NORMAN, Okla. — R. Mason Thomas was antsy, a bit irritated and a tad dehydrated.
Oklahoma’s star defensive end was relegated to a glorified cheerleader in the first half of the Sooners’ 24-17 statement win against Auburn. He patrolled the sidelines, watching a plethora of helmet-rattling hits as his teammates celebrated on the field after sacking Tigers quarterback Jackson Arnold a jaw-dropping seven times on the way to a tied ballgame at halftime.
“All I wanted to do was join the party. It was amazing,” Thomas said. “They’re lucky I couldn’t run out on the field, because I would have run out and started celebrating.”
Thomas was suspended for the first half due to a targeting foul he picked up in a win against Temple last week, so he bided his time, tiptoeing the boundary, allowing his teammates’ sack party celebrations to come to him on the sideline in between his breaks riding a stationary bike and sipping water on a 90-degree day.
When the cuffs were loosened, Thomas exploded on the field in the second half. He sacked Arnold two times, including the game-sealing safety in the final two minutes, and the No. 11 Sooners finished with nine sacks — the most by any team against a ranked opponent (also Auburn, amazingly) since 2017.
(If you’re wondering, yes, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables was Clemson’s defensive coordinator in that game eight years ago. He called the defensive plays Saturday, too.)
“I was feeling some kind of way about it,” said Thomas, “but after that you’ve got two quarters to play. You can still do something in two quarters.”
Boy, did he.
On Thomas’ second snap, he sacked Arnold for an 8-yard loss, leading to an eruption behind Auburn’s bench, where half a dozen of Thomas’ family members celebrated in the grandstands after waiting nearly two hours for their favorite player to appear on the turf at Owen Field.
His father, Harvey Thomas, played defensive end on the Florida teams of the early 1990s that were led by running back Emmitt Smith. He wasn’t in attendance Saturday, but he fired off a text to his son’s aunt after the first sack.
“He kept texting me: ‘He’s not done yet. I can see it,” said Kisha Talbert, R Thomas’ aunt. “‘There’s something else to give.'”
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‘Let him do his thing’
The moment arrived on Auburn’s final possession. The Sooners had just retaken the lead on a prolific six-play drive orchestrated by Heisman Trophy frontrunner John Mateer. The Sooners’ magical quarterback was responsible for all 75 yards on the ground and through the air, capping it off with a gutsy 9-yard touchdown run with 4:54 remaining.
A 22-17 lead seemed tenuous, particularly after Auburn’s quarterback, whose return to Norman as an ex-Sooner dominated headlines all week, sliced up Oklahoma earlier in the quarter to grab a 17-16 lead.
But Arnold didn’t have any heroics left in him. Thomas made sure of it, stopping his former teammate short of a first down on a three-yard draw before another sack and false-start penalty backed up the Tigers in the shadow of their end zone.
On third-and-25 at the 8-yard line, Thomas was given the go-ahead to make his push.
“As soon as he got in, I knew he was gonna do something,” said senior defensive lineman Gracen Halton. “With that safety, he was just like, ‘Let me go get him.’ That’s why we backed off and just let him do his thing — and he did it.”
Indeed, go watch the replay of the sack. As Arnold shifted his feet in the end zone, with not much real estate to backtrack, Thomas used a “speed-of-power” move, plowing straight through Auburn right tackle Mason Murphy. Running back Damari Alston tried to check Thomas’ hip on a combo block, but by that time Mason was coming downhill, like an 18-wheeler with a full tank of fuel.
“I got pushed up the field on some of my pass rushers earlier, so I know I can’t get pushed up the field this time,” Thomas said.
Before Arnold crumbled under Thomas’ massive bear hug, his teammates already knew the game had been won. Halton came off a block and held his right fist in the air during the latter moments of the play.
“The best moment of my college career,” Thomas said.
The closer
This is nothing new for Thomas. He burst on the scene early last season, sealing a win with two sacks in four plays late of a win against Tulane. Ever since then, Sooner fans affectionately call him “The Closer.” Incredibly, Thomas wasn’t aware until Saturday evening.
“They nicknamed me that!?” he said, gobsmacked. “That’s a pretty cool nickname, then. Whoever made that nickname is …”
Thomas paused for a moment, lowering his head, searching for the words, before laughing.
“.. A good nicknamer.”
‘The Dog Pound’
Oklahoma fans might need to workshop a few more nicknames for the rest of the Sooners’ defensive line. They seemed invincible at times Saturday, terrorizing Arnold, their former teammate, and slowing an Auburn offense that seemed capable of breaking the game open at any moment. Arnold misfired on two deep balls to speedster Cam Coleman on would-be touchdowns in the first three quarters.
The Sooners’ defensive backs and linebackers nearly picked off two quick passes, too.
But those nine sacks that tied a school record? That was mostly the defensive line, which players call “The Dog Pound.”
“We got some dogs,” said Halton, who also had a sack. “After one dog comes out, the next dog will come in.”
Venables calls it “competitive depth.” Scarier for upcoming opponents is that Oklahoma didn’t load the tackle box with linebackers in the second half, opting instead to focus more on the suddenly-explosive Auburn passing attack. Defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis alerted players at halftime they were three sacks away from breaking the school record.
“We knew we had to break some records,” Thomas said. “This team is special. We knew we had to leave a legacy.”
OU managed to pile up those three sacks in the second half, with Thomas’ fresh legs churning into the backfield.
“Note to self,” Venables joked about the Sooners’ ability to pressure the passer without help from the linebackers. “But their physicality, their ability to get off blocks and knock people back was something else today.”
When Auburn fell behind in the fourth quarter, the Sooners teed off on Arnold. The scouting report on their teammate from a year ago was simple, players said: Arnold holds onto the ball a tad too long in the pocket, making him more susceptible to sacks, even on sprint outs.
“People understand when they’re going to pass the ball. We know they’re going to pass the ball. Our coaches understand when they’re going to pass the ball,” Thomas said. “Like, a mom looking at a television knowing they’re going to pass the ball.”
Even Mateer, who could have been busy studying plays on a tablet when not on the field, couldn’t help himself from watching the defense from the sideline. On a day that could have easily been all about the Washington State transfer — who completed 16 of his final 17 passes and solidified himself as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner with 271 yards passing and two total touchdowns — it was OU’s defense and Thomas who dominated the afternoon.
“It’s definitely friendly for a quarterback to have a great defense, and that’s a really good defense,” Mateer said. “I like getting up and watching them. They put in the work, and do all the right things.”
The Sooners held Auburn to a combined 4 of 18 on third and fourth downs. Venables’ team enters a bye week allowing only nine points per game, their best start through four games since 2010.
As for Thomas, he planned to call his father and compare notes with the former Gators defensive end Saturday night. He’ll also share with dad the nickname he earned.
“It feels like we’re at the top of the world, but we’re not. We know we’re not,” Thomas said. “Whoever feels like that, they need to get it out right now. No trophies given out for 4-0.”
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