Tag: Jalil Farooq

Report Card: Poor grades all around as Oklahoma loses to Kansas

Oklahoma struggles nearly across the board areas but how did each position group grade out in the loss to Kansas?

Oklahoma took their first loss of the season on Saturday, falling to the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] on a rainy and disgusting day in Lawrence. From the first play from scrimmage, it appeared Oklahoma would be in for a fight. And sure enough, that’s precisely what happened.

Oklahoma fell victim to another slow start on both sides of the ball. The Sooners were never able to get their passing game going. Due to the weather conditions, they relied heavily on their offensive line and running backs to generate offense.

The sooners will try and figure things out as they get set to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys in what will be the last Bedlam for quite some time.

OU played a rough game on all fronts. Some things were encouraging, but a lot of the performance put forth was not good enough. We broke it down by position group below.

‘Just doing whatever I can for the team’: Jallil Farooq simply wants to help the Oklahoma Sooners win

Jalil Farooq played some running back in the Sooners last game but for him he doesn’t care what position he plays, he just wants to win.

When you look at the stat sheet from the Oklahoma Sooners game against the [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag], you’ll see [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] had three carries for 16 yards. Immediately you don’t think much of it because Farooq is a guy they love to get the ball to on reverses or sweeps.

But dive a little deeper, and it gets more interesting. Those three carries were when he was lined up at running back. Now, Farooq played running back in high school, so he knows the position, but he hasn’t played that position at Oklahoma.

With the loss of [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag] the game before, it was interesting Oklahoma would use him that way. Is it because they want to get the ball in his hands, or is it because they still aren’t feeling great about the running backs?

It’s probably a little bit of both. Farooq told reporters he’ll do whatever it takes to win. “Just doing whatever I can for the team,” Farooq said. “It’s actually fun. It feels like high school once again. So just being able to be out there, move around, make plays when I can, enjoying football.”

With the weather not looking great for this weekend, it’ll be interesting if that formation sticks around or if it was just a one-week wonder after the performance [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] put on in the 4th Quarter.

We’ll find that out Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

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.

5 keys to an Oklahoma Sooners victory over Kansas

Can the Oklahoma Sooners extend their winning streak over Kansas on Saturday? Here are our five keys to the game.

On Saturday, No. 6 Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0) will take on Lance Leipold’s [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] (5-2, 2-2) for the final time as Big 12 foes.

Oklahoma needs to play a much better game on Saturday than they did against the UCF Knights. They looked to be sleepwalking through the game at times and could have been more crisp on offense. The offensive line had its worst game of the season in pass protection, and until the fourth quarter, the Sooners couldn’t expose a lousy run defense.

Defensively, two busted plays defined the day, as both led to UCF touchdowns. Those plays aside, it was an excellent day for an Oklahoma defense that continues to show improvement.

Kansas will present another challenge for this revitalized Oklahoma defense. The Sooners D continues to make opposing offenses look outmatched at times. Aside from the occasional busts in coverages, this unit is much better than the one that Kansas saw in Norman last year when Kansas quarterback Jason Bean threw four touchdowns.

The Jayhawks have two solid running backs, Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw Jr. They are as explosive as teams get and will provide Oklahoma with a challenge.

Ultimately, the Sooners still hold advantages at multiple spots. With their lackluster performance from UCF behind them, the Sooners should come out on fire.

The Jayhawks surely won’t go down without a fight, and Brent Venables will make sure the team knows that.

Kansas hasn’t beaten OU since 1997. The Sooners have won the last 18 matchups between the two sides. But what are the keys to Oklahoma closing out the 100-year series with a win? Here are this week’s keys to the game.

Report Card: Sooners sleepwalk on offense in UCF scare

Oklahoma took on UCF for the first time Saturday. UCF hung tough but the Sooners pulled it out late. Here is this week’s report card.

Saturday’s performance was an aberration for Team 129. The team we saw on Saturday was eerily reminiscent of the team that took the field 13 times last season to not-so-fun results. Yet, they knuckled up and found a way when it mattered most.

