Tag: Austin Stogner

5 positions the Oklahoma Sooners should target via the transfer portal

With the transfer portal set to open up next week, what position groups could the Sooners target for some help?

With just one game left to put a bow on the 2023 season, Oklahoma’s vision has widened a bit to prepare for 2024. 2024 is a significant year in the history of Oklahoma football as the Sooners will be moving to the SEC along with the Texas Longhorns.

Oklahoma’s 2023 season is a success after a dismal 2022 campaign where they won just six games. The Sooners have already won 10 games and have shown a lot of growth on and off the field.

Looking at the roster heading into the new calendar year, it’s easy to see that while Oklahoma got better, they will have some holes they must address immediately.

And that’s where the transfer portal comes in.

Oklahoma could lose significant pieces on the offensive and defensive lines and at quarterback. They could also add talent to the secondary and the linebacker unit.

This year, they benefitted from the transfer portal by landing Walter Rouse from Stanford, a rock-solid left tackle who routinely posted some of the best pass-blocking grades on the team, per Pro Football Focus. Da’Jon Terry was a foundational piece of a defense that took a step forward.

Other names like Andrel Anthony, Dasan McCullough, and Reggie Pearson made immediate impacts in their first year with the Sooners.

The transfer portal doesn’t officially open until Dec. 4, but players nationwide have begun announcing their plans to enter the portal.

Here’s a look at five positions the Sooners could target in the transfer portal.

Report Card: Offensive fireworks help gloss over Sooners’ defensive woes

Offense dominates the day and passes final Big 12 test en route to a 69-45 win over TCU. We graded the team’s performance in this week’s report card.

Oklahoma has rebounded from the nightmarish season from 2022. They’ll spend the rest of Thanksgiving weekend at 10-2, a sharp contrast from the 6-6 record they amassed before their bowl game last year.

Friday saw the Sooners end their final regular season as Big 12 members in true Big 12 fashion with an old-fashioned shootout. The two teams combined for over 1,000 yards of total offense and 114 points in a 69-45 Oklahoma win.

Senior Day festivities preceded the game, with more than 20 Sooners recognized. Oklahoma’s win also solidified their 59th undefeated home record as well.

As Oklahoma waits to see how the rest of the Big 12 race plays out, we’re here to grade their performance in the win over TCU. Here’s the final report card for the regular season.

Oklahoma Sooners win final Big 12 home game, beat the TCU Horned Frogs 69-45

The Oklahoma Sooners cap off their 2023 regular season with a big win over the TCU Horned Frogs.

The Oklahoma Sooners played their final [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] home game against the [autotag]TCU Horned Frogs[/autotag], coming out on top with a 69-45 win.

On senior day and Oklahoma’s final day in the Big 12, this game had everything.

The defense forced a punt on their first drive and nearly earned an interception.

The offense marched right down the field on their first drive of the game. [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] hit [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] on a 50-yard pass to start the drive. TCU was called for pass interference on Austin Stogner and on the following play, Gabriel then ran it in from eight yards out for his 12th rushing touchdown of the season.

After a muffed punt by [autotag]Gavin Freeman[/autotag] set TCU up with great field position, the Horned Frogs scored on a [autotag]Josh Hoover[/autotag] keeper but missed the extra point.

The offense picked up right where it left off. Gabriel found [autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag] on 3rd and 11 for a gain of 17. He then found Gibson on a 59-yard touchdown pass, dragging a defender into the end zone.

After a 48-yard pass to [autotag]Jojo Earle[/autotag] got the Horned Frogs into OU territory, TCU took advantage as Hoover hit Earle on a 6-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-13.

To start the second quarter, the Sooners went with Freeman, Drake Stoops and [autotag]Brenen Thompson[/autotag] as the wide receivers. OU used their speed, and Gabriel hit Thompson on a deep post route for a 53-yard touchdown pass.

