OU football defense gets first three-INT game since 2020 & more key stats vs. Iowa State

AMES, Iowa — Brent Venables and the OU football walked out of Jack Trice Stadium with a 27-13 victory over Iowa State on Saturday.

This brings the Sooners (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) to within one win of becoming bowl eligible after going on a three-game losing streak earlier this season.

Here's a look at the win by the numbers:

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Turnovers plague early moments of the game

4: OU and Iowa State combined for two turnovers in the first four minutes of the game. OU's Woodi Washington intercepted a pass at the 12:58 mark, and Eric Gray fumbled the ball away at the 11:19 mark.

1: Gray's lost fumble marked the first of the season for him and just the fourth of his four-year career. He entered Saturday's contest with 433 career carries.

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Zach Schmit shines in first half

41: Redshirt freshman kicker Zach Schmit drilled a 41-yard field goal to give OU a 3-0 lead with 6:31 left in the first quarter. The Oklahoma City native is 4-for-4 this season on field-goal attempts between 40-49 yards.

2: OU faked a 19-yard field-goal attempt with 12:23 left in the first quarter. Holder Michael Turk flicked the ball up to Schmit, who ran into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown that gave the Sooners a 10-3 lead.

13: Schmit connected on a 34-yard field goal that gave OU a 13-3 lead with 6:30 left until halftime. He was responsible for the Sooners' first 13 points.

19: Iowa State's Jace Gilbert made his second field goal of the day, a 43-yarder, to trim OU's lead to 13-6 at halftime. All 19 points in the first half were scored by kickers.

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OU's defense takes step in the right direction

9: OU held Iowa State to just 9 rushing yards in the first half.

0: OU held Iowa State to zero touchdowns in the first half. It marked the first time this season that OU's defense kept an opposing Big 12 team out of the end zone for an entire half.

1: Redshirt senior defensive lineman Jordan Kelley sacked Hunter Dekkers early in the third quarter. This marked the first sack by an OU defensive lineman in conference play this season.

3: Sophomore linebacker Danny Stutsman intercepted a pass by Dekkers with 5:24 left in the game, bringing OU's interception total for the day to three. This is tied for the most interceptions in a game by the Sooners' defense since their win over Florida on Dec. 30, 2020.

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OU's offense gets the better of Iowa State

27: Iowa State's defense entered the contest surrendering a conference-low average of 15.1 points per game. OU recorded 27 points on Saturday.

182: Iowa State's defense entered the contest surrendering a conference-low average of 105.3 rushing yards per game. OU ran for 182 yards on 47 carries. Gray led the way with 101 rushing yards and one touchdown on 20 carries.

—Justin Martinez, Staff writer

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football vs. Iowa State: Stats of Sooners' Week 9 win over Cyclones