Maybe it’s still too early to look on the bright side. After all, Oklahoma’s string of six consecutive conference championships came to a heartbreaking halt last night in Stillwater in a 37-33 loss to in-state rival Oklahoma State.
Still, Oklahoma head football coach Lincoln Riley painted with a positive brush when talking about true freshman starting quarterback Caleb Williams’ night against the Cowboys and the future ahead.
With the Sooners out of timeouts, trailing late and in need of a season-saving drive, Williams took off and sprinted 56 yards to position OU on the doorstep of another miraculous Bedlam rally.
Instead, he and Oklahoma’s late comeback bid fell just short. And, not without some controversy on a missed pass interference call on Sooners’ wide receiver Trevon West that would have placed the football at the Cowboys’ 2-yard-line.
“Yeah, he fought his guts out, man. Like I said, that’s a good defense. I thought he did a lot of really good things. Gave us a lot of chances, made a lot of plays, made a lot of great throws. The run at the end was, you know, awesome. This last stretch will be a very valuable stretch for him going forward. He’ll learn so much. Not afraid of the moment and made a ton of big plays, so I’m proud of the way he played. I am. We’ll always have some things leaving any game that you want back. Like a lot of our guys, he was a warrior in there tonight,” Riley said.
USA TODAY Sports’ Erick Smith agrees with Riley. Smith had this to say about Oklahoma’s signal-caller.
Perhaps it was too-much-too-soon for the Oklahoma quarterback. He led a monumental comeback against Texas and followed that with impressive efforts against TCU and Texas Tech at home. Williams’ name was mentioned among Heisman Trophy contenders. The Sooners were undefeated.
But away from home in games against Baylor and Oklahoma State, the true freshman struggled in two losses that ended Oklahoma’s run of six consecutive Big 12 titles. It’s not a surprise Baylor and Oklahoma State are the two teams that will be in Arlington, Texas next week while the Sooners miss the game for the first tine since it was reinstituted by the league in 2017.
Williams looked overmatched when the Bears and Cowboys dropped into zone coverages and forced him to make decisions with his receivers only open in narrow windows. He lacked pocket poise and was either too rushed or too slow to react. It’s worth remembering, Williams didn’t play high school football last year and didn’t start taking first-team reps until midway through the year. Defenses caught up to him, but there’s an offseason of development ahead. His story is far from being written. – Smith, USA TODAY
At times in these final three games, it did seem like too much too soon for Williams. Still, he and Oklahoma are all the better for it.
Now, after the Sooners’ bowl game concludes, Oklahoma enters the 2022 season with a starting quarterback that has had his trial by fire on the road.
“I’ll leave this game obviously disappointed that we didn’t win and that we don’t have a chance to play for a seventh championship in a row. I leave this game proud as heck of our team and my team for this fight, the way we fought. We did a lot of great things in this game. I mean, again, this year has taught you, man, winning on the road—just look all across college football—it’s not easy. It’s so hard, especially against good teams. That’s what this league came down to. It’s what a lot of these leagues if you look across the country have come down to. In the years past, when we’ve been able to do it, we’ve been able to go win those tough ones on the road and it just shows you how hard it is,” Riley said.
Williams ended his night against Oklahoma State completing 20-of-39 passes for 252 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s a big step in the right direction when juxtaposed against Williams’ 9-of-18 passing day for 142 yards in Waco when he was intercepted twice.
It stings right now. That’s unmistakable. Oklahoma is better for it, though.
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