The defense forced a three-and-out, and Gabriel continued his incredible performance. He helped convert a third and long and then a fourth down on the drive. [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] capped it off with a 12-yard touchdown run that gave the Sooners a 28-13 lead.

The Sooners forced a three and out on a sack by [autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag]. But TCU tried a fake field goal, and it was snuffed out by the Sooners. The offense took over and marched right down the short field and capped it off with a 7-yard run by Sawchuk.

The Sooners’ defense forced its third straight three and out on TCU’s next drive. And on Oklahoma’s next possession, Sawchuk took off on a 41-yard run, setting OU up in TCU territory. The drive was capped off by a 9-yard touchdown run by [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag].

The Sooners took a 42-16 lead into halftime.

The Sooners outgained the Horned Frogs 375-221. They were also 7 of 9 on third and fourth down while holding TCU to 4 of 12. Gabriel finished the half 14-23 for 278 yards and three touchdowns.

The Sooners drove right down the field on their first drive of the half but had to settle for a 23-yard field goal. [autotag]Zach Schmit[/autotag] nailed it to extend the Sooners lead to 45-16. TCU responded as Emani Bailey ran it in untouched from 32 yards out. Gabriel tried another deep shot to Thompson, but it was into the wind and a bit late, and this time it was picked off.

TCU took advantage as Hoover found [autotag]Jared Wiley[/autotag] for the four-yard score to cut the lead to 45-31 after TCU converterted the two-point try. The Sooners faced a 4th and 1 on their own side of the 50 and Gabriel picked up 40 yards on the option keeper. Stoops capped off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Gabriel.

TCU went right back down the field like it was nothing. Bailey had a 49-yard run and then a touchdown catch on the following play to cut the Sooners lead back to 14. The Sooners drove the field but, after a sack, were forced to kick a 40-yard field goal. Schmit knocked it through to put OU up 17 with 10:14 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The defense finally made a stop, forcing TCU to turn it over on downs in their own territory. The Sooners capitalized as Sawchuk ran it in from nine yards out to make it 62-38. [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] would add to the lead after a 45-yard interception return to seal the win.

The Sooners had several big-time performances in the win. Dillon Gabriel completed 63% of his passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 36 yards and a touchdown. Gavin Sawchuk had his fourth straight 100-yard day with 22 carries for 130 yards and three touchdowns. Sawchuk added 16 yards on two receptions to his big performance.

On the receiving end, Oklahoma had three players with more than 75 yards in the win. Drake Stoops caught 12 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. Nic Anderson had four receptions on eight targets for 97 yards. Jayden Gibson continued his strong finish to the season with two receptions for 76 yards and a score.

Defensively, the Sooners struggled in the second half, allowing 299 total yards and 9.3 yards per play. But as they’ve done often this season, the defense came up with big plays in key moments. In addition to his interception return for a touchdown, Billy Bowman led the team with nine tackles.

In total, Oklahoma outgained the Horned Frogs 607-520 on the day.

Oklahoma moved to 10-2 in year two under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. Now they wait for this weekend’s results in the Big 12 to know if they’ll be playing next week in Arlington, Texas for the Big 12 title.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Report Card: Defense bent but didn’t break as Oklahoma escaped BYU

How did the Oklahoma Sooners grade out in their win over the BYU Cougars?

Saturday was an odd day for the Oklahoma Sooners. The result is all that matters, but how the Sooners got there was a fascinating journey.

Oklahoma lost Dillon Gabriel at halftime to a concussion, and the Sooners had to roll with untested five-star freshman Jackson Arnold off the bench. The defense was not up to par and jeopardized Oklahoma’s chances of winning. However, two big plays from Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman changed the game’s complexion.

The game was anything but clean, yet somehow, the Sooners passed their final road test of the season after failing in their last two trips away from Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Without further ado, here are grades for the Sooners win against BYU.

Stock Report: Offense finding second win as season heads into final stretch

Taking a look at who is trending up and down for the Sooners after they beat the West Virginia Mountaineers 59-20.

