Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here are five players to watch on offense as the Oklahoma Sooners take on the Baylor Bears. From @bendackiw
We’re coming down the home stretch, ladies and gentlemen. Championship November is upon us, and the Oklahoma Sooners are not competing for one.
The Sooners have mostly recovered from their nasty three-game losing streak and are now one win away from securing bowl eligibility. Their next opponent is the Baylor Bears.
We’ve already talked about OU’s last trip to Waco, so let’s talk about five players on Jeff Lebby’s offense we need to keep an eye out for on Saturday.
Oklahoma looks to add another tight end to their class by offering 2023 three-star Jordan Allen. From @thatmanbryant
Even in the midst of the season, Oklahoma is still firmly devoted to finding new members for its 2023 class. Brent Venables made it known when he was first hired that he plans to use every scholarship possible to fill out his recruiting classes with high school talent before using the transfer portal.
Oklahoma continues to look to finish its 2023 class off as strong as possible and has sent out a flurry of offers late to a few players, some of which are committed elsewhere. One of those offers went to three-star Jordan Allen out of Olathe South High School in Olathe, Kansas.
Allen is committed to the Kansas State Wildcats but was offered by Jeff Lebby. Allen is listed as an EDGE On 247Sports but plays tight end as well. With his offer coming from offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, it’s a safe assumption the Sooners want him at tight end.
With the commitment of Malachi Coleman to Nebraska, the Sooners needed to look elsewhere.
At 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, Allen has all the size you could want at the position. With three-star Kade McIntyre as the lone tight-end commit for 2023, it makes sense the Sooners would like to have another. Oklahoma has Kaden Helms and Jason Llewelyn as their only tight ends on the depth chart heading into next year, with Brayden Willis and Daniel Parker both set to depart at the end of the season.
Oklahoma was stout in the trenches, and the special teams shined in Oklahoma’s win over Iowa State. Here’s how each position group performed in the weekly report card. From @thatmanbryant
Oklahoma’s win against Iowa State wasn’t a flashy endeavor. But it was a two touchdown win over a team that hadn’t lost a Big 12 game by more than a touchdown.
The Sooners’ 27-13 win over Iowa State was a combined effort that saw some inspired performances from several areas. It truly was a team win.
Here’s how Oklahoma graded out by position group for their performance against Iowa State.
The Oklahoma Sooners take on another tough run defense this week when they face the Baylor Bears and their “stout” defensive front. From @john9williams
One of the bright spots in the 2022 season has been the emergence of the running game for the Oklahoma Sooners. Entering the season, there were question marks after [autotag]Kennedy Brooks[/autotag] left for the NFL and [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag] was underutilized in 2021.
All of those questions have been answered nine weeks into the season as the Sooners boast the No. 16 rushing attack in the nation, averaging 217.5 yards per game. On Saturday, against an Iowa State team that allowed just 105 yards per game on the ground, Oklahoma was able to rack up 186 rushing yards. Eric Gray had his fifth 100-yard day of the season, and the Sooners used that strong rushing attack to help take pressure off a passing game that wasn’t hitting on all cylinders.
[lawrence-related id=74672]
Gray and the Sooners’ offensive line will be tested this Saturday against a Baylor defense that’s allowing only 3.42 yards per carry and 113.2 yards per game rushing. Led by defensive tackles [autotag]Siaki Ika[/autotag], [autotag]Gabe Hall[/autotag], and [autotag]Jaxon Player[/autotag] have a strong interior that will make life incredibly difficult for the Oklahoma Sooners on the ground.
“Yeah, I mean, they are. They’re really, really stout inside, have played really well,” offensive coordinator [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag] said on Monday. “You know, I think for us, it’s about being really efficient, being really good on first down, finding a sense of better third down situations and staying on the field to create as much stress as we can for them defensively. But they’re incredibly stout inside and playing well.”
[lawrence-related id=74469]
Last year, the Sooners ran for just 82 yards at 2.8 yards per carry against Baylor’s defense in the loss. They’ll need to be much better than that to help the Sooners’ offense stay out of long down and distance situations and sustain drives.
