Oklahoma State: 3 takeaways from upset of Sooners in Bedlam

2. Somebody said something in the locker room at halftime.

At halftime, the game looked like the typical Bedlam shootout. Knotted at 24, the Cowboys made several adjustments in the locker room and shut out the Sooners in the second half. Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams was outstanding in the first half.

Williams began the second half completing only one of his first six passes. The Sooners’ offensive possessions in the second half yielded no results. Oklahoma had just 135 yards, four points, and two drives ending on downs.

The Oklahoma State defense made some critical adjustments in the second half. First, the Sooners mixed their coverage. The Cowboys would look like they were in man coverage and would fall back to zone coverage.

Next, Oklahoma State mixed their pressures. The Cowboys would send five or six, playing zero coverage on the back end. It seemed as if Oklahoma State football never sent pressure from the same place twice.

The Cowboys forced Caleb Williams to stay in the pocket and take what the defense gave him. The problem was, Oklahoma State played great coverage on critical downs in the second half. Oklahoma did a good job defensively, and the Cowboys’ defense needed to be a wall.

They were.