2022 Oklahoma Sooners Football – Syndication Server

USA TODAY Sports graded all 131 FBS teams, how did Big 12 teams fare?

USA TODAY Sports graded all 131 FBS teams, so how did the Big 12 teams fair?

It was a memorable season for the Big 12. At least for some teams. The programs that were considered the preseason favorites for the Big 12 title failed to meet expectations.

Baylor, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State, the three teams that most believed would compete for the conference championship, went a combined 19-20 on the season. At the same Kansas State, TCU, and Kansas saw resurgent years, with the Wildcats winning their first conference title in a decade.

Texas made progress in their rebuild, and even Iowa State played some good football, at least on the defensive side of the ball.

It was a deep league in 2022, and a lot of the Big 12 beat up on itself. Only TCU managed to get by without multiple conference losses.

Looking back at the 2022 season, USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerburg graded all 131 FBS teams and here’s how the Big 12 programs fared.

Final thoughts on the Oklahoma Sooners 2022 season

The final ‘Final Thoughts’ of the 2022 football season for the Oklahoma Sooners, taking a look back at their first season under Brent Venables.

The Oklahoma Sooners 2022 season didn’t go the way many observers would have guessed. Finishing with a losing record for the first time since 1998 wasn’t in the cards for many. But it’s where they ended up.

Still, they feel like a team that was, dare I say, (shudders) “close.”

They lost four of their last five games, each coming by a field goal. They were 0-5 in games decided by a touchdown or less. That doesn’t mean they were going to be a national title contender or even a Big 12 contender, but they were literally closer to winning eight or nine games, even if they break even in those one-score losses.

There’s a lot of work to do in Norman to improve upon their 2022 season, but there were also some positive things we learned from Brent Venables’ first year with the Oklahoma Sooners.

So here are some final thoughts on the Oklahoma Sooners 2022 season.

Oklahoma vs. Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl one of CBS Sports’ best of bowl season

The Sooners Cheez-It Bowl loss to Florida State ranked as one of CBS Sports’ best bowl games in 2022.

The Oklahoma Sooners took a loss in their final game of the 2022 regular season, a 35-32 loss to Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl. If you were an independent observer, the game was an entertaining matchup of two of college football’s best programs.

The game didn’t end like we would have liked it, but it was an entertaining game from start to finish. Oklahoma’s defense was up to the task in the first half, but the Seminoles tall and athletic wide receivers were too much for the Sooners’ secondary to match up with in the second half.

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli ranked each of the bowl games this season, and Oklahoma’s loss to Florida State came in at No. 4.

For the Sooners, you can’t spin the 2022 season as anything other than a failure. It’s the first time the Sooners finished with a losing record since going 5-7 in 1998, the season before Bob Stoops was hired. Still, this game showed plenty of signs for how good the Sooners can be next year.

Offseason narratives aside, the game itself was just a lot of fun. It was high-scoring with a lot of exciting plays, and the fourth quarter was nonstop drama. Oklahoma took a 25-18 lead early in the quarter; the Noles responded right away to tie the game at 25-25 and then took a 32-25 lead a few minutes later. It was then Oklahoma’s turn to respond with a 75-yard touchdown drive to tie the game one more time at 32-32. Finally, with the game on the line, Florida State drove into field goal range, and Ryan Fitzgerald kicked the game-winning 32-yarder with 55 seconds left to send the Noles home with all the Cheez-Its. – Fornelli, CBS Sports

For the Sooners, this game was a microcosm of much of the 2022 season. They had a good defensive half but couldn’t sustain that level of play for four quarters. With four offensive linemen missing in action due to NFL draft opt-outs and injury, they couldn’t pass block well enough to give Gabriel the time to make plays down the field.

It ended in another close loss for the Sooners in their first losing season since 1998.

Oklahoma took some positive things out of the game like the play of their true freshmen running backs, Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk. Jalil Farooq continued to display his versatility as a pass catcher and runner on jet sweeps. He looks primed for a breakout 2023 season if Marvin Mims heads to the NFL.