If we’re being honest, last year’s team would not have won that game. But despite the miserable team performance, it never felt like they wouldn’t make the necessary plays to win. That is a true testament to the wholesale changes in mentality, effort, talent, and coaching from last year to 2023.

Let’s get to the bottom line here with the dust settled. Oklahoma won, but it might have been the worst they looked on offense all year. It’s time to pass out grades in this week’s report card.

Oklahoma Sooners survive, beat the UCF Knights 31-29 to stay unbeaten

It wasn’t pretty but the Oklahoma Sooners remained unbeaten with a 31-29 win over the UCF Knights.

The Oklahoma Sooners hung on to beat the UCF Knights 31-29 in a game that came down to the wire.

The Sooners’ defense started it off with a three-and-out but after a dropped direct snap and dropped pass by [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag], the Sooners’ offense also went three and out.

The Sooners’ defense forced another three and out after a 3rd down sack by [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag]. UCF shanked the punt, and the Sooners started their next drive at UCF’s 40-yard line.

The Sooners offense couldn’t get anything going after a first down and [autotag]Zach Schmit[/autotag] missed a 38-yard field goal. While Sooners’ offense has looked out of sync, the defense has looked solid again as they forced another three and out. After another bad punt, the Sooners’ offense started the drive at the UCF 45-yard line.

Oklahoma cashed this time as [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] found [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] for a 29-yard score. The defense forced another three and out and had great field position again. But the offense couldn’t capitalize once again and Schmit once again missed the 43-yard field goal.

The Knights responded with a big run that put the ball first and goal on the Sooners’ one-yard line. Oklahoma’s defense came up big again and forced the Knights into a 4th and goal at the 2, but [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag] was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty giving the Knights a first down.  [autotag]John Rhys Plumlee[/autotag] tied it up at seven with his touchdown run.

After an Oklahoma punt, the Knights had a 1st and goal from the six but the Sooners’ defense held and forced a field goal. The Knights took a 10-7 lead late in the second quarter.

The Sooners finally got something going on offense as Gabriel hit Anderson again this time for a 42-yard touchdown pass.

[autotag]Woodi Washington[/autotag] got caught playing the run instead of the run-pass option, and UCF threw an 86-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead.

Gabriel led a great drive before the half, where Schmit finally cashed in with a field to tie it up at 17 going into halftime.

The Knights outgained the Sooners 232 to 226 in the first half.

The Sooners started with the ball, and Gabriel threw it to [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag], who got hit as he was trying to catch it, which resulted in an interception. The defense forced a three-and-out, but the Knights were already in OU territory and kicked a field goal to take the 20-17 lead.

For a lot of the second half, the Sooners couldn’t get much going on offense.  Their first four drives of the second half ended with an interception and then three straight punts.

UCF added another field goal to make it 23-17 going into the fourth.

With 11:24 to play in the game, the Sooners finally got something going in the run game. Gavin Sawchuk picked up 23 yards on three carries and Marcus Major had two carries for 26 yards to help the Sooners get down the field before Drake Stoops took the screen pass from Gabriel for a touchdown.

With the score 24-23, the defense would get a stop after a huge sack by [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] to force a UCF punt.

The Sooners’ offense would take over and bleed the clock before Sawchuk busted it for a 30-yard touchdown run to put the Sooners up 31-23 late in the 4th Quarter.

UCF marched down the field and scored on a 4th down pass but the Sooners held on the two-point conversion to stay up 31-29.

The Sooners survived to remain unbeaten. The offense gained 442 yards of offense and held UCF to 397 total yards.

Dillon Gabriel had another solid day in the win, throwing for 253 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 66% of his passes and ran for 22 yards. Nic Anderson led the Sooners in receiving with five catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Drake Stoops caught seven passes for 60 yards and the go-ahead score.

