Tag: Gavin Freeman

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.

Sooners captains for Bedlam have an Oklahoma flavor

The Sooners captains for the final Bedlam are all very familiar with this rivalry.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the [autotag]Oklahoma State Cowboys[/autotag] battle for the final time as Big 12 foes. It’s the final time for a long time in the regular season. This will be the 118th meeting between the two schools with Oklahoma holding a 91-19-7 lead in the series.

This is a big one not just for final bragging rights for both schools, but also for conference title aspirations. The losing school could basically be eliminated from the race.

In preparation for the game on Saturday, the Sooners have named their captains and all are very familiar with this rivalry. Those captains are [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag], [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag], [autotag]Gavin Freeman[/autotag], [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] and [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag].

All five of those players were born and played their high school football in the state of Oklahoma. Downs is from Weatherford and has been the Sooners’ best pass rusher this season leading the team with 4.5 sacks.

Ford is not just from Edmond but he also played for the Cowboys before transferring to the Sooners this past offseason. He’s been a really solid contributor to this defense’s resurgence.

Freeman is from Oklahoma City and has mainly been used as a punt returner and gadget player offensively. It’ll be interesting to see if his role increases at all after a poor offensive performance last Saturday.

Stoops is from Norman and has been one of the best receivers for the Sooners. He leads Oklahoma with 40 receptions, and is fourth in yards and second in touchdowns.

Williams is from Tulsa and has been their best cover guy all season. He missed last week’s game with an injury and it showed big time. This seems to be a good sign about his availability going into this game.

Ultimately, it’s going to mean a lot to these guys who grew up around this rivalry but to walk out of Boone Pickens Stadium with a win, it needs to mean a lot to a lot more than just those five.

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.

Nic Anderson not worried about Sooners’ ability to fill in for injured Andrel Anthony

After losing their leading receiver, the wide receiver room is ready for the challenge to step up so the offense doesn’t take a step back.

The Oklahoma Sooners are going to have to play the second half of their season without their leading receiver. Andrel Anthony was lost for the year during the win over Texas in the [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag].

Anthony led the team with 429 yards and was second on the team with 27 catches. He was injured in the third quarter.

His replacement, [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag], caught the game-winning touchdown pass. Anderson leads the team with receiving touchdowns on the season.

He talked to reporters about the mindset of the receiving room after losing Anthony.

“Just making sure we step up and fill those shoes so we don’t miss a beat on offense,” Anderson said. “That’s the most important thing. We have a lot of competitive depth, so I’m not worried about anybody not being able to do that.”

It will be interesting to see if the Sooners change anything with their scheme. Prior to the win over the Texas Longhorns, we hadn’t seen many four wide receiver sets, but we saw that fairly often until Anthony went out with his injury.

It seemed to have some success. Anderson will almost assuredly take Anthony’s starting spot, but the question is who will take Anderson’s spot if the Sooners go with four wide receivers, or do they just scrap that package ?

The most likely answer is [autotag]Brenen Thompson[/autotag] or [autotag]Gavin Freeman[/autotag] if they choose to keep that package. Jayden Gibson will likely see more opportunities moving forward as well.

Another reason why it was a good week to have a bye and better yet, to have as much depth as the Sooners have at wide receiver.

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Dillon Gabriel, Nic Anderson earn weekly Big 12 honors after big day vs. Tulsa

Stars from Saturday’s game against Tulsa earned Big 12 weekly awards as Dillon Gabriel and Nic Anderson were honored on Monday.

Just a few short days after Oklahoma put on a show through the air against Tulsa, some of the main characters of that performance earned weekly honors from the Big 12 conference.

Dillon Gabriel was named Offensive Player of the Week after he threw for 421 passing yards and five touchdowns against the Golden Hurricane. He also set the school single-game completion percentage record (min. 25 attempts) by completing 90% of his throws Saturday afternoon. One hundred and twenty of his passing yards went to the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week, Nic Anderson. Anderson caught just three passes, but all three were touchdown receptions.

Gabriel was a maestro on Saturday with a 251.2 pass efficiency rating, the highest by a Power Five player on the week and the fourth highest by a Power Five player on the season.

Gabriel’s selection as offensive player of the week makes this the fourth of his career at Oklahoma.

Nic Anderson’s phenomenal, yet incredibly efficient day was particularly historic. No freshman had ever registered a game with three receiving touchdowns in Oklahoma’s illustrious history.

Anderson is just the third Sooner to score three receiving touchdowns in a game on three catches, joining Curtis Fagan (vs. Baylor in 2000) and Jack Lockett (vs. Oklahoma A&M in 1950).

The Newcomer of the Week award for the native of Katy, TX, is his first Big 12 weekly honor.

Announcing honors for these two Sooners brings Oklahoma to four weekly awards this season.

Gavin Freeman was the first. He was named Big 12 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 4 after returning a punt 82 yards for a score against Arkansas State. Junior linebacker Danny Stutsman was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 11 after he logged 17 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a quarterback hit, and recovered a fumble.

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Dillon Gabriel continues hot start to the season

Dillon Gabriel continues to show why he’s QB1 for Team 129.

