The Sooners' defense kept finding something extra.
No. 18-ranked OU survived another harried trip to Kyle Field, turning a gambling fourth-down attitude into a gut-check 17-16 win over Texas A&M.
Without a first down in the fourth quarter and with the Aggies chipping away at what once was a 14-3 lead, the Sooners faced a season-defining moment as a crowd of 85,697 roared.
Punt or put it all on the line.
"Everything went through (my mind) at some point or another," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. "In the end, I just felt, ‘Hey, we've just got to be able to make an inch.'"
Quarterback Paul Thompson did — twice — on quarterback sneaks. Neither was ultimately necessary. The Aggies were penalized for, get this, a 12th man, with an illegal participation call officially responsible for moving the chains and moving the Sooners to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big 12.
"Ironic," Sooner linebacker Rufus Alexander said in the land of the famed 12th Man.
Still, it wouldn't have happened without a measure of machismo.
"That did it," Thompson said. "That's what we wanted."
Even the defenders were in favor of the gamble.
"Great call, great coach," Alexander said. "I love the call."
The cl
