MORGANTOWN, W.V. — Oklahoma kicker Michael Hunnicutt totaled nine points (one field goal, six extra points). Saturday’s effort made him the program’s all-time leading scorer with 392 career points, passing DeMarco Murray (390).
“He’s been great and steady with a very strong leg,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “Not that I want to, but he can hit 53 and 54 yards field goals. We have a lot of confidence in that sense.”
First-quarter dominance ends: The Sooners outscored Louisiana Tech, Tulsa and Tennessee a combined 55-0 in the opening quarter. Against West Virginia, the Sooners only had five first downs in four possessions and a 42-yard field goal from Hunnicutt. They actually trailed for the first time this season when Trickett hit Kevin White for a 68-yard touchdown pass in the quarter’s final seconds.
There were a lot of reasons for Saturday’s first-quarter issues. White’s touchdown catch was the longest play the Sooners have allowed by 28 yards. Also quarterback Trevor Knight was just 5 for 12 throwing ball.
Turning to trickery: The Sooners pulled out two trick plays with varying levels of success. They both came in the second quarter. Wide receiver Durron Neal hit a wide-open Knight for a 4-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter.
“The Durron play is something we’ve been working on for a while. We were just waiting for the right moment to pull it out. It was a critical third down there,” offensive coordinator Josh Heupel said. “Obviously, they executed in a great way.”
The other was an attempted on-side kick late in the second quarter after OU had tied the game at 17-17.
Kicker Nick Hodgson rolled it well and it caught the Mountaineers off guard. However, coverman Aaron Franklin didn’t see the ball and booted it downfield.
The short field helped set up a West Virginia touchdown drive.
Sanchez’s pick streak: Zack Sanchez intercepted a pass in his fifth straight game with a pick down the sideline late in the first half.
“Yeah, it’s cool. I really don’t care, obviously. I’d rather not have a pick and play the way I did so I know people will say one thing about it but for myself, I’m disappointed in my play,” Sanchez said.
The cornerback was burned on West Virginia’s opening touchdown and also missed several tackles. However, he now has interceptions in six of the last seven games.
Belldozer lives: Tight end Blake Bell moved to quarterback for one snap. Knight moved to wide receiver as the former quarterback took a direct snap and picked up a critical third-and-2.
A couple plays later, Samaje Perine scored on a 5-yard run to give the Sooners a 38-27 lead.
Another 100-yard game for Shepard: Sterling Shepard had six catches for 101 yards. The effort gave him three straight 100-yard receiving games, marking the first time since Jalen Saunders accomplished the feat in 2012 against West Virginia, Oklahoma State and TCU.
Shepard now has 1,660 receiving yards in his career to move past DeMarco Murray (1,571), Stephen Alexander (1,591), Keith Jackson (1,609), Tinker Owens (1,619) and Jermaine Gresham (1,627) for 11th in OU history.
John Shinn
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