Oklahoma’s domination of West Virginia was a welcome sight on the heels of two frustrating losses to Kansas and Oklahoma State. The losses put a trip to Arlington in doubt for the Big 12 title game.

After back-to-back losses, the Sooners had to dust themselves off, get back up, and fight. They did just that on Saturday.

They came out swinging and never looked back.

The offense looked as cohesive and explosive as it has all year and the defense put a stranglehold on a physical West Virginia rushing attack. From a coaching perspective, Venables looked comfortable, and his coordinators, in particular Jeff Lebby, were in sync the entire game.

As Oklahoma prepares for a trip to Provo, Utah, to take on BYU in its final regular season road trip of 2023, we look at how the team is trending heading into the game in the week’s stock report.

Takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners impressive win over West Virginia

The Oklahoma Sooners played one of their better games of the season in their win over West Virginia and here are our takeaways from the game.

In Saturday’s 59-20 win over West Virginia, the Sooners were able to exorcise their demons from the last two weeks.

The offense was explosive through the air and on the ground. They attacked down the field as opposed to working at or behind the line of scrimmage.

Defensively, they looked like a better tackling team this week than either of the previous two weeks.

There are always going to be things to clean up from a game, but when you win 59-20, a lot of things went really right for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Here are this week’s takeaways from the game.

Dillon Gabriel, Drake Stoops have huge nights; Sooners dominate West Virginia 59-20

The Oklahoma Sooners got back to their winning ways with a huge 59-20 win over West Virginia.

The Oklahoma Sooners entered their primetime matchup with the West Virginia Mountaineers on a two-game losing streak. The OU team that showed up on Saturday night looked nothing like we’d witnessed in their road losses to Kansas and Oklahoma State in their 59-20 win over West Virginia.

On the opening drive of the game, the [autotag]West Virginia Mountaineers[/autotag] marched down the field on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took a little over four minutes off the clock to take a 7-0. And then it was all Oklahoma from then on out.

The Sooners put together their own eight-play, 75-yard drive, culminating in Dillon Gabriel’s first touchdown of the night, a two-yard run to tie the game.

After the opening drive, the Sooners’ defense locked in and shut down the Mountaineers’ offense until their final drive of the first half. Oklahoma’s defense forced three punts, two turnovers on downs, including one at the goalline, and WVU missed a field goal. By the time West Virginia scored their second touchdown of the game, it was 31-14 Sooners.

In the first half, [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] threw touchdowns to [autotag]Austin Stogner[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag] and ran for two scores to stake Oklahoma to a big halftime lead.

In the second half, Oklahoma kept the pressure on West Virginia, and [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] started to take over the game. On another career day for the veteran wide receiver, Stoops caught three touchdown passes in the second half to leave no doubt in the Sooners win.

On one of those scores, Stoops was hit hard in the end zone on a play that was reviewed for targeting. That play led to a skirmish under the strobe lights inside Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. No penalties came of it, but on the ensuing point after attempt, [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag] went after Anthony Wilson for his hit and taunt of Drake Stoops and was ejected from the game.

But by that point in the game, the outcome was academic, as the Sooners had run away with the game.

In the win, Gabriel passed former Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan for 10th all-time in passing yards and had eight total touchdowns in the Sooners’ win. Gabriel finished the day completing 64% of his passes for 423 yards and five touchdowns and added 50 yards and three rushing touchdowns in the huge win. His eight total touchdowns are the most combined passing and rushing in the history of Oklahoma Football.

[autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag], who had a career game a week ago in the loss to Oklahoma State, was dominant for the Sooners in the passing game. He had 10 receptions for 164 yards and three touchdowns.

Getting his second consecutive start, [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] carried the ball 22 times for 135 yards, showing great patience and explosiveness.

[autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] returned for the Sooners defense and recorded eight total tackles and two tackles for loss. [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] had seven total tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.

