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No. 16 Oklahoma put together one of its more complete performance of the season against No. 14 Oregon to win the Alamo Bowl 47-32 behind 142 yards and three touchdowns from running back Kennedy Brooks.
The Sooners got off to a blazing start, going on a 24-0 run in the second quarter to take a dominant 30-3 lead into the half. The surge of points included touchdown passes from quarterback Caleb Williams to Drake Stoops and Marvin Mims. Brooks also added rushes of 16 yards and 29 yards to close out the first half. Eight different Sooners caught passes from Williams, who finished with 242 yards passing and 34 yards rushing.
Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown threw three second-half touchdowns to make the score look respectable, but 29 of the Ducks' points came after the game was all but decided. Running back Travis Dye added 153 yards and a touchdown, while Brown finished with 306 yards passing.
Oklahoma finishes the season 11-2, its seventh straight with two or fewer losses. With the win, interim coach Bob Stoops -- a newly minted Hall of Famer -- improved to a 10-9 bowl record and 191-48 overall in his career. Oregon dropped to 10-4, losing three of its last four games.
Just because neither of these teams were at full strength doesn't mean there aren't takeaways from the game. Let's dive into them.
1. Oklahoma's offense was finally exciting
With Lincoln Riley gone to USC, longtime offensive assistant Cale Gundy took over playcalling responsibilities for the game. After a three-and-out on the first possession, Gundy dialed up eight straight scoring drives against one of the more talented, albeit undermanned, defenses in college football.
While Brooks is expected to head to the NFL Draft, key contributors Eric Gray, Marcus Major, Marvin Mims, Mario Williams and Jalil Farooq are just getting started in Norman. Assuming Williams is back, new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby will have plenty to work with in Norman. The Sooners' offense didn't always click this year, but as we saw tonight, it's a lot of fun and effective when it does.
2. Ending with a thud
Without a Stoops to rally the troops, it was likely that Oregon would struggle to get up for a game without head coach Mario Cristobal, defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and a number of other key figures. Still, completely losing hold of the rope in the first half is a frustrating end to what could have been a historic season in Eugene.
Oregon had four consecutive top-15 recruiting classes before Cristobal left for Miami and ranked No. 9 in 247Sports Talent Composite. Despite the performance, new head coach Dan Lanning has plenty of reasons for optimism. Still, finishing so poorly -- getting waxed by Utah twice and then losing the bowl game -- is a bad taste heading into a long offseason.
3. Building momentum
Oklahoma had not played a football game since losing to rival Oklahoma State in late November in Riley's final game. While Oregon managed to string together some big plays in the last 1.5 quarters, including three touchdown passes totaling 130 yards passing, OU managed to make life difficult for the Ducks.
The Ducks had just one field goal drive in the first half to go along with an interception, turnover on downs and two punts. Only one drive traveled longer than 40 yards in that period, while Oregon averaged 5.1 yards per play in the half.
Despite missing so many key defensive pieces due to opt-outs, Oklahoma played loose and physical on the defensive side of the ball. That should create some excitement as new head coach Brent Venables -- among the top defensive minds in America -- prepares to put his stamp on the program.