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Improving linebacker depth key to improving Oklahoma Sooners defense for 2023

Only 11 linebackers played more than 900 snaps in 2022. Three of them were Oklahoma Sooners. Danny Stutsman led the way at the position with nearly 1,000 snaps.

One of the issues the Oklahoma Sooners’ defense faced in 2022 was that the defense was on the field far too much. In particular, linebackers [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], [autotag]DaShaun White,[/autotag] and [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag] played a ton of snaps for the Sooners.

One could argue they played too much.

As Oklahoma went 0-5 in games decided by one score or less, one could point to how much the Sooners’ trio of linebackers had to be on the field. Injuries to T.D. Roof and Shane Whitter forced the defensive staff’s hand to play that trio of backers as much as possible. They didn’t have much choice, feeling like their 2022 linebacker signees weren’t ready to play a significant amount of snaps. That left Stutsman, White, and Ugwoegbu to play over 900 snaps on the season. Stutsman was eight snaps away from an even 1,000.

According to Pro Football Focus, only 11 off-ball linebackers played more than 900 snaps in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and three of them were Oklahoma Sooners. Toledo was the only other team that had multiple linebackers with more than 900 snaps on the season.

Danny Stutsman tied for the FBS lead in snaps at linebacker with North Texas’ K.D. Davis at 992. Only two players in all of college football played more snaps than Stutsman; UNT safety Sean Thomas-Faulkner and Georgia Southern safety Anthony Wilson.

With opposing offenses averaging 80 plays a game and several of those games approaching 100, the Oklahoma Sooners needed more depth to help carry the burden that Stutsman, White, and Ugwoegbu faced.

Stutsman averaged 83 snaps a game in Big 12 play. Over the final five weeks of the conference schedule, when Oklahoma went 2-3 and were 0-3 in games decided by a field goal, Stutsman averaged 90.2 snaps a game. In those final five games, Oklahoma’s No. 4 linebacker, Jaren Kanak, played just 20 snaps, with zero defensive snaps against Iowa State and Texas Tech.

Now for more bad news. DaShaun White is off to the NFL. [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag]’s status remains unknown at the moment. He could follow White to the pros or choose to use his COVID year to play a fifth season for the Sooners.

If Ugwoegbu leaves, Stutsman is the only linebacker on the defense that has played a significant amount of snaps for the Sooners. [autotag]Shane Whitter[/autotag] will be back, providing a bit of experience, but he has fewer than 300 snaps to his ledger through three seasons.

For reference, Clemson’s top linebacker, Barrett Carter played 835 snaps in 2022, but the Tigers had four other linebackers with at least 600 snaps, according to PFF.

Now, they’ve added some talented players to the linebacker depth chart in the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes, but aside from [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag], there isn’t much to go off of right now.

Kanak, [autotag]Kobie McKinzie[/autotag], and [autotag]Kip Lewis[/autotag] were highly-regarded 2022 signees, but aside from Kanak in limited runs, the staff didn’t feel comfortable putting them out there as true freshmen.

It’s understandable. There’s a lot that goes into playing linebacker at the collegiate level. From pre-snap reads to understanding adjustments before the snap to executing their responsibilities within the scheme post-snap, there’s a lot to take into consideration. For those same reasons, the 2023 guys may not be ready to be day-one contributors. So, Oklahoma needs its 2022 signees to be ready to contribute significantly in 2023.

Getting off the field on third and fourth down will help limit the snaps of their linebackers, but perhaps having better depth at the position would help a guy like Danny Stutsman play at max efficiency in the fourth quarter. If he’s not having to play every snap of every game because the Sooners have a guy they feel like they can put out there for a series or two earlier in the game, it would only benefit the ascending Stutsman.

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Sooners fake field goal Fox College Football’s ‘top video of 2022’

Oklahoma’s fake field goal against Iowa State Fox College Football’s top video of 2022.

Oklahoma’s special teams’ players Michael Turk and Zach Schmit had an impact beyond what they did with their legs in 2022. Multiple times the two connected for fake field goal attempts that were big plays in the game.