The Sooners held West Virginia to 330 total yards, 4 of 16 on third down, and 2 of 4 on fourth down. Oklahoma was able to keep Garrett Green in check running the football, holding the dual-threat quarterback to 24 yards on 10 attempts.

Oklahoma recorded two interceptions in the win. One from [autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag] and the other from true freshman [autotag]Jacobe Johnson[/autotag]. As they had done during their 7-0 start to the season, the Sooners won the turnover battle.

With the win, the Sooners move to 8-2 on the season and 5-2 in Big 12 play. They received a bit of help from UCF who dominated Oklahoma State, opening the door a bit more for a trip to the Big 12 title game.

Oklahoma took care of their end of the bargain and will travel to Provo next Saturday to see if they can beat the BYU Cougars. BYU holds the all-time series lead at 2-0 over the Sooners.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.

Week 11 captains announced for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. West Virginia Mountaineers

The Oklahoma Sooners have announced who their captains will be vs. the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off back-to-back losses, but it’s now time to move forward. There’s still an outside chance the Sooners can make the [autotag]Big 12 Championship[/autotag] game. That starts this week as the Sooners return home to play the [autotag]West Virginia Mountaineers[/autotag].

On Monday, the Sooners announced who would be representing them as captains for the Week 11 conference game. That would be [autotag]Isaiah Coe[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag], [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag], [autotag]Austin Stogner[/autotag] and [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag].

Coe and Lacey are two of the key reasons the Sooners sit at No. 48 in the nation in run defense. They’ll be tested once again against a really good West Virginia rushing attack on Saturday. Coe has 22 tackles and two tackles for loss. Lacey has 15 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and one sack on the season.

Mettauer has been big all season long for the Sooners. Since his return from injury, it looks like the Sooners running game is finding its groove. We’ll see if that continues this weekend.

Stogner has had an up-and-down season. He has 10 catches for 91 yards but has been asked to be a key blocker for this team. After a rough first half, he seemed to play a much better second half this past Saturday.

Walker has been a pleasant surprise in 2023. The walk-on leads the team in rushing with 444 yards and is second in rushing touchdowns with six. He returned from injury last week and had a great day in limited action.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Bedlam Stock Report: Sooners 2022 signees making an impact

Taking a look at what’s trending up or down right now in Oklahoma’s program following their lost to Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma is in a tailspin. If things don’t improve quickly, they could begin to resemble the 2022 team that started fast but fell apart against some of the better teams in the Big 12.

There are still three games for the Sooners. They can go out and finish on a high note. While slim, Oklahoma still has a chance to make the Big 12 title game. They would need some help, but they’re not completely eliminated from the conference championship game.

In the interim, it’s all about improving as a team and letting the rest fall into place.

It’s time for this week’s stock report as we look at how things are trending up and down for the Oklahoma football team.[anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media]

Report Card: Offense’s dysfunction dooms Sooners chance to end Bedlam on top

Grading the Oklahoma Sooners by position group in their loss to Oklahoma State.

If Saturday was the last time Bedlam is played, the Oklahoma Sooners will always regret how things went in their final game against their in-state rivals. The Sooners will walk away from this game knowing they have dominated this series. There’s no debating that the Sooners have owned the Cowboys. But on Saturday, Oklahoma had the chance to put one final bow on this lopsided series, and they didn’t get it done.

Oklahoma State came out swinging, and the Sooners responded. But the most common theme was Oklahoma’s offense stalling on four different possessions once they got to the Oklahoma State side of the field. Most notably on the Sooners’ final drive of the game.

Defensively, Oklahoma played well enough to win. After getting bullied early, the defense found its footing and locked in the remainder of the contest.

In the end, the dysfunction and mistakes on offense put Oklahoma in a near-impossible spot. When it mattered most, they couldn’t rectify their own mistakes.

Oklahoma will move on and turn their attention to West Virginia. Before that, it’s time to pass out grades for Oklahoma’s performance against Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State Cowboys.