There isn’t much you can complain about when it comes to [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag]’s play in nonconference. Gabriel has completed more than 80% of his passes with an 11:1 touchdown to interception ratio.

The one interception was on a go ball to [autotag]Gavin Freeman [/autotag]where the defensive back just made a great play on it. It wasn’t a bad decision. Gabriel had success with one-on-one balls all day but that one just didn’t go in his favor.

Gabriel told reporters after the game he felt the offense bounced back well.

“As a unit, we did really well,” Gabriel said. “Making a bunch of plays. Turning some short passes into chunks. We played with really good tempo. Just putting that all together is a beauty to see.”

It was a beauty to see. The Sooners did a great job of getting into the tempo but also slowing it down in the red zone and on critical downs to make sure they were in the right play. That resulted in the Sooners being perfect in the red zone and 8 of 10 on third and fourth down.

In two of the first three games, Gabriel has had the two highest completion percentage games of his career, something he contributes to the guys around him.

“You look at my play but I think it’s a combination of a lot of things,” Gabriel said. “The competitive plays downfield. Obviously the confidence in one another, confidence in the system. Year two in the system, you look at all of that and it’s a combination of a lot of things. The hard work and determination as a collective group, I look at it as a unit.”

[autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] flashed his amazing throwing ability again in this game as well. There’s no doubt he will get his opportunity to shine but for now, for Team 129, Gabriel is QB1.

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Oklahoma Sooners roll pass the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 66-17

Dillon Gabriel threw five touchdowns and the Sooners had five interceptions on defense to beat Tulsa 66-17 to close nonconference play.

The Oklahoma Sooners ended their nonconference slate undefeated for the seventh year in a row. The Sooners knocked off in-state opponent, the [autotag]Tulsa Golden Hurricane[/autotag] to the tune of 66-17.

The first quarter started off with a massive kick return before [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] was stripped, resulting in the first turnover of the season for the Sooners.

But five plays later, Tulsa took a deep shot that was picked off by [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag]. Two plays later, Gabriel found Farooq for the 34-yard touchdown.

The Sooners then forced a punt before the offense went on a methodical 11-play drive resulting in a touchdown pass from Gabriel to [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag]. On the ensuing Tulsa possession, [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] intercepted quarterback Roman Fuller and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.

On the following drive, [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag] picked off Fuller for the third time, resulting in a short field for the offense. They cashed in with another touchdown pass to Stoops to go up 28-0 to end the first quarter.

The Golden Hurricane finally got something going after [autotag]Cardell Williams[/autotag] came in to replace Roman Fuller. He was able to convert several third downs before finding [autotag]Marquis Shoulders[/autotag] in the end zone after [autotag]Makari Vickers[/autotag] got caught peeking into the backfield.

The Sooners responded with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Gabriel to [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] on a 3rd and 11.

Williams went back to work, picking apart several soft spots in the Sooners coverage. Tulsa got back into the end zone when Williams found Devan Williams on an out-and-up, beating Reggie Pearson in coverage.

On the following possession, Dillon Gabriel threw his first interception of the year trying to take a deep shot to [autotag]Gavin Freeman[/autotag].

The Sooners ended the half with a great drive that chewed up the clock but couldn’t punch it in, settling for a field goal. After it was a masterful first half for the Sooners, their inability to score a touchdown after getting to the Tulsa 23 yard line with more than a minute to play and all three timeouts left a lot to be desire. Oklahoma settled for a field goal to go into the break 38-14.

The Sooners outgained Tulsa 371-200 in the first half. The Sooners also didn’t punt in the first half. The only blemish on what was a fantastic first half were the two turnovers.

Tulsa started the second half with a great drive but Oklahoma stoned them once they got to the two-yard line forcing a field goal.

The rest of the quarter belonged to the Sooners, who scored 21 points, including two 40+ yard touchdown passes to Nic Anderson. One of those came from Gabriel, his fifth of the day, and the other from [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

[autotag]Key Lawrence[/autotag] came away with the Sooners fourth interception of the day in the third quarter to run away from the Golden Hurricane.

The fourth quarter was much like the third as [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag] picked off Williams and took it to the four-yard line before [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] capped off the scoring with his first touchdown of the season.

The Sooners outgained Tulsa 596-292. The Sooners continued to find success on third-down success, going 7 of 9. Dillon Gabriel had another impressive performance, completing 28-31 attempts for 421 yards and five touchdowns. The 421 yards passing are the fourth most in Gabriel’s career and this is the fourth time in his career with five or more touchdowns.

Three wide receivers went over 100 yards on the day. Jalil Farooq led the way with six receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown. Farooq also had three kick returns for 105 yards, including the 62-yard return to open the game. Andrel Anthony continued his strong 2023 season, catching four passes for 112 yards, while Anderson tallied three receptions for 120 yards and three touchdowns.

Drake Stoops added a pair of scores and caught eight passes for 53 yards.

The defense was impressive yet again, holding the nation’s 26th-ranked rushing attack to 75 total yards on 1.6 yards per carry. The Sooners also created five interceptions and were credited with three sacks in the contest.

Danny Stutsman led the Sooners with nine total tackles, two tackles for loss, and the interception. Tulsa native and one of this week’s captains, Gentry Williams was second on the team in tackles with six. He also had a tackle for loss and an interception in his homecoming.

The Oklahoma Sooners are 3-0 to start the season and will face their first true test when they travel to Cincinnati to open Big 12 play.  The Sooners take on the Bearcats at 11:00 a.m. CT as part of Fox Big Noon Kickoff.

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3 keys for the Oklahoma Sooners offense to come away satisfied vs. Tulsa

What do the Oklahoma Sooners need to do offensively to not simply get a win but come away satisfied with their performance agains the Tulsa Golden Hurricane?

At least offensively, Oklahoma’s path to victory on Saturday is reasonably straightforward. The obvious things are executing situationally, dominating the line of scrimmage, and not turning the ball over.

Oklahoma has the talent advantage. That should be enough as long as they execute.

However, things aren’t that simple because Oklahoma isn’t just trying to scrape by. This is an opportunity for them to continue to refine themselves as an offensive unit so that they are firing on all cylinders in preparation for the Big 12 portion of their schedule.

Offensively, if they play like they did against SMU, the Sooners may have some problems on their hand that wouldn’t bode well for the remainder of their season.

With that in mind, let’s look at the three offensive keys to a Sooners victory in which Oklahoma fans and the offensive unit can walk away feeling like they accomplished something.

Up Next: 3 Keys on Offense vs. Tulsa

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Time for a bounce back: Some Sooners on offense to keep an eye on vs. Tulsa

After a poor showing on offense against SMU, we’ll be looking at these Sooners to have better games or get more playing time.

Oklahoma’s performance on offense against SMU was head-scratching. The playcalling felt disjointed, especially after the first quarter. Poor blocking was the main culprit, but it also felt very conservative.

Whether that was by design, it needs to be better.

The entire offense needs to be better. The blocking took a step back after dominating Arkansas State. The running backs weren’t particularly explosive or impactful until later in the game. The receivers were essentially a non-factor outside of [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag] and a late fourth-quarter touchdown catch from [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag].

This Saturday will give Oklahoma one more tune-up before they embark on a journey to start their Big 12 schedule. After this week’s matchup with Tulsa, the Sooners will go on the road again to face Cincinnati. The Sooners will want to feel better about their offensive performance before making the trip in week 4.

With a unit that struggled against SMU, there are a number of candidates in need of bounce-back performances. Here are the three players we’ll be watching closely on Saturday.

Up Next: 3 Sooners to Watch on Offense

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Early execution among the three offensive keys to a Sooners win vs. SMU

Offensive keys to the game when the Oklahoma Sooners take on the SMU Mustangs.

Oklahoma enters Saturday’s matchup with SMU on a four-game winning streak against the Dallas-based institution. The last time these two schools played each other was 1995. Things have changed drastically in both programs since, and it’ll be interesting to see how things shake out on the field come Saturday evening in Norman.

Oklahoma’s offense put on a clinic against Arkansas State and will carry it into this game. Here’s the skinny on this game: expecting Oklahoma to put up another 73 points is highly irrational.

That doesn’t mean Oklahoma shouldn’t be able to score in the 40-point range, but from a pure talent perspective, SMU’s defense is better.

The Mustangs are full of veteran players, and that veteran leadership is precisely why they are one of the favorites to win the American Athletic Conference.

They will be unphased, with 15 seniors starting on both sides of the ball. Many have played at more prominent institutions and seen teams of Oklahoma’s size and talent before making their way to Dallas.

For this offense to uphold its end of the bargain, it’ll likely need to do what we highlighted in our three keys for this week.

Up Next: 3 Keys on Offense vs. SMU

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Gavin Freeman included in College Sports Wire’s top Big 12 performers from week 1

After his scintillating punt return for a touchdown, Gavin Freeman was named to College Sports Wire’s top Big 12 performers from week 1.

It was an electric start to the season for [autotag]Gavin Freeman[/autotag] and the Oklahoma Sooners. On the whole, OU did what they wanted to do against Arkansas State in every phase of the game, scoring 73 points, pitching a shutout on defense, and getting a big special teams play.

That big special teams play was Gavin Freeman’s 82-yard punt return for a touchdown on his first touch of the season. He was named to College Sports Wire’s top Big 12 performers from week one for his performance.

Freeman showed how electric he can be for the Oklahoma special teams in Week 1. Not a bad start for the sophomore who scored two touchdowns with the first coming on a punt return in the first quarter. – Patrick Conn, College Sports Wire

Freeman’s efforts also earned him co-Big 12 special teamer of the week.

The former walk-on had a big offseason, impressing the coaching staff and strength and conditioning staff. And he’s been able to take the work he’s done since winter workouts and put it to work for him and the Sooners on the field.

In addition to his electric punt return for a score, Freeman saw an increased workload due to the injury to Drake Stoops. He added four catches for 19 yards and another touchdown on the day.

Because of his speed and work with the ball in his hands, Freeman will continue to earn opportunities as both a wide receiver and as a return man. Week one was just a taste of what’s coming for his career in Norman.

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.