Tonight, the No. 17 Sooners (12-3, 0-2 in Big 12) found themselves in a similar position, falling behind 9-0 after the opening two matches.
But unlike the last two defeats, Oklahoma stormed back by posting 31 unanswered points, whipping Arizona State (9-5) by a 31-9 final on alumni night at the Howard McCasland Field House in Norman.
"We showed a lot of toughness and fight to come back and dominate the way we did," head coach Jack Spates said. "I am proud of the aggressiveness our team displayed tonight after falling behind 9-0."
Filling in for the injured 141 pound Zack Bailey, Nolan Spring used an escape and a riding time point in the third period to edge Chris Drouin, 6-4. The win would spark the Sooners to eight straight victories.
No. 13 Will Rowe was the next Sooner to record a win at 149 pounds, posting a 14-4 major decision over Jerrad Trulson. The victory put Oklahoma within two points, 9-7.
Chad Terry, ranked 20th, put OU on top for the first time on the evening, 11-9, with a commanding 15-7 major decision over Alex Pavlenko at 157 pounds. Terry scored six takedowns and a reversal in the win.
Max Dean then used two takedowns to record a 5-2 decision over Patrick Pitsch at 165 pounds, and Jeff James took the victory at 174 pounds with a 12-4 major decision over Rick Renzi.
No. 7 Joshua Weitzel, coming off his lone defeat of the season last week versus Iowa State, pinned No. 14 Brent Chriswell to give the Sooners a 24-9 team lead. The fall gave Weitzel his fifth of the season.
No. 5 Joel Flaggert then scored a 16-6 major decision over Thor Moen with six takedowns and a nearfall at 197 pounds, and Nathan Fernandez broke a two match losing skid to win a 2-0 decision at heavyweight over Quinton Pruett.
"Nathan is constantly improving and has taken some of the best wrestlers in the country down to the wire," Spates said. "He had a lot of heart and toughness in his match tonight to get the win."
The Sun Devils opened the match at 125 pounds with No. 14 Anthony Robles recording a fall over Joey Fio in the first period, giving ASU a 6-0 advantage.
Todd Schavrien extended Arizona State's lead to 9-0 by posting a 7-2 decision over 133 pound J.R. Roman. The victory would be ASU's last of the evening.
The Sooners resume Big 12 conference competition next weekend as they hit the road to Columbia, Mo., and Lincoln, Neb. OU will dual the Missouri Tigers, ranked 12th, on Friday, Feb. 8, and the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sunday, Feb. 10.
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