Halftime Huddle: Xavier Robinson, Jackson Arnold leading the offense

NORMAN — Oklahoma entered Saturday night as a two-touchdown underdog to No. 7 Alabama.

So far, that hasn’t been the story for the Sooners.

Brent Venables‘ squad leads Alabama 10-3 at halftime and has completely dominated the pace of play. It’s been an old-school brawl so far at Owen Field, as the teams have combined for 45 rushing attempts and only 15 passes.

Right now, the Sooners are winning the battle in every phase. Here is what has happened so far:

There wasn’t a tone of optimism for OU’s offense — which has been one of the worst in the FBS — against an Alabama defense that had surrendered just 20 points over its last three games.

But the Sooners’ low scoring output isn’t indicative of their lack of success. The offense has been moving the ball just fine. Four of the Sooners’ five offensive drives finished inside the Alabama 25-yard line.

The problem is they’ve left plenty of opportunities on the field.

On the Sooners’ second drive Taylor Tatum lost a fumble at the Alabama 21-yard line, which marked the team’s 14th lost fumble of the season. On the third drive, OU used eight plays to make it 54 yards to the Alabama 21-yard line. OU executed a double-pass play to near perfection before Bauer Sharp dropped a would-be touchdown. Zach Schmit missed the 38-yard field on the next attempt.

Despite this, the Sooners find themselves more than in the game with Alabama, and they’ve done that by controlling the tempo. Instead of forcing Jackson Arnold to be a pocket passer, the Sooners have been full-steam ahead running the ball. The offense has ran the ball 29 times for 205 yards (7.1 yards per carry) and has had no issues moving Alabama’s defensive line. Arnold has only attempted seven passes and completed five for 35 yards. Arnold has been the biggest part of the offense, carrying the ball 15 times for 95 yards.

As a result, the Sooners have nearly doubled Alabama in time of possession (17:42-12:18). It’s the biggest reason why the Sooners have outgained Alabama 242-97 in total yards.

Red alert — the Sooners have found their offense.

Jovantae Barnes was officially listed as a game-time decision 90 minutes before kickoff, and went through pre-game warmups as if he would play.

Instead, it was Taylor Tatum to start the game at running back. But Brent Venables delivered on his word that Robinson would be involved in the offense some capacity. The true freshman got his first touch on the first play of the second drive.

The result? A 40-yard run down to the Alabama 35-yard line. After Tatum fumbled the ball three players later, the Sooners largely ceded the backfield responsibilities to Robinson with some cameos from Gavin Sawchuk and Sam Franklin.

That decision paid off. Robinson was the no-doubt lead back and eventually found his way to the end zone with an 18-yard run to end the first half.

Robinson heads into halftime with eight carries for 88 yards and two receptions for 15 yards. He accounts for nearly half of OU’s passing output.

With Tatum’s fumbling issues again resurfacing, and with Barnes seemingly unavailable, the Sooners will likely lean on the true freshman the rest of the way.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe you have simply been uncomfortable so far.

The Crimson Tide have tried to use Milroe as a runner, and the Sooners haven’t allowed any traction. Milroe has totaled -2 ​​yards on nine carries, and that has shut the Crimson Tide’s offense down.

Alabama has scored just three points on five drives, and those lone points came after Tatum’s fumble. The Sooners have suffocated the Alabama rushing attack, and Milroe has completed just two of seven passes for 62 yards. The Sooners already have five tackles for loss.

Simply put, OU’s offense has kept the ball away from Alabama, and the Sooners’ defense has suffocated Alabama on their limited opportunities. Alabama has run just 23 plays compared to 37 for Oklahoma, and the Crimson Tide are averaging just 4.2 yards per play.

Danny Stutsmanrightfully on Senior Night, leads the Sooners with three tackles.