Oklahoma cornerback Parnell Motley (11) tackles Tulane quarterback Johnathan Brantley (11). (Courtesy/Tulsa World)
NORMAN — It took longer than expected, but the result was never in doubt.
Oklahoma suffered through a letdown in the first half of its game with Tulane on Saturday night, but the Sooners eventually pulled away for a 56-14 win at Gaylord Memorial Stadium.
It was the Sooners' 13th-straight victory dating back to Oct. 1 of last year.
OU coach Lincoln Riley said there is always concern of a letdown after such a big win, but he said he felt the team's mentality was good.
"We weren't at our best early in the week, but I thought we started to respond a little bit as the week went on," Riley said. "I think we've got to understand that you've got to put together complete weeks if you want to play complete games."
The Green Wave (1-2) made last week's Ohio State offense seem pedestrian in comparison — at least in the beginning stages — playing within one touchdown of OU for a majority of the first half.
Tulane kept the ball away from Baker Mayfield and the OU offense for 19 of the game's opening 25 minutes. The Sooners held a slim 21-14 lead during that period — the only thing separating them from the upset-minded AAC team being Parnell Motely's pick-six with 9:50 remaining in the second quarter.
The main reason for that was the Green Wave's option ground game.
In the first quarter alone, Tulane chewed up the Sooners' defense for 117 yards rushing on 17 carries — about 7 yards per carry — gaining two leads in the process.
Dontrell Hillard carried much of the load for Tulane, running for 72 yards and a touchdown in the quarter. He finished with 104 yards on 19 carries.
The Green Wave broke two long runs on their opening possession — including a 34-yard burst from Hillard — to put themselves in scoring position. The senior then finished the eight-play, 65-yard drive with 2-yard touchdown run to give Tulane an early 7-0 lead with 9:30 to go in the quarter.
Mayfield wasted little time tying things up, finding a wide-open CeeDee Lamb for an 82-yard touchdown strike, but OU's offensive prowess didn't intimidate Tulane.
Lamb, who was ejected for targeting on a block in the second quarter, finished with 131 yards receiving and two touchdowns on four catches. Marquise Brown edged Lamb out as the Sooners' leading receiver, finishing with six receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown.
Riley wouldn't comment on the freshman's removal, but he said he thought Lamb made a good play.
"He made some really big plays, especially the (block) over there on our sideline that we thought was impressive," Riley said. "We expected (the penalty) was going to be overturned."
The Green Wave responded with an even longer drive, running nearly five minutes off the clock before taking the lead back with a 14-yard run from quarterback Johnathan Brantley.
Tulane accumulated 157 yards in the opening frame, but the Sooners' defense shut the Green Wave down after that, holding them scoreless the remainder of the game and allowing only 134 additional yards.
Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops said it was a tale of two halves for his defense.
"We weren't as sharp as we needed to be — that was obvious," Stoops said. "The tackling was probably the most disheartening part of it, but our guys regrouped, and I'm really proud of the way they came back in the second half and were able to gain control."
Despite the defense's domination, OU didn't gain a comfortable lead until Marcelias Sutton's score from nine yards out to give the Sooners a 21-point advantage at 35-14 with 5:58 left in the third quarter.
OU (3-0) finally pulled away in the fourth quarter, scoring three touchdowns to bring the final tally to 56-14.
Mayfield wasn't in his top form, throwing double-digit incompletions (10) for the first time during the Sooners' win streak. However, the redshirt senior did complete 27 passes for 331 yards and four touchdowns.
Mayfield said the Sooners can't take the win for granted, and though they were victorious, even he started too slow.
"I think I had those guys down the field, and I could've made better throws," Mayfield said. "I had them open, but it's just about executing throws."
The Sooners begin Big 12 play on the road next week against Baylor at 5:30 p.m. The Bears are off to an 0-3 start for the first time since 1999.
"We're excited about the win and ready to move on to Big 12 Conference play," Riley said.