This is another week where a diverse rushing attack and the quick passing game can help keep the Bears’ defensive front guessing a bit. The use of jet motion to make the Baylor defense think a bit more can help the Sooners’ offense a step ahead.
Texas Tech ran for 146 yards on Saturday against Baylor, and the Bears allowed 217 yards against West Virginia a few weeks back. It may be tough sledding early in this one, but as the game wears on, the Oklahoma Sooners and Eric Gray will continue to create big runs on the ground, and the Sooners’ offense will have a chance to score some points.
[listicle id=74590]
[listicle id=74675]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.
Marvin Mims’ performance against Iowa State was an outlier, and the Sooners’ wide receiver will get opportunities to prove it, per Jeff Lebby. From @john9williams
It was a tough performance for Marvin Mims on Saturday. Uncharacteristic really. But even the best players have that outlier game, which is what his performance against Iowa State was. An outlier.
After going for nine receptions and 106 yards against Kansas, Mims struggled against Iowa State. In the win, the Sooners’ No. 1 wide receiver saw six targets, making two catches for 16 yards. He had two drops on the game, one of which would have helped kickstart the Oklahoma offense in the early going.
It was the lowest yardage total of his career in a game where he saw five or more targets. According to Pro Football Focus, it was the first time since his freshman year he recorded two drops in the same game.
But we’ve seen enough of Marvin Mims to know that this type of performance isn’t indicative of the type of player he is. He’s one of the five best players on the roster and has proven it time and time again. And to hear offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby tell it, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to prove just that moving forward.
“For Marvin, it’s just about having that short memory because I’m going to have one,” Lebby said to the media on Monday. “I’m going to come back to him, and I know he’s going to make those plays. We’re going to continue to have a ton of confidence in him.”
Marvin Mims is the type of player that will take what happened on Saturday and use it as fuel to inspire his performance against the Baylor Bears, a team that’s been really good against the run up the middle. The Sooners will need their star wide receiver to have a bounceback performance to keep their winning ways going.
[listicle id=74604]
[listicle id=74590]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams.
Oklahoma wide receiver Jalil Farooq starting to put it all together in his second season with the Sooners. via @thatmanbryant
[autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] didn’t see the field often during his freshman year. However, he saw it enough not to receive a redshirt and made his best impression in the Sooners’ bowl game win over the Oregon Ducks.
He had an excellent performance in the game and entered the offseason with a lot of momentum and a real opportunity to make an impact in year two. With the losses of [autotag]Mario Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Jadon Haselwood[/autotag] in the transfer portal and Michael Woods to the NFL, snaps were available, and Farooq earned an opportunity to star in [autotag]Jeff Lebby[/autotag]’s offense.
He started out slow in the first few games until an early touchdown in the road opener against Nebraska.
An injury to starting QB [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] pushed the passing game to the side for a few games, but Farooq still found a way to have an impact. Against the TCU Horned Frogs, Farooq had four kickoff returns for 123 yards, nearly breaking several opportunities for touchdowns. In the loss to Texas, Farooq carried the ball five times for 60 yards.
Since Gabriel’s return against Kansas, Farooq has started to ascend into the number two role supporting star receiver Marvin Mims. Prior to the bye week versus Kansas, Farooq tallied four catches for 42 yards and caught every single pass that came his way. He followed that up with Saturday’s performance against Iowa State with four receptions on four targets for 74 yards and a touchdown. That’s two consecutive games with a 100% catch rate.
[lawrence-related id=74334]
Farooq has also seen an uptick in his usage in the run game. Jeff Lebby hasn’t shied away from finding a variety of ways to get his playmakers at receiver the football. It’s about getting the ball in their hands and letting them be athletes. Ultimately, that’s where Farooq’s value may be at its highest. With the ball in his hands, he’s fast, powerful, and hard to bring down. For good measure, he’s also not afraid to put his body on the line to make a catch.
