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Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas Jayhawks game enters delay due to lightning

Stephen Samraby:Steve Samra10/28/23

SamraSource

Oklahoma-Kansas
© Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Big 12 clash between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Oklahoma Sooners is off to a roaring start, but it’s going to be put on pause for a moment.

With 7:50 remaining in the second quarter, and the Jayhawks leading by a score of 14-7, we’re going to a delay due to lightning.

It’s been an interesting game before Mother Nature intervened, as the Sooners defense stopped the Jayhawks on fourth down on their opening drive, and then Dillon Gabriel and the offense looked to get Oklahoma on the board. However, a gigantic mistake happened instead, as Kansas defensive back Mello Dotson telegraphed the throw, and it led to a pick six.

Afterwards, the Jayhawks stopped Oklahoma on fourth down during their ensuing drive, and then took the ball down the field for another touchdown. Kansas lead 14-0 at the moment, and Jayhawks leader Lance Leipold spoke with FOX regarding what he was seeing that led to their hot start against the Sooners.

“I think we’ve had a really good week of prep, plus our kids are excited for this opportunity,” Leipold started. “Mello Dotson’s played pretty well for us. He’s been waiting for his opportunity, and we made it happen. This crowd’s been great, but we’ve got three more quarters to go.”

Oklahoma answered afterwards, which cut the lead in half, and the Sooners are seemingly finding their groove at the moment. Time will tell, but we’ll see what happens when we get back started in Lawrence.

Brent Venables delivers strong message to defense ahead of Kansas matchup

For an Oklahoma team looking to stay undefeated, the Kansas Jayhawk offense is certainly a challenging matchup, and Sooner head coach Brent Venables isn’t taking the matchup lightly. 

Against a terrific Kansas offensive line and an offense that’s scored more than 30 points in each of their five wins, physicality and discipline will be the name of the game for the OU defense. When asked on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff what he wants out of that unit, Venables answered:

“Just be disciplined, do your job, don’t try to make a play. Let the game come to you, let the defense work for you.”

It may be tempting to go for the pick-six or the big sack, but Venables knows that the Sooners need to play smart to avoid allowing huge gains to this explosive KU offense. That goes for the whole team, too. Because when Venables was asked what themes were on the white board ahead of this game, he said: “good discipline and being physical.”