NORMAN — Balance is something every offense in football tries to achieve every time they take the field.

On Saturday, the Oklahoma Sooners offense was about as balanced as an offense can get, especially considering it was game one of the season.

The Sooners started the 2014 season last Saturday in Norman with a 48-16 win against Louisiana Tech.

“It was a good win today,” OU head coach Bob Stoops said after the game. “I am pleased with the overall effort of the team and how they played. I thought they really played well, in particular in the first half. I was really pleased with the number one defense when they were all out there together. They were really strong against the run, pressured the quarterback and all of those kinds of things.”

OU didn’t waste any time getting started on Saturday as the Oklahoma defense held the Bulldogs to a three-and-out in their first series, and then the Sooner offense went right down the field on its first possession, grabbing an early 7-0 lead.

Oklahoma continued the train rolling the rest of the first quarter as the Sooners put the ball in the end zone two more times to take a commanding 21-0 lead into the second quarter at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

The OU offense slowed down just a hair in the second frame with only one touchdown on the board combined with a Michael Hunnicutt field goal. Louisiana Tech was able to muster up a late-half drive and tack on a field goal of its own before halftime, making the score 31-3 Sooners at the intermission.

Oklahoma came out in the second half the same way they did in the first with a lot of intensity and quickness in their steps. OU went right down the field with its first possession of the third quarter and put the ball in the end zone.

The Sooner D stayed strong as some younger reserve players were starting to make their way onto the field as the game began to get out of hand. Oklahoma’s offense started to slow down at the end of the third frame as it was able to put one more field goal on the scoreboard, making the score 41-3 OU after three.

The fourth quarter was the only frame of the game that the Bulldogs were able to win against Oklahoma. With mostly reserves in the game for the Sooners, Louisiana Tech was able to put together two touchdown drives in the final quarter.

OU was able to score one more touchdown in the fourth quarter, making the final difference 32 points, which was six less than the original game line was at kickoff.

The Oklahoma offense gained a total of 436 yards in the game. The Sooners rushed for 183 yards and passed for 253 against Louisiana Tech. OU picked up a total of 26 first downs and two turnovers with three penalties for 34 yards in the game.

Freshman running back Samaje Perine had 13 carries for 77 yards and one touchdown in the game. Sophomore RB Keith Ford had nine carries for 51 yards and touchdowns. Sophomore Alex Ross had 11 carries for 36 yards and two touchdowns. and sophomore quarterback Trevor Knight had four carries for 20 yards.

Knight was 19 out of 34 passing the football for 253 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

Ford was the leading receiver for the Sooners with four catches for 65 yards. Junior receiver Sterling Shepard had four catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. Redshirt freshman receiver K.J. Young had three catches for 41 yards. Freshman fullback Dimitri Flowers had three catches for 24 yards. Junior receiver Durron Neal had two catches for 42 yards, and Ross had two catches for 31 yards.

The Oklahoma defense allowed a total of 245 yards of offense to LTU. The Sooner D allowed 54 rushing yards and 191 passing. OU allowed 15 first downs and forced one turnover in the game. The Bulldogs had five penalties for 32 yards.

Senior linebacker Aaron Franklin led the Sooners in tackles with six on the night. Freshman cornerback Jordan Thomas had four tackles and sophomore defensive end Matt Dimon also had four. Sophomore cornerback Zack Sanchez had one interception on the night.

Hunnicutt was two-for-two in field goals in the game, making a 37- and 39-yarder.

In all-purpose yards, Ross led the way for OU with 147 yards. Ford was second with 116 and Shepard came in third with 86 yards.

Up next: At Tulsa

With game one in the books, the Sooners’ focus now shifts to the University of Tulsa at 11 a.m. Saturday.

The Golden Hurricane enters the game with Oklahoma as massive underdogs, but are 1-0 after a thrilling 38-31 comeback win against Tulane Aug. 28.

Tulsa is coached by Bill Blankenship, who is in his second year on the job for the Golden Hurricane.

The TU offense scored 38 points in its opener and amassed 30 total first downs, and allowed 31 points and 22 first downs.

Tulsa gained 592 total yards of offense with 154 of that coming as rush yards and 438 coming through the air. The Hurricane allowed 516 yards to Tulane, including 254 rushing and 262 passing. Both teams had two turnovers apiece in the game.

Tavarreo Dickerson is the leading rusher for Tulsa. Dickerson rushed for 86 yards on 15 carries against Tulane. Dane Evans will be under center for TU. Evans was 31-of-53 for 438 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Keevan Lucas is the leading receiver for the Golden Hurricane with 13 receptions for 233 yards and three touchdowns in game one.

Trent Martin is the leading tackler for the Hurricane with 12 this season, and Demarco Nelson and Chris Hummingbird each have one turnover this year.