Utilizing a complicated scoring system, the University of Oklahoma Defense (white team) came away the winner of the annual Sooners Red vs. White spring game at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The White squad beat the Red team (offense), 84-82.

A crowd of 54,409 braved the windy and chilly conditions to watch the scrimmage.

Head coach Brent Venables explained the odd scoring system that seemed to favor the defense.

The offense (Red team) got six points for a touchdown, three points for field goals, two points for plays of 15+ yards, two points per punt, two points for two-point conversions, and one point for an extra point.

The defense (White team) got 12 points for a defensive touchdown, seven points for a turnover, seven points for a fourth-down stop, seven points for a missed field goal, five points per punt, four points for made field goal, three points for a sack, two points for pass breakup, two points for a missed extra point or missed two-point conversion and one point for a tackle for loss.

“Today, I just wanted to see these guys go out and play,” Venables said after the game. “We had 26 guys who had not been here before. I really wanted to focus on letting those guys go play without paralyzing them in the moment. That’s a real thing, too. Just trying to get big picture. Obviously, we went for it a lot on fourth down. We didn’t have our kicker out there.”

The Sooners fifth-year graduate transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel looked good in the scrimmage, as he completed 11 of 17 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns, and had one interception. Five-star freshman quarterback Jackson Arnold completed 6 of 14 passes for 64 yards, including a late touchdown pass to wide receiver Gavin Freeman that tied the game and set the stage for the game’s final play – a two-point conversion attempt. The attempt failed and the White team won by two. Quarterback Davis Beville, in his second year with the program, completed 5 of 6 for 83 yards and a touchdown.

“We couldn’t have scripted it (the scoring) any better,” Venables said. “We knew all along that when we go to the two-minute drill prior to that final drive, so actually it was kind of cool.”

Former cornerback D.J. Graham led the receivers with two catches for 74 yards while “There were plenty of things we didn’t do well,” Venables said. “But I’m looking for guys doing all the stuff, doing the little things right – covering the ball, playing physical, running on and off the field, just handling their business the right way, play the game the right way. Make the layups that are there.   We had a couple of procedural penalties, a couple of holds and picked up the flags, lined up off-sides a couple times, had the pass interference. So, we’ve got to get those things corrected.”

The Sooners coaching staff feels confident the team is ahead of where they were at this time last year.

“We had a great spring,” Venables said. “I told the team again, ‘You know it when you see it and you know it when you don’t (with) improvement.’ Some positions with players it’s more incremental and I saw a lot of guys who made tremendous improvement. A lot of that was from the guys who just got here. I’m really excited to see the direction of this team. We have really good chemistry and leadership at this point. It’s a lot of fun.”