There was plenty for Sooner fans to like about No. 4 Oklahoma’s 52-21 demolition of Texas Tech on Saturday. Finally, OU looked on both sides of the football like the team many thought would wind up in the College Football Playoff before this 2021 season started.
Here’s three Sooners that stole the show for Oklahoma on Saturday.
Caleb Williams
If true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams wasn’t a serious Heisman Trophy candidate before Saturday, he is now.
Williams slung six touchdown passes to five different recipients and finished 23-of-30 passing with 402 yards through the air. His composure in the pocket and ability to extend plays while keeping his eyes downfield was on complete display against the Red Raiders.
The Washington, D.C., native pulled off some of those escapability magic tricks on his first touchdown of the day, a 22-yarder to freshman wide receiver Mario Williams in the back right corner of the end zone.
Escape the pressure, fire the strike 🎯 @CALEBcsw#OUDNA | 📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/6VxGMMcXnL
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) October 30, 2021
The biggest upgrade for Oklahoma since Williams became the starting quarterback has been the return of explosive plays for the Sooners. Williams delivered six more 20-plus yard passing plays versus Texas Tech, including this 43-yard touchdown bomb to sophomore wide receiver Marvin Mims.
Another day at the office for Caleb Williams 😤
23-30 | 402 YDS | 6 TD | 0 INT
First Sooners QB to throw 6 TDs since Kyler Murray in 2018 💫@CALEBcsw (via @OU_Football)pic.twitter.com/o6r26Se9Du
— Overtime (@overtime) October 30, 2021
Williams’ historic day passing meant big days at the office for both Mims and Williams in the receiving category, too. Mims finished with four receptions, two touchdowns and 135 receiving yards, while Williams hauled in five passes for 100 receiving yards and his game-opening touchdown.
The Sooners’ starting quarterback drew rave reviews from one of his star defensive linemen in Isaiah Thomas.
“It’s definitely something that’s unprecedented at least from my perspective. Never seen nothing like it. I know they call him Superman, but I call him Houdini today because he was making some stuff happen that I didn’t think was able to happen. He was making his way out of nowhere. I was impressed by his performance,” Thomas said.
“What makes it so exciting is that he’s only a freshman. I think that’s exciting because he has a lot to learn, a lot to grow on and I mean he can only get better. He’s definitely not at his peak, but for him to be where he’s at as a freshman is really impressive. I can’t say that for a lot of freshmen that I’ve seen play that position. He’s a special kid. I love that guy.”