Oklahoma Football: Offense carries Sooners past surprising Kansas

In the end, it was a win, but there is no doubt Oklahoma football and head coach Lincoln Riley will not sleep easy this weekend.

The Sooners needed every bit of Kyler Murray to hold off upset-minded Kansas Saturday, pulling out a 55-40 victory in a game that featured 43 points in the fourth quarter.

Murray finished 21-of-32 for 272 yards with two touchdowns, while Kennedy Brooks ran for 171 yards and also scored twice. Oklahoma finished with 566 total yards and had just two turnovers, but the defense allowed 524 yards by Kansas, including 348 on the ground.

Pooka Williams Jr., who started the scorefest with the first touchdown late in the opening quarter, ran for 252 yards and scored twice, doing all of his damage on just 15 carries.

Kansas cut the lead to 35-24 to start the fourth quarter when Williams hit Jeremiah Booker on a pass, but Murray answered with a 75-yard touchdown run of his own. Oklahoma blocked a punt and returned it for a score to quickly make it 48-24.

Murray had 99 yards rushing and three scores, while Marquise Brown hauled in six passes for 65 yards. Peyton Bender threw for 167 yards and Khalil Herbert added 64 rushing yards and two scores for the Jayhawks.

So yes, the Sooners won for the fifth consecutive time since a 48-45 loss to Texas back in early October, but this was the third consecutive game they have allowed at least 40 points to be scored. That’s a number that will likely be hit for a fourth straight time next week when they face West Virginia with a chance to claim the regular season league title. on the line in Morgantown on Friday night.

Kansas, meanwhile, suffered its third consecutive loss since a win over TCU. The Jayhawks, who are rumored to be finalizing a deal with Les Miles to become their new head coach, are just 2-22 in the Big 12 since the start of the 2016 season. They play Texas next to conclude the year.