That was true when the Sooners took on the No. 1 defense in the Big 12, the Iowa State Cyclones.

In a 3-3 deadlock early in the second quarter, the Sooners had driven 84 yards to the Cyclones’ one-yard line. On 3rd and goal, Eric Gray was dropped for a one-yard loss setting up 4th and goal from the two-yard line.

On the fourth down play, the Sooners lined up for a field goal. On the snap, Turk flipped the ball to Schmit, who darted through a perfectly blocked-up Cyclones defense for the touchdown. The Sooners went on to win the game 27-13 in Ames.

We're ringing in the New Year with the top video of 2022 🎉🏈

At No. 1: The SMOOTHEST fake field goal in college football history by @OU_Football 🔥😳 pic.twitter.com/jlYOK87gEn

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 31, 2022

Michael Turk will be heading to the NFL after two strong years in Norman, where he became a field position weapon. His ability as a holder provides even more value to NFL teams. His athleticism and ability to handle the football will create interesting opportunities for special teams coaches that want to get creative.

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Top moments of 2022 for the Oklahoma Sooners

What were the best moments from the Oklahoma Sooners in 2022?

2022 was an incredible year for the Oklahoma Sooners. Several teams competed for national championships along the way.

The women stole the show this year with Oklahoma softball and gymnastics winning national championships. Women’s basketball made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament in Jennie Baranczyk’s first season at the helm.

Not to be outdone, Skip Johnson’s crew rallied at midseason to go on an improbable run to the College World Series.

So as we flip the final page on 2022, what were some of the top moments from Oklahoma Athletics.

‘He’s made up of all the right stuff’: Gavin Sawchuk electric in first extended action for Sooners

Getting his first extended opportunity of the season, true freshman running back Gavin Sawchuk impressed for the Oklahoma Sooners.

One of the more intriguing storylines in the buildup to the Oklahoma Sooners [autotag]Cheez-It Bowl[/autotag] matchup with the Florida State Seminoles was how the Sooners would handle their running back rotation without [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag].

Gray opted out, choosing to prepare for the 2023 NFL draft, and [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] was out, still nursing a leg injury that kept him out of action late in the regular season. That left [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] as the only runner with significant experience on the depth chart.

But that also created an opportunity to see what fellow true freshman running back [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] brought to the table. The Oklahoma Sooners coaching staff took advantage of the Cheez-It Bowl stage to give the former two-time Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year action. And Sawchuk was a star.

Sawchuk carried the ball 15 times for 100 yards and caught one pass for eight yards, displaying great quickness, agility and speed. He didn’t look like a player with only two collegiate carries on his ledger coming into the game. He was physical and patient. His 15-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter helped Oklahoma take a 25-18 lead.

“He has a tremendous future,” head coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] said after the loss. “He’s made up of the right stuff. Tremendous character, great work ethic, incredibly humble, intelligent, tough. It (would have) been easy for a guy like him to kind of check it in and not get better, but he showed up every day and got better all season long. (Dillon Gabriel and DaShaun White) would attest to that. He’s been a great teammate and he was ready for his opportunity when it presented itself. Really excited for him. Some of his production tonight, outstanding. He’s going to be a lot better going into next year because of it. Kind of like Jaleel (Farooq) in our bowl game a year ago.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Sawchuk averaged four yards per carry after contact in the game. He forced three missed tackles and had two runs of 15 yards or more in the contest, including the touchdown run.

Sawchuk and Barnes combined for 42 carries and 208 yards rushing. Barnes continued to show why he became the backup behind Eric Gray during the season with another strong performance. In his first extended action, Sawchuk was equally impressive. With the two-headed monster at running back, the Sooners have a fantastic 1-2 punch heading into 2023.

The speed that Sawchuk put on display in the Cheez-It Bowl will be a huge weapon for the Sooners in 2023. [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag]’s going to have a great time imagining all the ways he can use his star running backs in the future.

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‘They played physical’: Offensive line provides a lift in the Sooners run game

Oklahoma’s offensive line has a strong showing, helping the Sooners rack up more than 250 yards rushing in the loss to Florida State.

