Oklahoma entered Thursday night with a 17 game win streak against Iowa State and had never lost at Jack Trice Stadium.
The Cyclones, meanwhile, had been one of the more dangerous teams late in the season -- despite their record -- and had a habit of upsetting highly ranked teams in Ames late in the year.
While it looked at times like the home team was threatening to pull a wild Big 12 upset, they ended up becoming the latest victim of Baker Mayfield and a potent Sooners offense 34-24.
The quarterback threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns (along with an interception) in yet another efficient performance to keep Oklahoma’s record perfect in conference play. There was a lot resting on the shoulders of the signal-caller as the result of the team’s top two tailbacks both being out (Joe Mixon because of a suspension, Samaje Perine due to injury) but he did more than enough through the air with his arm and by using his feet to escape some constant defensive pressure.
Receiver Dede Westbrook had yet another big outing, continuing his stellar play with a 131 yard, one touchdown night. Fullback Dimitri Flowers led Oklahoma in rushing with 115 tough yards while freshman tailback Abdul Adams chipped in with 54 yards in limited work.
Iowa State knew what it was like to be without their starting running back as Mike Warren did not play after dealing with an injury. Backup quarterback Joel Lanning was the team’s only big rushing threat (61 yards, one score) while quarterback Jacob Park threw two touchdown passes but couldn’t find the end zone enough to pull off the upset.
The win wasn’t the most impressive of the year by Oklahoma by any stretch but better teams have fallen to ISU in similar spots. The victory keeps them atop the Big 12 standings and gives them a little extra rest as the prepare to host Baylor in a big game next week.
