What was the message after OU football's loss to Kansas State? 'Time to bounce back'

NORMAN — Brayden Willis and Justin Broiles gathered their teammates as soon as they got to the locker room.

OU had just suffered its first loss of the season Saturday, a 41-34 heartbreaker at the hands of Kansas State, and the veteran duo wanted to deliver a message.

"So what?" Willis and Broiles asked their teammates. "Now what? If you imagine this team as a car, we can look in the rearview mirror and put this car in a ditch or look at it with a windshield mentality, continue to move forward and just focus on Oklahoma."

The Sooners (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) still believe they're in the driver's seat as they shift their focus to next Saturday's road game against TCU, but they have to play better than the way they did against Kansas State.

Redshirt junior quarterback Dillon Gabriel went 26-for-39 passing for 330 yards and four touchdowns. It's a strong stat line on paper, but he missed numerous big-play opportunities with uncharacteristically-inaccurate passes.

A prime example came in the closing seconds of the first quarter when Drake Stoops beat his man and sprinted downfield. The redshirt senior wide receiver had a clear path to the end zone, but Gabriel's pass sailed far over his head.

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OU's defense also left plenty on the table.

The group failed to contain Kansas State quarterback Adrian Martinez, who erupted for 382 total yards of offense and five touchdowns. OU didn't record a sack for the first time in nine games, and it desperately needed one late in the fourth quarter.

Kansas State led 34-27 with 2:39 left in the game when Martinez escaped the pressure on 3rd-and-16 and ran for 55 yards. He then scored a 1-yard touchdown two plays later, which sealed the Wildcats' win.

Throw in 11 committed penalties for 87 yards, and OU has a laundry list of corrections it needs to make moving forward. Still, its players remain focused on their ultimate goal of competing for a Big 12 and national championship.

"Everything we want to do is still in front of us," Willis told his teammates. "I've been here a couple of years, and we've been in situations like this before. It's just, more so now than ever, we have to pay attention to details. We have no room for error. It's time to bounce back."

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Punishing penalties

The Sooners could feel momentum shifting in their favor.

OU trailed 34-27 to Kansas State on its opening drive of the fourth quarter when Gabriel scrambled for a 26-yard gain.

The dazzling dash prompted a roaring applause from the 84,376 spectators, but they got silenced before the ensuing play when penalty flags littered Owen Field.

Junior offensive lineman McKade Mettauer got called for a false start, which put the Sooners in a 1st-and-15 situation. OU committed another false start three plays later, this time courtesy of Damond Harmon, and was forced to punt the ball away.

"It certainly plays a huge part in the rhythm of the game," Venables said of the team's penalties. "We broke down in every way. We're at home. You'd think on offense that we wouldn't have those procedures, but we did tonight at the poorest time. We really shot ourselves in the foot with a lack of focus at the right times."

The Sooners repeatedly got in their own way during their 41-34 loss.

OU committed 11 penalties for 87 yards. This marks the most penalties by the team since it committed 12 of them for 74 yards in a 37-33 loss to Oklahoma State on Nov. 27.

“That’s the feeling I have right now, just frustrated," Lebby said. "I felt like we couldn’t get out of our own way. Ton of credit to Kansas State. They played their butt off. They’re dang good on defense, but so many opportunities were given away. Where we’re standing here, it’s a completely different story."

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Carrying the load

Eric Gray got after himself in the locker room.

OU trailed Kansas State 24-17 at halftime, and Gray wasn't pleased with his performance. The senior running back only had five carries for 14 yards to his name.

"I need to run harder and be more physical," Gray told himself as he and the Sooners prepared for the second half.

Gray accomplished that.

Gray took a handoff on the first play of the half and shot out of a gap on the left side of the line of scrimmage. He eventually got tackled, but not before he gained 11 yards.

Gray went back to work on the next play.

He took another handoff and spun off a Kansas State defender broke breaking a second tackle. This time it took two people to bring down the veteran Sooner, who added another 17 yards to his total.

OU ultimately lost to Kansas State, but Gray pieced together his best performance since he transferred from Tennessee prior to last season. He finished with 16 carries for a team-high 114 rushing yards and a team-high seven catches for 45 yards, giving him 159 total yards of offense.

"I loved everything I saw from him," Venables said. "I thought he ran hard. I thought he got vertical. I thought he went north and south... He gives you a chance to do things well in the running game and certainly the passing game as well.

"He's really a good football player. We needed to be better around him."

Gray continues to produce for OU in the run game.

He has recorded over 100 yards in three of the Sooners' first four contests, and he's averaging 7.7 yards per carry.

“(Gray) did some really good things," OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said. "We’re going to continue to see that. You’re going to get out what you put in. That kid’s put in a ton of work. He’s got a bunch of ability.

"We’ll continue to see him play really well and play at a high level.”

OU football report card: Sooners can't corral Kansas State's Adrian Martinez, Deuce Vaughn

Availability updates

Freshman defensive end R Mason Thomas missed his second consecutive game due to a hamstring injury.

Junior cornerback Joshua Eaton, redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Aaryn Parks, redshirt junior Marcus Alexander and redshirt sophomore J.J. Hester also didn't suit up.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football: After Kansas State loss, how will Sooners rebound at TCU?