On the ground, Marcus Major, who was apparently dealing with a shoulder injury coming into the game, carried the ball 18 times for 80 yards. Gavin Sawchuk, who got the start, rushed 10 times for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Danny Stutsman led the way with 12 total tackles and a forced fumble. Key Lawrence had nine total tackles, including seven solo tackles in the win. Ethan Downs continued his strong 2023 season with six total tackles and a sack. In total, Oklahoma had three sacks and 13 tackles for loss.

Against one of the best run games in the country, the Sooners held the Knights to just 3.6 yards per carry and 149 yards rushing on the day.

It wasn’t a clean win, but the Oklahoma Sooners stayed undefeated. Now they get ready for a pair of road games in Lawrence to face the Kansas Jayhawks and then in Stillwater to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

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.

Multiple Sooners featured on College Sports Wire’s Midseason All-Big 12 team

At the midway point of the season, a number of Oklahoma Sooners were featured on College Sports Wire’s Midseason All-Big 12 team.

Oklahoma’s 6-0 start to the 2023 season has garnered numerous accolades for individuals that have played a big role in the first half of the season. There’s a lot of football left in 2023 and the Sooners have big goals after knocking off Texas two weeks ago.

But at the midway point of the season, a number of Sooners have earned recognition for the team success.

Patrick Conn of College Sports Wire named his All-Big 12 team at the midway point, which featured several Sooners on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel earned the nod as Midseason Player of the Year and first-team quarterback on the Midseason All-Big 12 team.

What a difference has made for the Oklahoma Sooners, who were coming off the first losing season in Norman since 1999. The Southpaw has stayed healthy which has allowed the team to get off to a hot start in 2023. Provided that he keeps this up and stays healthy, the sky is the limit for the SEC-bound Oklahoma Sooners. – Conn, College Sports Wire

Gabriel’s thrown for 1,878 yards and 16 touchdowns, averaging 10.8 yards per attempt on the season. He’s also run for five touchdowns this season and has just two interceptions. He’s been a big-time player for Oklahoma and the work he did on the Sooners game-winning drive against Texas was the stuff of legend.

Joining Gabriel on the first-team offense are center Andrew Raym and wide receiver Jalil Farooq. Farooq isn’t Oklahoma’s leading receiver, but he’s not far off. He had a huge game against Texas with five catches for 130 yards.

Andrew Raym has been the anchor of an Oklahoma interior that has a lot of turnover through the first six games of the season. He’s allowed just four pressures on 230 pass block snaps per Pro Football Focus, and hasn’t allowed a sack.

On the College Sports Wire All-Big 12 second team is wide receiver Nic Anderson. In a rotational role, he leads the Sooners with six touchdown receptions. Anderson has an opportunity for a significantly increased snap count with the season-ending injury to Andrel Anthony. We’re about to find out just how good Anderson can be.

On the defensive side of the ball, Danny Stutsman has earned all of the Midseason All-American selections. In addition to his All-Big 12 first-team selection from College Sports Wire, Stutsman was named Midseason Defensive Player of the Year.

The Big 12’s leading tackler has really shown why the Oklahoma defense has been much improved. He leads the Big 12 in tackles and tackles per game. However, that isn’t all that the Oklahoma linebacker can do as he is second in the conference in tackles for loss. He should be among the contenders for the Dick Butkus Award by season’s end. – Conn, College Sports Wire

Stutsman is the face of an Oklahoma defense that has become one of the best in the country, allowing just 14 points per game. His play and his leadership have been instrumental in the Sooners’ defensive resurgence under Brent Venables. The numbers speak for themselves, but how important Stutsman is to this team goes beyond the stat book.

Joining Stutsman on the first team are defensive backs Kendel Dolby and Billy Bowman. They’ve both been incredibly impactful for the Sooners in coverage and combined for a big-time interception at the goal line against Texas. Bowman also came through on another goal-line stop of Xavier Worthy on 4th and 2. Dolby and Bowman are tied for second on the team with a pair of interceptions each.

