The biggest storyline heading into the Oklahoma Sooners matchup with the TCU Horned Frogs was what Lincoln Riley was going to do at the quarterback position. As speculation ran rampant during warmups, it was revealed that true freshman Caleb Williams would make his start for the Sooners.
It was a debut for the ages that went about as well as it could for Caleb Williams and the Oklahoma Sooners offense that started with 14 unanswered points and never looked back offensively, putting together their best offensive performance from start to finish.
In what turned out to be a 52-31 win for the Oklahoma Sooners, Caleb Williams was 18 of 23 for 295 yards and four touchdowns through the air. Williams added 66 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, including the 41-yard dash late in the third quarter.
Kennedy Brooks followed an incredible 200-yard performance against the Texas Longhorns with 153 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
After jumping out to a 14-0 lead, the Sooners and Horned Frogs would play a tight game through most of the first half. With 20 seconds to play, the Sooners would extend their lead to 24-14 on Caleb Williams second touchdown pass of the night, this time to Jadon Haselwood.
It was one of three touchdown receptions by Haselwood, the first time since 2019 that a Sooners wide receiver had three touchdown catches. That time, it was CeeDee Lamb carving up the Texas Longhorns on the way to his incredible day.
In the second half, the Sooners and Horned Frogs would continue their offensive show, but TCU would never get closer than 10 points as Williams, and the offense answered every Horned Frogs touchdown with a score of their own.
After the Horned Frogs cut the lead to 10 on Quentin Johnson’s big 75-yard catch and run for a touchdown, Gary Patterson and TCU would attempt an onside kick. Oklahoma would catch the kick and pick up 15 yards on a kick-catching interference call. The Sooners would then go three plays for 33 yards for Jadon Haselwood’s third touchdown of the night.
Johnson would torch the Sooners for much of the night with his size and speed combination. He finished with seven receptions for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Max Duggan threw for a career-high 346 passing yards and four touchdowns. Duggan added 45 yards rushing on the ground on eight carries.
Though it was a game with several momentum swings, every time the TCU Horned Frogs looked like they were mounting a comeback, the defense would get a timely stop, or the offense would respond with a touchdown.
Caleb Williams was excellent on the evening, showing incredible arm strength and accuracy, attacking the TCU secondary downfield. Williams hit nine different receivers on the night, averaging a tremendous 12.8 yards per attempt in his first start for the Sooners.
TCU isn’t the toughest defense the Sooners will face this year, but Caleb Williams did everything he wanted in his first start helping the Oklahoma Sooners improve to 7-0 on the season.
Next up for the Oklahoma Sooners is a date with the Kansas Jayhawks while TCU (3-3) heads home to take on West Virginia.
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