Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Who earned a game ball in the Oklahoma Sooners 55-48 win over the Texas Longhorns?
After a few days to decompress and catch a breather from one of the all-time great Red River Showdowns, we can now sit back, enjoy the outcome, and heap on the praise for those that are very deserving. You don’t win games like that without help from a myriad of places. It was truly the effort of the entire Oklahoma community. With that being said, let’s hand out some game balls to all the deserving folks who had a hand in this win.
A look at five recruits Oklahoma and Texas are both competing for and an update on their recruitments.
On or off the field, the battle between Oklahoma and Texas for supremacy never ends. When these teams line up for this year’s battle, there will be quite a bit of familiarity between the players. Oklahoma has 48 players from the state of Texas on their roster. The number is significantly less for Oklahoma players on Texas’ roster but nonetheless, these teams cross paths in recruiting so frequently it’s become normal.
Guys like Billy Bowman and Ja’Tavion Sanders were high school teammates in Texas but ended up going to Oklahoma and Texas respectively. Both schools were the finalists for both. They aren’t the first and they sure won’t last recruits these teams will fight over.
Luckily, we compiled a list of a few notable names from the 2022 recruiting class and the 2023 recruiting class that both Oklahoma and Texas are duking it out over.
*In order to qualify, we selected names that are seriously considering both schools or we feel as if both schools will be right there at the end for said prospect’s commitment.*
.@CoachSark and Lincoln Riley at the Denton Ryan game last night checking out target Anthony Hill, #HookEm commit Austin Jordan and all the other talent at the Ryan program (📸 via our guy @creolehammer17) pic.twitter.com/LmfpKu0dUA
— HornSports (@HornSports) September 24, 2021
In their win over Kansas State, the Oklahoma Sooners got contributions from a variety of sources. Here are 12 Sooners who stood out.
Football is the ultimate team game. It takes 11 guys on both sides of the ball and a variety of role players to put a team in a position to win the game. Though it’s a quarterback’s game, it takes a team to win football games.
And that’s what the Sooners got on Saturday in their 37-31 win over Kansas State. It wasn’t a perfect team win, but the defense held the Wildcats to 24 points (that kickoff return for a touchdown isn’t on the defense) despite Skylar Thompson and Deuce Vaughn having monster games.
The defense also got the offense a short field and looked to be on the verge of scoring until a botched snap and penalty forced them to kick a field goal after having second and goal at the one.
In the first half, it looked as if the Kansas State defense was going to be as stingy as West Virginia’s. However, Spencer Rattler and company continued their efficiency and at the end of the game they had scored on of their eight possessions (not counting the kneel-downs at the end).
It wasn’t a win that moved the needle in the eyes of the voters, who allowed the Sooners to drop back a spot in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll and let a team jump them in the AP Top 25.
Despite how the Sooners are viewed nationally, they’re 5-0 and coming off arguably their best win of the season. Here are 12 players who made significant contributions to the win.
As the offense looks to rebound from a disappointing outing last week, here are 3 keys for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. Kansas State
The Oklahoma Sooners get set to take on a gritty and tough Kansas State in their first bit of action on the road. The much-maligned Sooners offense has heard every almost conceivable report about their struggles at this point. In many ways, the offense’s struggles have led the Sooners to drop in the various polls and rankings each week. The Sooner defense has held up their end of the bargain, and the offense has not.
After coming up with a huge drive to get in position to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired, the Sooners could only breathe a little as looking back on their performance was sure to reveal areas where they need to improve heading into this week’s matchup with the Wildcats.
Here are three keys to the game for the Sooners offense to get you ready for the Oklahoma Sooners matchup with Kansas State.
Brayden Willis and Jeremiah hall discuss the booing and chants of “We Want Caleb” from this past weekend.
The boos and “We Want Caleb!” chants from Saturday’s game against West Virginia have been well documented at this point. Players from the football team all took to social media in various forms to show their disdain for the chants and the booing and to offer support for Spencer Rattler.
We chronicled why the chants and the calls for Caleb Williams didn’t make sense in this article. Ultimately, it matters not what we think but what the players and coaches think and the standards and expectations they have for themselves. Two veteran players on the offensive side of the ball spoke on the situation at hand and offered their thoughts.
Brayden Willis and Jeremiah Hall are the hosts of The Podcast on the Prairie and shared their thoughts on their most recent podcast episode.
Jeremiah and Brayden on fan criticism during Saturday’s win pic.twitter.com/8YrkoLkgbv
— The Podcast on the Prairie (@theprairiepod) September 28, 2021
Hall, the starting H-Back for the team for the last two years spoke about how he understands the frustration but that ultimately it’s just unacceptable.
I understand as a fan but at the same time it’s just not acceptable. You know we have our QB1 and we are sticking behind QB1… We don’t need any more negative energy. We’re frustrated too! We want to put up 80 points every game. – Hall
Brayden Willis would chime in and piggyback off Hall’s comments.
Like you said, we got our QB1. We’re standing by him. If Caleb comes into the game due to a coaching decision we’ll stand by him. – Willis
Willis would go on to address the effects on recruiting and how booing can look to prospective recruits.
When it comes to recruiting it doesn’t really bold well for the big time five-star recruits we had in the building. I don’t think a big time recruit would want to go to a school that does that.
The guys would go on to talk about how important it was to remain united and not have a divide between the fans and the team in the last of the clip.
All told, it was refreshing to see players who are involved and a part of the program share their sentiments about things they are facing. Obviously, this would not be possible prior to the NIL era.
