Take a break: Oklahoma public address announcer Jim Miller made the first plea at 7:50 p.m. The storm brewing south of Norman was heading north and the stadium needed to be cleared.
He continued to repeat the information for the next hour. All told, Saturday night’s game was delayed 1 hour and 12 minutes.
Most ignored the first, second, even the third announcement.
Then a lightning strike at 7:55 p.m. caused all the videoboards in the stadium and about half the bulbs on the light poles to go out.
It grabbed the attention of just about all of the 84,715 in attendance. The deluge of rain that hit about 5 minutes later took care of the stragglers.
Miller continued to make the pleas throughout the delay. Every time a bolt of lightning flashed he made another.
There was a small pocket of about a dozen students that never left the front rows of the student section and another group lined the wall in the top row of east side’s lower level.
Williams in limbo: Defensive end John Williams wasn’t in uniform Saturday night and wasn’t on the OU sidelines. The sixth-year senior’s status is currently in limbo. A source close to programs told The Transcript Saturday night, Williams was still a member of the team and wasn’t serving a suspension.
However, his absence was odd considering he applied for and received an extra-year of eligibility in the offseason. Williams was coming off an Achilles injury that ended his season after three games last season. It was the third time he had a season cut short due to an injury.
Suspensions: Wide receiver Ryan Broyles and offensive tackle Phil Loadholt were not in uniform or on OU’s sideline Saturday night.
Earlier in the week, OU coach Bob Stoops said a couple players would be serving suspensions due to disciplinary issues.
Loadholt was arrested for driving under the influence over the summer.
Obviously, Loadholt’s absence wasn’t coordinated with the staff running the videoboard or the public address announcer. He wasintroduced as a starter.
Broyles, who redshirted last season while serving an indefinite suspension after he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of attempted petty larceny, was a surprise absence.
Stoops said both would be in the lineup next Saturday when OU faces Cincinnati.
Lewis steps in: Throughout the preseason, OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables had been trying to get junior college transfer Mike Balogun up to speed at weakside linebacker. The process quickened when redshirt freshman Austin Box suffered a knee injury that kept him out of Saturday night’s game.
But OU went with redshirt freshman Travis Lewis. He responded with a team-high six tackles.
Halzle in early: Backup quarterback Joey Halzle entered the game with about 5 minutes left in the first half. Aside from an interception on his second series, the senior was very solid.
Halzle completed 14-of-16 attempts for 122 yards and connected for a 36-yard touchdown pass with Juaquin Iglesias on his first attempt.
Fullback gets a carry: Lightning delays don’t happen very often, but fullbacks getting a carry happen even less at OU. Matt Clapp actually got one in the second half.
He lined up at running back, something offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said might happen this season since Clapp, at 234 pounds, is OU’s biggest running back.
Of course, the run lost two yards and was one of the Sooners’ only negative plays.
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