While the Sooners entered their bye week a few weeks ago flying high offensively, they came out of the bye, went to Waco, and struggled against the Baylor Bears defense.
The team as a whole lost, but at multiple moments throughout the game, the defense showed they were ready to compete. The same cannot be said about an offense that looked as flat as a fresh piece of paper. It’s time to flip that page and start anew.
More precisely, three players on the offensive side of the ball must bury last week’s shortcomings and ready themselves for another war against Iowa State. Their contributions are paramount to Oklahoma’s chances to win this game.
Caleb Williams, QB
Earlier this week, we mentioned Caleb Williams is one of a handful of players that needed a major bounceback this game. With that being the case, it’s only right your starting true freshman quarterback is also a key to the game this week. It’s quite simple. When Williams plays to the level we’ve seen, Baylor notwithstanding, Oklahoma can operate on offense at a level Sooner fans have grown accustomed to.
Maybe it was the first true road game atmosphere in very hostile territory that rattled him but he’s back home and has had all week to work through things.
Iowa State runs a 3-3-5. There’s likely to be a lot of Cover 3 or Cover 1 played for the Sooners and the Cyclones will try to speed up Williams decision making. Decisiveness with the ball will be key.
After seeing quite a few blitzes last week, maybe Williams is better prepared and his coaches also tweak their game plan to give him some quick throws when Iowa State brings pressure. If he plays well, the Sooners win this game.