Oklahoma’s matchup with Florida State was going to be a difficult one upfront. The Seminoles came into the Cheez-It Bowl with a top-20 defense and boasted a really good group up front.

With [autotag]Andrew Raym[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Murray[/autotag] out due to injury and [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag] and [autotag]Wanya Morris[/autotag] opting out, the Sooners started several players that were backups for much of the season in their 35-32 loss to the Seminoles.

Making their first starts were [autotag]Jacob Sexton[/autotag] and [autotag]Savion Byrd[/autotag]. [autotag]Aaryn Parks[/autotag] took over for Sexton, who was injured on the first drive of the game, and received his first extended action in a Sooners uniform. [autotag]Tyler Guyton[/autotag] made just the fifth start of his career. [autotag]Robert Congel[/autotag] and [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag] were the only players up front that had started more than Guyton’s five games coming into 2022. Congel, who’d been a backup to Raym for most of the season, was starting his third straight game to close 2022.

It wasn’t always pretty. Oklahoma struggled in pass protection at times, but the Sooners’ offensive line helped OU have a great day on the ground, rushing for more than 250 yards. True freshmen Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk each ran for more than 100 yards. It was the first time since 1985 that the Sooners had a pair of freshmen run for more than 100 yards in a game.

The Seminoles came into the game allowing only 148 rushing yards per game at 3.9 yards per carry. Against a tough Florida State team, the offensive line rose to the occasion.

“The guys up front, they played physical, they played with purpose,” coach Brent Venables said after the loss. “The players played with a tremendous amount of physicality and toughness that we’ve asked from them. Coach (Bill) Bedenbaugh did a great job getting these guys ready. … I love the sense of desperation they played with up front.”

The Sooners received a sneak peek of what the future holds at offensive line in 2023. Certainly, there will be questions about how they performed in pass protection, but their work in the ground game was fantastic.

Take the sacks out of the equation, and the Sooners rushed for 289 yards at 5.9 yards per attempt.

It was a strong showing for guys getting their first extended playing time at the college level. With three starting jobs up for grabs as Harrison, Morris, and Murray head to the NFL, the offensive line’s efforts in the Cheez-It Bowl provided the start to the retooling process upfront.

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Social media reacts to the Oklahoma Sooners’ 35-32 loss to Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl

What did social media have to say following the Oklahoma Sooners’ 35-32 loss to Florida State?

It’s never fun to be on the losing end of a contest. Especially one so hard-fought as the Oklahoma Sooners’ 35-32 loss to Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl.

There were bright spots. The Sooners’ rushing attack was spearheaded by an offensive line missing four starters and was led by true freshmen running backs Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk.

Oklahoma showed toughness against a good Florida State team and had a chance to win a game in which they were double-digit underdogs. It wasn’t perfect and they have work to do to improve from 6-7, the worst record they’ve had since 1998.

But there’s a lot to like about the Sooners’ performance despite the loss. Let’s take a look at how social media reacted to the final game of the 2022 season.

Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 35-32 loss to Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl

The best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners’ 35-32 loss to the Florida State Seminoles in the Cheez-It Bowl.

It wasn’t the ending that many would have liked as the Oklahoma Sooners fell to 6-7 with their 35-32 loss to the Florida State Seminoles in the Cheez-It Bowl. That 6-7 record represents the first losing season for Oklahoma since 1998, the final year of the John Blake era.

The Sooners didn’t shy away from running the football with their true freshmen backs, Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk. The former four-star backs from the 2022 class accounted for 42 carries, 208 yards, and two touchdowns. It was mostly a strong performance in the run game from the two and an offensive line that was down four starters in Anton Harrison, Wanya Morris, Andrew Raym, and Chris Murray.

For what seems like the millionth time this season, the Sooners lose a close game in which the offense was good enough to win, but the defense couldn’t get stops in the second half.

Going into the offseason, Oklahoma has to improve its defense. It’s going to be hard to win games when your defense allows 30 or more points and 24 in the second half.

For the last time in the 2022 season, here are the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners game.