Ethan Downs earned recognition on the second team. He leads the Sooners in pressures and sacks this season. He came through with a pair of sacks against Texas in the Sooners’ biggest win of the year.

There are several players that you could make a case for on both sides of the ball like Tyler Guyton or Walter Rouse along the offensive line. Key Lawrence and Gentry Williams have been great in the first half of the season for the Sooners secondary.

Oklahoma has big goals in 2023 and for them to reach the Big 12 title game and contend for a College Football Playoff berth, they’ll need a complete team effort, but their stars will need lead the Sooners over the second half of the season.

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.

Keys to Victory: Oklahoma has to stop the run vs. UCF’s elite rushing attack

Oklahoma will take on UCF Saturday for the first time ever. How will the Sooners fare against the Big 12 newcomers? Here are 5 keys to a win

Saturday’s first-ever matchup between UCF and Oklahoma will be exciting. Storylines will focus on former Knights turned Sooners Dillon Gabriel and Jeff Lebby. Oklahoma is playing its first game since their season-altering win against Texas. The Sooners are first in the Big 12 standings. They are in a prime position to win out and punch their ticket to Arlington to play for one final Big 12 title.

Their ascension up the Big 12 mountain continues, with UCF making the trip to Norman.

UCF isn’t a team Oklahoma can go through the motions with and expect to win. The Sooners are ranked in the top 10 and are the target for teams wanting to spoil Oklahoma’s Big 12 and College Football Playoff push.

How does Oklahoma avoid a colossal letdown in front of what should be a packed house on Saturday? We’ve covered it in our keys to the game for an Oklahoma victory.

Stock Report: Sooners trending positively after win over Texas

The Oklahoma Sooners are trending in a great direction after beating Texas in the Red River Rivalry.

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a great start to the 2023 season: 6-0 heading into the bye week and coming off a win against the team that was the toughest test on their schedule.

Now the Sooners will have to avoid any letdowns over their final six games of the season.

But before we begin to look ahead toward the rest of the season, let’s continue to look back at the Sooners’ dramatic 34-30 win over the Texas Longhorns with this week’s stock report.

15 highest-graded Oklahoma Sooners through Week 6 per Pro Football Focus

The Oklahoma Sooners are now 6-0 on the seasons after their win over Texas. Which Sooners are the highest-graded after week 6, according to Pro Football Focus.

It takes a team effort to start the season 6-0. Oklahoma is playing well on both sides of the ball through the midpoint of the season. It leads the Big 12 in scoring offense and scoring defense. Nationally, the Sooners are No. 4 in the nation in scoring offense and No. 11 in scoring defense.

They are getting fantastic play from a number of individuals on both sides of the ball. But the biggest difference with this team compared to years past is what’s happening on defense.

It can’t be overstated how much better the defense is. The unit is a big reason Oklahoma is 6-0. Eight of its 15 highest-graded players through the first six weeks of the season are on the defensive side of the ball.

Among players accounting for at least 25% of the snaps, here are the 15 highest-graded Sooners through Week 6, according to Pro Football Focus.

Minimum Offensive Snaps: 119

Minimum Defensive Snaps: 109

Report Card: Sooners pass biggest test of the season in win over Texas

The Sooners won an instant classic against their rivals from Texas 34-30. We went and graded every position group’s performance.

Oklahoma’s win over Texas was a significant notch in the belt of head coach Brent Venables. It also signified the revitalization of Oklahoma football, just a year removed from getting blasted 49-0 in the same stadium by the Longhorns.

Venables’ team spent the entire offseason leveling up and striving to return to the standard people have become accustomed to.

This season, the Sooners handled everything that came their way. Every setback or adversity they faced in their first five games prepared them for Saturday in Dallas. The entire team and coaching staff handled it masterfully as the Sooners beat Texas, 34-30.

It was the most complete performance of the season, and some of the most significant areas the Sooners needed to work on after last season’s 6-7 record were on full display. After passing a test like that, it’s time to pass out some grades. It’s report card time.