A game that was supposed to be about Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield facing his former team for the first time ended up a rout as the Sooners’ one-two punch of Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon ran roughshod over an overmatched and undermanned Texas Tech defense. The duo combined for 355 yards and six touchdowns as the 17th-ranked Sooners won, 63-27.
Mixon and Perine staked Oklahoma to a 21-3 early in the second quarter with alternating touchdowns until a pair of turnovers allowed Texas Tech briefly back into the game. Jarvis Baxter coughed up a Mayfield completion at the Texas Tech 29 and Jah’Shawn Johnson raced it 50 yards to the OU 29, setting up a six-yard scoring toss from Patrick Mahomes to Reginald Davis. Mayfield was intercepted on the ensuing possession by Justis Nelson, who raced the pigskin back to the Oklahoma 32. Texas Tech again capitalized, this time on a 13-yard DeAndre Washington run, to pull within 21-17 with 7:05 to go in the second quarter.
Perine answered with his second touchdown of the day, this time from 10 yards out with 3:31 before the break, and Oklahoma intercepted Mahomes for the third time in the first half inside its own end zone with just 10 seconds before the break to kill any semblance of red-and-black momentum.
Oklahoma opened the second half with a four-play, 75-yard drive punctuated by a 13-yard strike from Mayfield to tight end Mark Andrews and, after a 28-yard Red Raiders field goal, added another Perine score with 7:04 to play in the third quarter, pushing the lead to 42-20 and effectively putting the game out of reach.
Mahomes sneaked in from one-yard out on the following possession to bring the score to 42-27, but the Red Raiders did not score again. Mayfield added a 15-yard scoring strike to Durron Neal to close the third quarter, Perine scored his fourth touchdown of the day with 8:18 remaining to put OU in the 50’s for the second straight week, and Alex Ross notched a nine-yard paydirt plunge with 2:26 remaining to close the scoring.
Perine posted his best day since breaking the FBS rushing record against Kansas last season, registering a season-high 201 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries. Mixon added a career-high 154 yards and two touchdowns on 16 attempts. Mayfield added an economical 15-of-22 passing for 212 yards with two touchdowns and a pick.
As a team, Oklahoma pounded out 405 yards and seven touchdowns on 57 carries.
Standout cornerback Zack Sanchez left the game after just one snap with a lower-body injury and did not return.
Mahomes completed 26-of-40 throws for 233 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions, and Washington led the Red Raiders’ ground efforts with 19 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown.
For Oklahoma (6-1, 3-1 Big 12), it was a second straight impressive showing as the Sooners look to mount a post-Texas surge and stay in contention for the Big 12 and national championships. Texas Tech drops to 5-3 (2-3 Big 12) on the year with losses to TCU and Baylor in addition to today’s thumping.
Most concerning for Texas Tech - beyond the final score, obviously - was another game in which the defense allowed 600-plus yards and turned the ball over four times. That’s the formula that saw Texas Tech miss a bowl last season and, if not corrected, could end 2015 in a similar fashion.
