NORMAN — Seconds before he put Bedlam to bed, Tre Brown said a prayer with his mom.
Lined up against Oklahoma State’s go-to wide receiver Tylan Wallace, the Sooners sophomore cornerback from Tulsa needed strength and encouragement to seal an OU victory.
“Before the play, I talked to my mom,” said Brown, whose mother, Beverly Brewer, passed away last month. “My faith is really high and there’s a reason for everything, but I had to talk to her.”
Brown’s mother gave the former Union standout the strength and discernment needed to break up the Cowboys’ 2-point conversion pass intended for Wallace which sealed a dramatic 48-47 win for sixth-ranked Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) over rival Oklahoma State (5-5, 2-5) in a Bedlam barn burner on Saturday.
When OSU quarterback Taylor Cornelius’ low throw was broken up with 1:03 remaining, Brown sprinted to midfield in jubilation alongside teammates Parnell Motley and Kenneth Murray — who was a pallbearer at his mother’s funeral — with a smile and his hands raised high.
There was clear reason to celebrate.
“That was really a blessing being able to make a big play at the end of the game which is what you always dream of growing up and watching football,” Brown said. “I thought, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’ It was surreal. It was really emotional at the same time.”
Brown actually knew what was coming before Oklahoma State snapped the ball.
“I saw him (Wallace) go in motion and I knew what was coming after that,” Brown said. “It’s gonna be a QB boot and he is gonna run an out-route. That’s like the only thing he can do. So I just read it and ran with it.”
What Brown didn’t know was that Oklahoma State wanted to go for the 2-point conversion and ultimately the win.
“I saw the QB’s hand go up like this,” said Brown while signaling two fingers. “To see that, I was like, ‘Wow.’ Then I thought, ‘OK, OK.’”
Brown’s composure reverberated across the field to his 10 Sooner teammates.
“It’s the last play. Give it all you got,” OU linebacker Curtis Bolton said. “Play like the season’s on the line.”
Cornelius — who was magnificent completing 34 of his 53 passes for 501 yards and three touchdowns — rolled out to his right but his errant pass was low and fell incomplete. Brown had Wallace blanketed regardless.
OSU sent no other receivers in the vicinity to give Cornelius a potential second or third target.
The bold call comes only a week after West Virginia waltzed into Austin and scored a last-minute touchdown and scored the game-winning 2-point conversion to edge Texas in the final seconds.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley knows OSU coach Mike Gundy would’ve elected to go for the win regardless of the fact Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen tried the same thing and succeeded last Saturday.
“It’s a bold call, but he’s a bold coach,” said Riley who is 2-0 as a head coach in Bedlam games and matched Gundy’s win total in the rivalry. “That’s why he’s successful. I know Mike. I honestly can’t imagine many scenarios where he wouldn’t have gone for two, and if the roles were reversed, I would’ve done the same thing.”
Moments before the 2-point conversion, Wallace — who led all receivers with 10 catches for 220 yards and two touchdowns — hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass on a dart from Cornelius in heavy traffic on 4th-and-8 with the game on the line.
“They had a good route dialed up against our loose zone and made an extremely good throw and a very competitive catch,” said Riley who had discussed with defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeil the possibility of the Pokes attempting a 2-point conversion before the drive. “Ruffin had a call ready, but of course when you get to fourth down and a mile, you’re not expecting to have to use it.”
The Sooners defense, which surrendered 640 yards of offense, still came up with several big plays down the stretch. With OSU in field goal range, Bolton and Kenneth Mann combined for a 6-yard sack on a read option to force a key punt in the second half with OU’s offense (702 total yards) stalling.
In a 41-41 tie game with less than seven minutes remaining, nose guard Neville Gallimore forced a fumble, stripping OSU running back Chuba Hubbard, before it was recovered by OU linebacker Kenneth Murray.
“Neville hit him (Hubbard) one way, then Buzzy (Bolton) and I hit him at the same time,” Murray said. “As I was going down, I saw the ball and it just rolled into my lap. After that, it was time to celebrate.”
With the Sooners’ Big 12 title and College Football Playoff hopes at stake, the defense knew a big play was needed.
“That’s half the battle right there,” Murray said. “When adversity hits you and stuff doesn’t go your way, are you going to fold? Everybody on this defense continues to fight.”
Last week in Lubbock, Brown laid a menacing block to spring teammate Robert Barnes for an interception return on a 2-point conversion to help seal the Sooners’ 51-46 victory over Texas Tech.
Despite the outside criticism piling up — as well as the opponents’ offensive statistics — the Sooners continue to come up with stops when needed most. In three nail-biting wins over Army, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, the Sooners’ much maligned defense has come up with critical plays down the stretch to seal wins.
“This is the team we got, and we know what they are capable of,” Riley said. “The team has proven we can win tough games and handle adversity. Those are all things you have to do at the end of the season.”
Brown and the Sooners defense was given a fun fact stat before the game, stating Oklahoma State had the same number of explosive plays as OU’s high-octane offense did.
“So we knew what we were working against,” Brown said. “Being in this league, there are going to be some good games and some bad games. You just can’t be discouraged and do your job. It’s the Big 12. We see great receivers every week.”
Brown wasn’t discouraged. For the Sooners cornerback still has his mother by his side.