Seemingly everything that could go right for Oklahoma did go right during the first half of its College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Georgia at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, on Monday.

The Sooners racked up 360 total yards of offense — 202 yards through the air and 158 yards on the ground — and totaled 16 first downs. Baker Mayfield caught a freakin’ touchdown with just six seconds to play in the first half to give OU a playoff record 31 points at the break.

But then there was a terrible squib kick, a UGA field goal at the buzzer, and a third-quarter collapse before Oklahoma eventually fell 54-48 in double overtime.

The Sooners managed just 29 yards in the third quarter, went three-and-out five times in the second half, and scored just one offensive touchdown after returning from the locker room. In the meantime, Georgia scored 24 unanswered points after trailing 31-14 and advanced to a national title showdown with Alabama next Monday in Atlanta.

In the aftermath of the Bulldogs’ epic win, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley’s second-half play-calling has come under criticism for what is being widely characterized as an overly conservative approach. The problem with that assertion is, well, it’s inaccurate.

Here’s what actually happened to the Sooners’ nine post-halftime drives that didn’t result in points.

Drive 1 (14:54, 3Q) — 3 plays, 9 yards

Riley and the offense attempted to pick up right where they left off on the first possession of the second half, with a couple of nice calls that simply didn’t pan out. After Rodney Anderson picked up 3 yards off-tackle on first down, there appears to have been some miscommunication between Mayfield and Anderson — likely as to whether or not there should be a play fake, but it results in Mayfield simply sprinting to the sideline, ignoring Dimitri Flowers, who has some room on the checkdown.

On third down, an outside screen looked good but Roquan Smith disrupted the play, forcing the Sooners to punt.

Drive 2 (12:19, 3Q) — 3 plays, -2 yards

Oklahoma started the series with a dive call, hat on a hat. Smith beat Dru Samia and blew up the play. After the stop, the Sooners hurried to the line of scrimmage and left Georgia scrambling to get into position — but UGA's misalignment actually hurt OU, as it resulted in a pseudo-overload front that quickly created pressure on Mayfield.

After a 6-yard pickup on second down, Georgia gets into the backfield off a five-man rush and spoils what would have been an easy first down, as Ceedee Lamb and Mark Andrews both win on a slant and curl, respectively.

Drive 3 (8:02, 3Q) — 8 plays, 22 yards

Oklahoma’s best-looking drive of the third quarter lasted eight plays and wasn’t, by any measure, a conservative set of plays. The series included a designed quarterback run off the pump fake, a flea flicker out of 12 personnel, and a fantastic run by Rodney Anderson after the offense shifted from a four-wide look to a double tight formation pre-snap.

Unfortunately, the series also included an uncalled late hit on Baker Mayfield that left No. 6 in visible discomfort and back-to-back sacks — one thanks to coverage, the other the result of a stunt and a loss by Samia.

Drive 4 (0:36, 3Q) — 3 plays, 0 yards

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Mayfield committed his lone turnover of the game, sailing an ill-advised throw well past the reach of Andrews and into the hands of the waiting safety. The possession ended after two downfield throws and one triple-option pitch to Hollywood Brown. It wasn’t pretty, but it sure wasn’t conservative.

Drive 5 (13:57, 4Q) — 3 plays, 8 yards

On the ensuing drive, now trailing for the first time in the game, Riley starts the series off with a reverse to Brown that looks great for a moment but results in a gain of just a yard after Brown looks to bounce the run while Samia blocks Smith out — directly into the ball carrier’s path.

Credit goes to Smith for staying home. By the time Samia looks to reach, he’s late and just has to chase and kick out. You can watch Anderson, Mayfield, and Bobby Evans (71) and see that the play is designed for Brown get around the edge, not stick the run up inside anywhere. Good play call. Suboptimal execution — and just a really good job by an All-American linebacker.

Drive 7 (5:16, 4Q) — 3 plays, 7 yards

For those interested in picking at the play-calling of a possession during regulation, this would be your best bet. Leading once again, with just over five minutes to play, the Sooners were very conservative on their seventh drive of the half.

The OU O went with three designed runs — including a designed quarterback keeper. On third-and-3, a speed option to the boundary never has a chance after a) Georgia plays it really well, and b) Mayfield and Anderson end up way too close together.

Drive 8 (0:55, 4Q) — 4 plays, 21 yards

After Georgia ties the game at 45, Oklahoma has the ball back with just under a minute to go and three timeouts, needing only to play for a field goal attempt.

The Sooners pick up 21 yards on the first three plays, setting up third-and-2 near midfield. Riley goes with a wheel route to Anderson up the Oklahoma sideline — a play that is criticized by the broadcasters.

So, here’s the thing: Oklahoma didn’t need a big gainer. With two timeouts and 29 seconds to go, the Sooners needed only to move the chains and set up another couple of shots at getting into kicker Austin Seibert’s range. The call was criticized for being a low-percentage play — read: too aggressive.

To be clear, though, Riley didn’t just randomly decide to throw a wheel to his running back on the biggest play of the game. It was calculated. And it was almost genius. Roquan Smith had been flying hard to the flats with Anderson all night. The Sooners were looking to use this tendency against him in a pivotal moment. And it really wasn’t as low percentage as some may have assumed in the moment. Anderson should have had a couple of steps on the linebacker — and he’s the same guy who made this play a few weeks ago:

It didn’t work out simply because Smith is a phenomenal athlete and, mostly, because Mayfield missed Anderson with the throw.

Drive 9 (OT) — 4 plays, 9 yards

On the first drive of overtime, Oklahoma had to settle for a Seibert field goal after a questionable speed sweep to Jordan Smallwood on third-and-2. Again, Anderson was running great and a downhill run with the guy who was OU’s best player on Monday night makes a lot of sense. Going wide with Smallwood was unorthodox, and if you hate it, that’s fair.

Drive 10 (2OT) — 6 plays, 15 yards

Oklahoma’s final drive of the game wasn’t one that anyone associated with it will want to remember. It started off just fine, with an Anderson 5-yard run. And an offsides penalty against Georgia on third-and-5 kept it alive. But, on the ensuing play, a speed option to backup quarterback Kyler Murray — into the boundary, no less — was kind of weird. And a second-down swing pass to Anderson never had a chance.

Georgia’s in man coverage, but it’s clear that Mayfield expects Smith to sit in the hook zone with Brown. He does not — and it’s not the first time No. 6 found an undesirable result with a pre-determined throw like this.

Two plays later, Seibert’s field-goal attempt was blocked. Two plays after that, Sony Michel sprinted into the end zone and punched Georgia’s ticket to the national championship game.

For a program that has fallen victim to ultra-conservative play-calling at the end of past seasons, leaping to accusations of conservatism is a very Pavlovian response by the Oklahoma fanbase. 

This just wasn’t that.

Riley didn’t get conservative. Instead, Georgia — which, by the way, is one of the nation’s top defenses, led by the nation’s top linebacker — just made some adjustments and played really well after halftime. Oklahoma scored 48 points and that should have been plenty. The problem for the Sooners was the defense — both UGA's and their own.