NORMAN — It's never a bad thing to earn your first interception as a defensive back.

But for Michael Boganowski, his second-half interception would sadly become a footnote in Oklahoma's 42-25 defeat at the hands of South Carolina.

"I mean, it’s cool to get your first interception, but ultimately it’s really just making the plays that come your way," Boganowski said after the game. "I don’t really know. Not much to say about it, really.”

Boganowski's attitude was appropriate. The Sooner defense, which is justifiably described as one of the best in the nation, was utterly toyed with by the Gamecocks.

"I would just say we have to go watch the tape, be honest with yourself, see what you need to get better at, and ultimately just use that going into the next week of preparation—get it all fixed up and put it on Florida," he said.

The Gamecocks scored three touchdowns on third down, including an 84-yard pass and the backbreaker, a 79-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter when it looked like the Sooners had a faint chance at re-establishing themselves back into the game.

“I feel like we put in good work throughout the week, expecting to go out there and win, and today we just didn’t execute," Boganowski said. "We’ll learn from it. I know the type of guys we have in this locker room. We’ll definitely bounce back.”

It wasn't just coverage breakdowns. The Sooner defense missed a season-high 27 tackles, per Pro Football Focus. Their previous high was 21 missed tackles in the loss to Michigan in Week 2.

Boganowski had no answer for why the Sooners seemed to bounce off of Gamecock ball carriers. Sometimes, even great units have bad days at the office. Yesterday seemed to be that for Oklahoma's defense.

"That’s definitely not something to be proud of. We say our tape’s our resume, and that’s not what we’re about, for sure."

It's easy to assume that Oklahoma will simply bounce back from a defensive standpoint. Not every quarterback is LeNorris Sellers — but Trinidad Chambliss is coming to Norman in a few weeks. The Sooner defense has proven to be one of the top units in the country for too long to believe the performance against South Carolina is indicative of what is to come.

At the same time, Boganowski and the defense will have to make it happen.

“I would just say just stay confident; the season’s not over," he said. "We still got the rest of the season, so just see how it goes.”

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