GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It took Jason Witten one game as interim offensive coordinator to deliver a spectacular moment. 

Except it wasn’t one moment. 

It was one prolonged march that wrapped around the Florida Gators like a boa constrictor. 

Under Witten’s guidance, John Mateer and the Oklahoma offense pieced together a 20-play drive spanning 12 minutes and 45 seconds to essentially clinch Saturday’s contest at The Swamp, empty the stadium and breathe life back into OU’s season. 

The 20-play drive was the longest an Oklahoma team had embarked on in 54 years.

“That’s winning football,” Sooners coach Brent Venables said after the 23-7 win over the Gators. “Listen, I don’t care if they score in 30 seconds, but I do like the 13 minutes. That’s pretty fantastic. But that’s just winning football in every way.”

Six of Oklahoma’s 10 third-down conversions came on the drive. 

OU started the drive on its own 11 with 2:41 left in the third quarter, and Florida didn’t touch the ball again until 5:01 remained in the game in a 20-7 hole. 

“It took the air out of the football,” Florida coach Jon Sumrall said. 

There were signs that the OU offense had a different edge earlier in the game. 

Venables trusted that group earlier in the game.

Facing fourth-and-1 on Oklahoma’s own 46 in the second quarter, he left the offense on the field. 

Witten dialed up a direct snap to running back Lloyd Avant that gained four yards. The drive ended with the Sooners’ first touchdown of the night. 

“We played that scenario on Tuesday,” Venables said. “That’s really what gave us all the confidence, just talking through what that’s going to look like early in the game, and so there was a confidence by everybody in that moment when we decided to make that decision.”

Witten’s work to prepare the team was rewarded again with the long drive late. 

“Again, from a preparation standpoint: how you meet, how you walk, how you talk. … The level of detail to go execute at a high level,” Venables said. “… I don’t think any of it was luck. I think that was a byproduct of the work our guys put in and the preparation, the level of detail that our coaches coached with in their preparation.”

For Witten, the work started with getting things right at practice this week. 

“I think the first thing was just our practice structure, how we practiced,” Witten said. “You get what you earn in life and I think we had to have an intentionality to how we approached it. We've got to understand football. What our scheme is and what the opponent's scheme is. All the intricacies that go into allowing you to be successful.”

At the end of the day, Witten believes the success started up front. 

“I just wanted us to be physical. I wanted us to own the line of scrimmage. I thought our offensive line really responded to that,” Witten said. “…  they trusted the process, and I’m sure there’s a lot of people questioning Coach Venables’ decision to go with me. And you just try to block out the noise and put your best foot forward. 

“Tonight was pretty special. All the years I’ve been around football, maybe the greatest moment I had.”

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