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The game was close in the first half with the Sooners leading 14-13 at halftime, but out of the locker room, the Sooners scored first and put the pressure on an Auburn offense that was without starting quarterback Sean White. White started the game, but reportedly suffered a broken right forearm during the first drive of the game. He didn’t exit the contest until late in the first half and the Tigers struggled to get any sort of offense going behind quarterback John Franklin III and Jeremy Johnson after White’s absence. The two combined to completed 8 of 16 passes for 118 yards and an interception.
Meanwhile, the Oklahoma offense motored right along behind the strong play of quarterback Baker Mayfield and running backs Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon. Mixon led the Sooners with 91 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and 89 yards receiving despite getting a mixed reaction from the Sugar Bowl crowd. Leading up to the game, Mixon and Oklahoma were criticized after a 2014 video of Mixon punching a woman at sandwich shop was released. It was the first time the video had been shown to the public. Fans booed and some chanted, “He hits women” when Mixon touched the ball. Mixon seemed unfazed with his performance and Oklahoma coaches didn’t hold back on playing him as much as they could.
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Perine rushed for 86 yards and became Oklahoma’s career leading rusher passing the great Billy Sims. Perine and Mixon dominated an Auburn rushing defense that came into the game allowing 124.8 rushing yards per game and had only allowed three 200-yard rushing games this season.
Mayfield, who announced last month that he was returning to Oklahoma next season, kept the Auburn defense off-guard with his ability to scramble and create plays. Mayfield threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns. Oklahoma racked up 524 total yards of offense, which was the second-highest total the Tigers had allowed all season.
Oklahoma has an opportunity to be one of the top-rated programs in 2017 should Perine and Mixon decide to return. The Sooners will lose receivers Dede Westbrook and Geno Lewis as two of Mayfield’s top targets.
Auburn, which has struggled with the quarterback position all season, should get a big boost next season from Baylor transfer Jarrett Stidham.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday