Tag: Jadon Haselwood

Tale of the Tape: How do the Sooners and Jayhawks stack up statistically?

As the Oklahoma Sooners get ready for their road game with the Kansas Jayhawks, how do the two teams match up statistically?

Coming off an impressive win over the TCU Horned Frogs, the Oklahoma Sooners will go on the road to face a team that hasn’t put up much of a challenge in the last 25 years. The Oklahoma Sooners have won 16 straight over the Kansas Jayhawks, most recently a 62-9 blowout win last year in Norman.

Overall, the Sooners hold a 78-27-6 edge in the series. However, the Jayhawks have only 10 wins in the matchup since 1938. Kansas’ last win in the series was in 1997, which was the last win in a three-game win streak over the Oklahoma Sooners.

Those 1990s Sooners teams were certainly some dark days.

Kansas has looked slightly improved since making the switch from Les Miles to Lance Leipold. They haven’t won since Week 1, when they beat Football Championship Subdivision South Dakota 14-7, but they’ve hung in some games, providing a glimpse of optimism for the future.

Early in the third quarter, Kansas pulled within six of Coastal Carolina before the Chanticleers ran away with the game. They held Baylor to 14 in the first half before the Bears went on a rampage, outscoring the Jayhawks 31-0 in the second half. Against Duke, Kansas had a 27-21 lead early in the third quarter before the Blue Devils went on a 31-6 run to close the game.

Their games of late against Iowa State and Texas Tech have been complete blowouts, with the Jayhawks unable to find the end zone until the second half.

It’s still not great football, and Lance Leipold has a lot of work to do to pull the Kansas Jayhawks out of the doldrums of the Big 12. However, they’re showing signs of life, and that should be taken as a positive sign.

For the Oklahoma Sooners, they’re coming off two impressive wins. The comeback win over Texas and a 21-point romp over TCU, which was close in the first half before the Sooners ran away.

Heading into this week’s matchup in Lawrence, Kansas, how do the Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas Jayhawks matchup statistically?

Let’s find out.

4 Oklahoma Sooners looking for a big game against the Kansas Jayhawks

As the Oklahoma Sooners get set to face the Kansas Jayhawks, who’s looking to stand out in this lopsided matchup?

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A trip to Lawrence, Kansas is up next for the Oklahoma Sooners as they keep moving forward in Big 12 play. They look to keep the momentum rolling as they’ve seen a major uptick in offensive production over the last few weeks due to significantly better offensive line play and a midseason change at quarterback.

Kansas is highly unlikely to pose a real threat to Oklahoma due to the massive gulf in talent. For that reason, this game serves as a get-right game for quite a few guys on Oklahoma’s team. There are a few guys we think could use a solid performance as Oklahoma heads into the home stretch of their conference schedule. Here’s our list:

Jadon Hadselwood, WR

It may seem crazy to include the guy that just put together a hat trick against TCU, however, Jadon Haselwood needs to build off of that performance. Oklahoma needs to continue to evolve and develop roles despite the fact they are undefeated.

Good teams don’t peak in October.

Haselwood might have taken a step forward to separate himself from the pack and firmly put himself into contention for the receiver spot opposite Marvin Mims but he’s got to keep stacking performances together similar to the one he had against TCU.

Three touchdowns is a tough ask but consistently being a target that Caleb Williams can depend on is a very attainable thing. Look for Lincoln Riley to keep feeding him.

Up Next: Can we have a Volunteer(s)?

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‘I just want to win’: Blocking or Receiving, Jadon Haselwood key for Sooners’ Offense

Whether it’s blocking or receiving, Jadon Haselwood just wants to win. Connecting with him on the back-shoulder fade is a huge key to that.

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The Oklahoma Sooners have been working it a ton in games, but haven’t been able to connect. The back-shoulder fade can be such a weapon when it’s working, but for much of 2021, Jadon Haselwood and his quarterback weren’t able to connect on the route.

As the first half of the game against TCU came to a close, Oklahoma was locked in a 17-14 battle with the Horned Frogs, when Lincoln Riley and the Sooners offense went back to the back-shoulder well once again. This time connecting as Caleb Williams threw a perfect ball and Jadon Haselwood timed his release perfectly for the 11-yard touchdown.

It was a turning point in the game heading into halftime with TCU set to get the ball first to start the second half.

The Oklahoma Sooners started fast in the first quarter jumping out to a 14-0 lead, but then scored just three points (they had a missed field goal as well) over the next 20 minutes of game time.

Though it came before the break, Haselwood’s touchdown reception kick-started a scoring onslaught that saw the Sooners put up 35 points from the late first half touchdown to the end of the game.

Jadon Haselwood would add two more red zone touchdowns in the second half to complete the trifecta, and now for two weeks in a row, he’s been a key player in key moments for the Sooners. Against the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown, it was Haselwood’s blocking that would allow Kennedy Brooks to score go-ahead touchdowns on the Sooners final two drives to complete the improbable comeback.

For Haselwood, it’s simple. He just wants to win. Via a Zoom call with the media on Tuesday he said:

You can expect me to do everything I need to do for us to win. Whether it’s blocking or whatever. The roles got flipped Saturday and I ended up getting three touchdowns. I just want to win. Whatever I got to do to help us win. Whether it’s making the key block, catching the ball, getting the first down, whatever, I’m with it. – Haselwood

Whether it’s in the running game or the passing game, Haselwood has been a huge key for the Sooners. Unlike Marvin Mims or Michael Woods who have been making the big plays down the field, Haselwood has become a weapon in the short to intermediate passing game.

He leads the Sooners in targets, receptions, and with the hat trick on Saturday, touchdowns in 2021. However, just one of his team-leading 27 receptions was on a throw more than 20 yards down the field.

Haselwood is doing the dirty work in the run game and picking up the tough yards in the passing game.

After getting his feet wet his freshman year and missing most of 2020 with a knee injury, Jadon Haselwood is displaying the promise that made him one of the more highly-anticipated recruits of the last several years.

Through the adversity, he’s developed into a leader in the locker room and on the field as he becomes a weapon as a blocker and in the passing game that many expected him to become.

If he and Caleb Williams can continue to develop the chemistry that led to Haselwood’s three touchdowns on Saturday, then this Oklahoma Sooners offense will continue to produce at a high level.

Despite the early-season struggles connecting on the back-shoulder fade, Saturday’s touchdown late in the first half provided just a glimpse of the red zone capabilities the Oklahoma Sooners offense can be.

But for Haselwood, it doesn’t matter if he’s catching touchdowns or blocking for the rest of the team. To hear him say it, “I just want to win.”

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Who earned a game ball in the Sooners 52-31 win over TCU?

Who earned a game ball for their performance in the Oklahoma Sooners 52-31 win over the TCU Horned Frogs?

The Oklahoma Sooners finally had a comfortable win against an FBS opponent. It only took them a month and a half but it’s here. The win came at TCU’s expense but you can be sure head coach Lincoln Riley won’t complain one bit.

After a week of closed media availability, Riley unveiled his new starting quarterback with what looked like a completely brand new offense. The Sooners rolled the Horned Frogs 52-31 behind a prolific offensive performance led by Caleb Williams.

John Williams of Sooners Wire shared The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Saturday’s win, but let’s hand out some game balls from the Sooners three-touchdown victory over the Horned Frogs.

Caleb Williams, QB

After receiving a game ball last week, the kid dubbed as “Superman,” walked out of the booth in full costume. Caleb Williams’ stats speak for themselves.

Williams ended the night going 18-of-23 for 295 yards and four touchdowns. He added another 66 yards rushing, including an absurd 41-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that looked like something Jalen Hurts or Kyler Murray did in their time with the Oklahoma Sooners.

Williams looked like he had been starting in this offense for three years. Instead, he had just half a game under his belt and proceeded to cut through Gary Patterson’s 4-2-5 defense like he was cutting through the most tender of meats.

His poise, awareness, and athletic ability are truly one of a kind for a player so young. With that said, one should feel comfortable believing that there will be no discussion about who is starting when Oklahoma takes the field against Kansas next Saturday.

Up Next: Breakout Performances

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Social Media reacts to Caleb Williams first start in OU’s 52-31 win over TCU

How did Social Media react to Caleb Williams’ first start and the Oklahoma Sooners win over the TCU Horned Frogs 52-31?

The internet was abuzz 30 minutes before kickoff as reports were coming in during warm-ups that Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams were both getting time with the first-team offense in different team sessions. As Lincoln Riley attempted to maintain some semblance of a competitive advantage, no one really had a handle on which quarterback would start for the Oklahoma Sooners against the TCU Horned Frogs.

When it was finally announced just before kickoff, it seemed like a new energy hit social media as the excitement about Caleb Williams grew to a fever pitch. What he and the Oklahoma Sooners offense would do over the next few hours would do little to quell the excitement over the Oklahoma Sooners new QB1.

As we do after each win, let’s take a look at some of the best social media reactions to the Oklahoma Sooners 52-31 win over the TCU Horned Frogs.

5 Takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 52-31 win over TCU Horned Frogs

As we take a look back at the Oklahoma Sooners big win over the TCU Horned Frogs, here are five takeaways from the OU win.

The Oklahoma Sooners picked up their first convincing win of the season, and it came at the same time that they were making a quarterback change. Getting the first start of his young career at the University of Oklahoma, Caleb Williams dazzled with his arm and legs all night as the Oklahoma Sooners knocked off the TCU Horned Frogs 52-31.

Ignited by big plays in both the run and pass game, the Sooners jumped on top of the Horned Frogs early 14-0. Though TCU brought the game to within three in the first half, it was never that close again as Oklahoma continued to churn out points and get stops at pivotal moments in the game.

As we look at the Sooners’ big win over the Horned Frogs, here are 5 takeaways from the victory that pushed OU to 7-0 on the season and 4-0 in Big 12 play.

Caleb Williams, Kennedy Brooks lead Sooners to 52-31 win over TCU Horned Frogs

In the first start of his Sooners’ career, true freshman Caleb Williams rose to the occasion to help lead OU to a 52-31 win over TCU.

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.

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

Caleb Williams stellar in first half as Sooners lead 24-14 over TCU at halftime

Making his first start for the Oklahoma Sooners, Caleb Williams looks great as OU leads the TCU Horned Frogs 24-14 at half.

The Caleb Williams era got off to a great start for the Oklahoma Sooners as they scored touchdowns on each of their first two drives to jump out to a 14-0 lead.

Though the game would slow down as TCU attempted to control the ball after making 14-7, Williams was nearly perfect throwing the football going 13 of 15 for 257 yards and two touchdowns.

One of his two incompletions was on a 50/50 ball to Marvin Mims deep down the field. The other was a drop in the end zone by Austin Stogner who had a touchdown before the ball slipped through his hands.

The Oklahoma defense has been up and down through the first half. Tackling struggles has reared its ugly head at times, but they’ve come up with enough plays to hold a feisty Horned Frogs offense to 14 points in the first half.

Oklahoma’s offense gained more than 300 yards of total offense in the first half, but struggled on third down going 1 of 4. TCU’s third down offense has been much better going 4 of 7 and helping the Horned Frogs maintain possession and keep the Sooners offense off the field.

Caleb Williams got the ball with just under two minutes to play and orchestrated a beautiful two minute drill culminating in a back shoulder fade to Jadon Haselwood for Williams’ second touchdown pass of the game.

Michael Woods is leading the way for the Sooners receiver corps with two receptions for 75 yards. Marvin Mims has 2 catches for 56 yards and Jeremiah Hall and Haselwood have the two touchdown receptions.

Kennedy Brooks had a big run early in the first quarter and has seven carries for 43 yards to lead the Sooners rushing attack.

The TCU Horned Frogs will get the ball to start the second half of what has been another close game for the Oklahoma Sooners.

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

Matchup to watch: Marvin Mims, Sooner wide receivers vs TCU secondary

Taking a look back at last year’s matchup to see how Oklahoma’s wide receivers might fair against TCU’s defense Saturday.

As we near closer and closer to the 2021 version of Oklahoma vs. TCU, we can revisit the 2020 game for a little recap and a better understanding of how last year’s matchup affects might affect this year’s matchup.

Specifically, let’s look at how Oklahoma’s passing offense fared last year against TCU.

Oklahoma made the trip from Norman to Fort Worth to play TCU last year. At the time, Spencer Rattler was only making his fifth collegiate start. He came into the game fresh off his performance in the four-overtime Red River Showdown win against Texas in which he had been benched in favor of Tanner Mordecai but would later return and lead Oklahoma to the win.

Oklahoma didn’t have Rhamondre Stevenson (was serving a suspension) and Kennedy Brooks had opted out due to concerns about COVID. The running back duties fell on the shoulders of T.J. Pledger and Seth McGowan. Out wide, a freshman Marvin Mims had already risen to the top of the depth chart as the lead wide receiver. He would go on to have four catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Complimenting him were Theo Wease, Charleston Rambo, and Austin Stogner. Rambo and Stogner both finished with two catches.

Lining up against the Sooners wide receivers were Trevon Moehrig, Ar’Darius Washington, Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson among others. Marvin Mims was not phased by the moment and made some major plays.

Marvin Mims, as he was all last year, was a big-play machine in this game. And that was with the likes of two future NFL players on the field in Moehrig and Washington.

To replace them at safety, TCU has guys like Bud Clark, La’Kendrick Van Zandt, and T.J. Carter. To be fair the secondary has held up well. Tomlinson (nephew of the TCU and LoS Angeles Chargers legend LaDainian Tomlinson) also is back to anchor a pretty experienced TCU secondary.

This year, Oklahoma’s receiver corps looks nothing like it did last year.

Mims is back but Rambo transferred to the University of Miami while Theo Wease remains out indefinitely with an injury. Stogner hasn’t been featured in the passing game much this season.

Mims may not be able to run free and make plays as he did last year simply because teams have a year and a half of tape on him. They will force Oklahoma to rely on Jadon Haselwood, Mike Woods, Mario Williams, and Drake Stoops to move the ball thru the air.

Look for the Sooners to stress the middle of the field as Lincoln Riley looks to attack Gary Patterson’s 4-2-5 defensive alignment. This particular alignment has been noted to combat spread offenses.

The key for the Oklahoma receiver while playing against man coverage is that they use change of direction routes.

While against zone coverage they need to run weak or strong floods and play-action and force these safeties to have to cover. If you can get a LB or DB to move out of his zone or flood it with multiple options, an offense can bust the zones wide open.

Oklahoma has a more talented receiver corps this time around than they did last year and it’s not a stretch to say TCU lost more talent in the secondary than they gained.

Ultimately, the matchups in the passing game will come down to Oklahoma’s secondary receivers making plays while Gary Patterson tries his hardest to take away Mims.

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3 Offensive Keys to the game for the Oklahoma Sooners vs. TCU

As the Oklahoma Sooners get ready to play the TCU Horned Frogs, here are three keys for the offensive side of the ball.

On Saturday night, Oklahoma pushes forward and looks to take one step closer to an undefeated regular season. This week’s opponent will be the TCU Horned Frogs led by Gary Patterson. Patterson’s team is far from a heavyweight but they aren’t pushovers either. They come into the game with a record of 3-2 with losses to Texas and their big rival in SMU.

Defensively, they do not resemble the TCU defenses of the past. For years, TCU was a stingy, stingy defense that had impactful players at every level. While the talent isn’t bad, they lack the edge of TCU defenses from the past.

So, how does Oklahoma attack them when the Sooners have the ball? Let’s take a look at three offensive keys to put Oklahoma in a spot to come out victorious Saturday night.

Protect the Ball

Yes, it’s quite obvious. However, there is still uncertainty about who will be taking the snaps as starting quarterback. There has been no official word from Lincoln Riley about his decision but the point stands for either Spencer Rattler or Caleb Williams. Rattler was benched for his turnovers against Texas. A fumble on a scramble sealed his fate for that game and opened the door for Caleb Williams.

However, Williams has had some issues securing shotgun snaps. TCU quarterback Max Duggan is a veteran player and has the running and throwing ability to make Oklahoma pay if they give them extra possessions.

The Oklahoma Sooners are the more talented team. They can’t afford to let a team like TCU hand around by giving them good field position off of turnovers. Whoever the quarterback is the Saturday night has to protect the football.

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