3 Sooners Takeaways: 'L' In Lawrence Leaves Oklahoma Fans Frustrated

It was a game that probably wasn't supposed to be close but that we expected might be. The Oklahoma Sooners didn't look great last week against the University of Central Florida, and this Kansas Jayhawks team isn't your father's version.

It's not the Mark Mangino version either, to be fair, but Lance Leipold has turned the KU program around. Kansas got their signature win of the season on Saturday, a 38-33 triumph over the Sooners in Lawrence.

One loss on the season does not a national championship dream kill, but the eye test says otherwise. This is an Oklahoma team that is probably fortunate to be 7-1.

This is an Oklahoma team that could easily be 7-2 next week after a final Bedlam tilt in Stillwater. Easily. (First question: How do the Sooners plan to stop Ollie Gordon II, who rushed for 271 yards Saturday night in a 45-13 win over Cincinnati?)

West Virginia doesn't look automatic either. They beat the UCF Knights by 13 in Orlando.

And BYU in Provo is a wild card.

Takeaway 1: The OU Running Game Was Both Great, Not (Close To) Great

It's quite the paradox.

Junior Tawee Walker ran for 146 yards on 23 carries. He's by far been the most consistent running back on the team with the best chance for big plays. He didn't play a week ago because of a suspension, and he didn't play in the fourth quarter on Saturday.

The word is that he suffered an injury or had "ankle pain," but Walker told the University of Oklahoma campus paper, the OU Daily, that he wanted to be out there.

Does that mean he wanted to be playing but couldn't because of the injury? Or was he being held out of the game by either running backs coach DeMarco Murray or offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby.

Head coach Brent Venables has said previously that the rotation is up to Murray.

Oklahoma rushed for a season-high 269 yards today, most of it thanks to Walker and quarterback Dillon Gabriel. In addition to Walker's 146 yards, Gabriel ran for 64 yards.

That's great. Now here comes the not-so-great.

Gavin Sawchuk ran for 19 yards on six carries.

Jovantae Barnes ran for 17 yards on five carries.

Jalil Farooq ran for 18 yards on five carries, and had a costly fumble late in the third quarter. One play after that fumble, Kansas quarterback Jason Bean ran 38 yards for a touchdown that gave the Jayhawks a 26-21 lead. KU opened up a 14-0 lead early thanks to a Mello Dotson interception return from 37 yards out and a Daniel Hishaw Jr. score. The Moore High School grad rushed the ball 12 times for 51 yards and two scores on the day.

After a lightning delay, Oklahoma came back to take a 21-17 lead at the half.

The problem isn't that Oklahoma running backs weren't effective. One of them was.

The problem is that he wasn't on the field in the fourth quarter of a close game on the road when the Sooners had a chance to put the Jayhawks away after an Ethan Downs interception with 2:29 to play and a 33-32 lead.

Barnes lost a yard to the KU 40.

Gabriel gained it back.

Barnes ran for five on third-and-12, which was perplexing in its own right, leaving the Sooners with a fourth-and-7 from the KU 35 and no real threat of a field goal. Oklahoma punted, and they only gained 15 yards of field position since the ball went into the end zone for a touchback.

Two questions: why again wasn't Walker on the field? And why wasn't Sawchuk his primary backup in this crucial situation, a situation the freshman excelled in just a week ago against UCF. Here's a refresher.

The decision-making all year long with regard to the running back rotation has been baffling, and in a situation where the Sooners desperately needed the yards and just a single first down, they couldn't get it.

If Walker wanted to be out there, why wasn't he?

Takeaway 2: Do the Sooners not have a Heisman contender at QB?

Against UCF, Dillon Gabriel threw the ball 38 times.

Against the Longhorns, he threw it 38 times.

Against Iowa State, Gabriel flung it 39 times.

Against Cincinnati, you guessed it: 38 times.

Gabriel only threw it 31 times against Tulsa, 27 against SMU and 22 against Arkansas State.

Then there was Saturday against Kansas. Dillon Gabriel only threw the ball 19 times.

Yes, this throw cost Oklahoma an early touchdown.

However, 'DimeTime' has been the heart-and-soul of the Oklahoma team, and he was neutralized on Saturday. Was it the Jayhawks, or was it the play-calling?

Don't take it from this column. Take it from one of the greatest wide receivers Oklahoma has ever had, Mark Clayton.

Much like with the running back situation, the frustration on behalf of Oklahoma fans isn't the failure, the loss. It's the inconsistency of approach, the confusing switches both game to game and in-game from plays and players that are effective to those that / who are not.

Venables was accountable and took the blame.

The accountability is a big deal, not only from a football perspective but as an example any parent would want a coach to show.

Takeaway 3: Still Plenty To Play For

Oklahoma heads to Stillwater for what will be the final Bedlam (for a while at least), a chance to end the series on a high note and keep the Sooners' Big 12 hopes alive.

But which road will the Sooners pick?

Under Bob Stoops, Oklahoma teams had a way of developing extraordinary grit after a midseason loss.

On the other hand, in Venables' first season, when the train came off the tracks, it came all the way off.

Oklahoma fans want the wins, sure.

But they'd also be delighted by seeing some of that Stoops-era grit.

With it, Oklahoma can run the table.

Without it, 7-1 could easily turn into 9-3 or 8-4, and given how the season started -- even if the record is an improvement -- it would ultimately be a second-year disappointment for a coach SoonerNation genuinely loves.