As far as what the guys said, they bring up valid points that others have echoed regarding the booing and the seeds of discontent being sowed amongst the Oklahoma football community.
Ultimately, the booing and the negativity around the program stops if the offense performs up to their talent level and the standard set by the team and program itself.
Lincoln Riley explained that in the simplest of terms at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
Lincoln Riley has been very open with the way he’s handled the “We want Caleb” chants from Saturday. That includes how he’s approached the subject with Caleb Williams.
🎥: @SoonerSportsTV pic.twitter.com/YK4qeNPaca
— SportsTalk1400 (@Sportstalk1400) September 28, 2021
The Sooners take to the road Saturday for their first road game of the year to take on Kansas State looking to right the ship offensively and continue their undefeated season.
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Through the first four weeks of the season, this Oklahoma Sooners’ tight end has the highest grade at his position per Pro Football Focus.
It’s easy to see that something isn’t right with the Oklahoma Sooners’ offense. It’s not running with the same efficiency as in previous years, which has to do with several factors. Quarterback, offensive line, and at times the receivers just aren’t playing well enough to keep the offense humming.
While they’re struggling, it’s not all bad news. The Sooners are getting good performances from several players this year. Mario Williams and Michael Woods continue to stand out in the passing game, and Eric Gray showed his explosiveness on his big catch and run early in the game.
One of the more underrated positive performances for the Sooners has been the play of tight end/h-back Brayden Willis. Though he hasn’t been used much in the passing game, just five targets, he’s been excellent as a blocker in 2021 and finds himself with the highest grade of any tight end through four weeks per Pro Football Focus.
It’s going to be tough for any receiving tight end to supplant Willis if he keeps dominating defenders in the run game. He leads the country in run-blocking grade at the position (84.1) and places 19th in pass-blocking grade (75.2).
On every contending team, you need guys that are “glue guys.” They’re not the guys that fill up the stat sheet, but the ones that do all the little things the right way every time they’re on the field. Brayden Willis is one of those guys.
When he was called upon last year in the wake of the Austin Stogner injury, he was solid in the passing game. This year with Stogner back, he’s still not getting a ton of opportunities in the passing game (of course, neither is Stogner), but Willis is still finding a way to contribute in a meaningful way every single week.
When we get to the end of the season and start talking about team MVP candidates, it’s unlikely that Brayden Willis’ name shows up. However, his contribution can’t be understated because of what he’s done in the running game.
Taking a look at the best grades from Pro Football Focus for the Oklahoma Sooners in their win over West Virginia.
The Oklahoma Sooners have started to find a way to win defensive battles in 2021. It’s a far cry from what the Sooners looked like just a couple of years ago when they had to score 40-50 points per game to win. The defense in those early years of Lincoln Riley’s tenure as offensive coordinator and then head coach were some of the worst years of defense this program’s ever seen.
The script has flipped for the 2021 Oklahoma Sooners. The offense has been inconsistent. They haven’t been able to run the ball as effectively as they’d like and the Sooners defense is carrying the day.
For the second straight week the Sooners were unable to reach 30 points while the defense held their opponent to fewer than 16 points. While we’d certainly like to see more points scored, the Sooners are going to win a lot of games if they can continue to keep their opponent to fewer than 20 points a game.
There will be challenges in the coming weeks with Kansas State, Texas, and TCU on the docket, but the Sooners defense looks more up to the challenge than at any other point in the last five years.
Let’s take another look at Saturday’s win over West Virginia through the lens of Pro Football Focus (Subscription required) and take a look at which Sooners graded in the top five of various categories.
2 Oklahoma Sooners have the highest Pro Football Focus grades at their position through the first two weeks of the season.
The Oklahoma Sooners leveled the Western Carolina Catamounts 76-0 on Saturday in Norman. Oklahoma was dominant on both sides of the football, as Spencer Rattler threw five touchdowns to four different receivers while the defense terrorized WCU into four fumbles and eight tackles for loss.
To say every single Sooner shined in the blowout win would hardly be hyperbole. In total, 13 receivers, three quarterbacks, four running backs, and 25 different defenders got a piece of the action in a game neither OU nor Western Carolina will soon forget.
But two particular Sooners – one on each side of the football – have stuck out to Pro Football Focus through week 2, earning the highest grades at their positions (behind a paywall).
How did the Sooners grade out in their 76-0 win over Western Carolina? Check out this week’s positional report card.
After a week of re-evaluation and reflection, the Oklahoma Sooners came out and showed the world that they did not put their best foot forward in game one against Tulane. Tulane played hard for the entirety of the game. However, OU flexed at once and was up 37-14 and eventually took their foot off the gas and allowed the door to be left open for Tulane to come back.
Oklahoma let out some frustration and then some against the Catamounts en route to posting a 76-0 final score. They would narrowly escape, and head coach Lincoln Riley made it known things would be different during their game against Western Carolina. The man did not lie.
There were several aspects of the team that had decent but not spectacular moments in the previous game. After the game in our previous report card, we broke down the grades for those units.
Every championship contender needs glue guys who help keep the roster together. They may not start for the Oklahoma Sooners, but here are several role players that will have a significant impact.
Every team that is a championship contender has to have a lot of talent. However, when one of your starters goes down with an injury or needs a breather, championship contenders must have enough depth to minimize the talent drop-off. Championship teams also need role players who are good at what they do and are the glue of the roster.
The Oklahoma Sooners appear to be as talented as any team in the country heading into the 2021 football season. Another thing they have going for them heading into what could be a special season is several role players who will have significant impacts for the Oklahoma Sooners.
