismantled OU’s defense, the Sooners’ offense faltered in front of nearly 100,000 spectators and the result was the same as much of OU’s first sweep of the SEC.

The Sooners’ regular season ended with a bang, a 37-17 loss to LSU at Tiger Stadium.

OU finished 6-6 overall and 2-6 in the SEC and now awaits its bowl fate.

Here are five takeaways from the loss:

Mussatto:After OU football’s loss at LSU, will Alabama’s win prove to be an outlier for the Sooners?

Sooners eject Garrett Nussmeier from game…

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has been one of the most effective passers in the country this season and appeared to have the role early on.

But when R Mason Thomas Nussmeier delivered a devastating blindside hit early in the second quarter, Nussmeier writhed in pain.

Nussmeier was soon helped off the field and spent much of the second quarter in the locker room taking X-rays and treating a collarbone injury.

But Nussmeier returned late in the second quarter and completed four consecutive passes, including scoring Chris Hilton Jr. for a 40-yard touchdown in the final minute of the second quarter.

OU freshman cornerback Eli Bowen was in good position on the play, but Hilton wrestled the ball away from Bowen in the end zone to complete the touchdown.

Nussmeier was 4 of 4 on the drive and finished the first half 14 of 19 for 147 yards and two touchdowns.

Nussmeier appeared ready to get in early, but Aaron Anderson’s 100-yard kick return touchdown delayed the quarterback’s return.

During Nussmeier’s absence, backup AJ Swann, a Vanderbilt transfer, was 1 of 3 for eight yards.

More:What does Jackson Arnold’s future look like with OU football? “Nothing that makes” QB want to leave

… Then Nussmeier dominates

Garrett Nussmeier came into the game as one of the nation’s best passers and showed why against a stout Sooners defense.

It wasn’t just the numbers – 22 of 31 for 277 yards and three touchdowns – that were impressive for Nussmeier.

But that’s how he did it.

Nussmeier continually picked apart the OU defense, making passes into tight windows and regularly working through quickly.

It was a far cry from the way the Sooners rushed Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe a week earlier.

Milroe struggled to manage his progress, often throwing the ball away or forcing runs.

The difference became clear on the Tigers’ second offensive attack of the game, when Nussmeier checked to running back Caden Durham on second-and-7 for a 16-yard gain.

It was the first of several checkdowns by Nussmeier that resulted in positive yards for the Tigers.

More:OU football: What you should know about the Oklahoma Sooners’ 2024 schedule, roster and more

OU continues to rely on the legs of Jackson Arnold

With the Sooners still lacking a roster of wide receivers and limited running back, OU continued to utilize Jackson Arnold’s running ability as a central part of its offense.

A week after rushing for a career-high 131 yards on 25 carries against Alabama, Arnold ran for 75 yards on 17 carries against the Tigers.

Arnold’s biggest running play came immediately after his biggest passing play – a 50-yard strike to JJ Hester midway through the second quarter.

Arnold followed up the big pass play with a 28-yard gain to get the Sooners to the 2 and set up Xavier Robinson’s touchdown run on the next play.

Although Jovantae Barnes was not listed on the SEC availability report on Friday or Saturday, he did not appear in the game, leaving Robinson as OU’s primary running back.

Robinson managed 20 yards on 10 carries, while Gavin Sawchuk had four carries for 11 yards. Sam Franklin added six carries for 61 yards, much of that coming on the Sooners’ final drive of the game.

OU finished the game with just 277 offensive yards, 110 of which came through the air.

More:OU football: Which players have decided to join the Sooners’ 2025 recruiting class?

The former ones get back on defense

OU’s defensive line made a lot of great plays throughout the season, many of them from defensive tackle Gracen Halton and defensive end R Mason Thomas.

The duo made a key strike late in the first quarter when Halton broke through the Tigers’ strong offensive line and beat Garrett Nussmeier on a third-down play at the LSU 19.

Halton knocked the ball out of Nussmeier’s hand and sent it bouncing across the field, where Mason picked it up and flew toward the end zone.

Mason took a hard hit from behind, but was able to hold on to the ball for the touchdown, tying the game 7-7.

The Sooners’ defense has scored in each of their last three games and OU leads the SEC with four defensive touchdowns.

More:Brent Venables says OU football will be hiring an offensive coordinator “in the next few days.”

Bowl fate awaits OU

The Sooners now await their goal for the bowl game.

The bowls available — and the path to get there — are vastly different than what OU faced in the Big 12.

Following the College Football Playoff, the Citrus Bowl receives first pick among available SEC teams and figures, selecting Alabama or South Carolina if one or both are not in the playoff field (although Ole Miss is also a possibility) .

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