What a catch by Jalil Farooq. 😱#OUDNA ✖️ @jalilway_ pic.twitter.com/0t1D1LbK3V
— 𝕆𝕂𝕃𝔸ℍ𝕆𝕄𝔸-𝕍𝕊-𝕋ℍ𝔼 𝕎𝕆ℝ𝕃𝔻 (@soonergridiron) October 29, 2022
Game by game, he’s becoming a reliable option for Dillon Gabriel and coming into his own as a receiver. For a guy buried on the depth chart this time last year to picking up the slack when the team’s number one receiver had one of his worst days, things have come full circle for Jalil Farooq.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=74336]
[listicle id=74340]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.
The Oklahoma defense came up clutch in the Sooners’ 27-13 win against the Iowa State Cyclones. from @BenDackiw
It was something of a defensive slugfest in Ames, Iowa as the Oklahoma Sooners defeated the Iowa State Cyclones 27-13. The Sooners are now 5-3 and are just one win away from bowl eligibility.
After starting 0-3 in Big 12 play, the Sooners have now won back-to-back games to get to 2-3.
The bye week worked wonders for the much-maligned Sooner defense. There weren’t any massive busts in coverage, the tackling was improved, and the front seven was stout against the run.
The Oklahoma game plan on defense was simple: take away the run and make Cyclones quarterback Hunter Dekkers win the game with his arm. They did just that. Iowa State ran the ball 27 times for just 66 yards. That’s less than three yards per carry.
The Sooners appear to have finally solved the puzzle that is mobile quarterbacks. After being gashed by the likes of Adrian Martinez and Max Duggan on the ground, the OU defense harrassed Dekkers all game long, only allowing the young signal-caller 31 yards on four carries. That’s not an optimal number, but much better than the 148 yards Adrian Martinez had back in September.
When the Cyclones started to make a comeback in the fourth quarter, the OU defense did bend, but they did not break. Justin Broiles and Danny Stutsman both came up with clutch interceptions that bailed out a stagnant Oklahoma offense.
Dillon Gabriel did what he had to do for the Sooners to win this game. He made accurate throws, and he didn’t turn over the football. On the day, Gabriel was 15 of 26 for 148 yards and a touchdown. Not a great day, but what the Sooners needed against a stout Cyclone’s defense.
Jeff Lebby called an absolute beauty of a football game. He established the run early. While Eric Gray didn’t quite feast, but he looked darn good against the stiffest run defense he will face all year. Gray ran for 101 yards and a touchdown and added two receptions for 14 yards in the win.
One issue the Sooners had was getting out of bad field position. Iowa State punter Tyler Perkins pinned the Sooners inside their own five-yard-line multiple times, and OU just couldn’t get out of the shadow of their own end zone.
OU punter Michael “Hangtime” Turk not only had a number of excellent punts, but he also was credited with a touchdown pass to kicker Zach Schmit on a nifty fake field goal in the first half.
Marvin Mims had a tough day. He never seemed to recover from a drop on OU’s first play from scrimmage and would end up dropping a would-be touchdown later in the game. The Cyclones held OU’s No. 1 receiver to just two catches and 16 yards on the day.
In response to Mims’ struggles, other wide receivers picked up the slack. Jalil Farooq had four receptions for 74 yards, and a touchdown, and Drake Stoops had three catches for 34 yards. Gabriel’s touchdown to Farooq made it 20-6 in the first half. Although Iowa State was able to pull within seven midway through the fourth, the Sooners’ defense came up with clutch stops at the end of the game to preserve the win.
Next week, the Sooners will come home to face the Baylor Bears. The OU defense performed well against Iowa State’s young QB in Hunter Dekkers. Will they do the same against Baylor’s Blake Shapen?
[listicle id=74340]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Ben on Twitter @bendackiw.
Looking to keep the winning ways going, here are five Sooners to watch on offense against Iowa State.
Coming off their bye week, the Oklahoma Sooners face an Iowa State team that is 0-4 in Big 12 play. Since hiring Matt Campbell, the Cyclones are 2-5 against the Sooners. One of those wins was in Ames in 2020, and the other in Norman in 2017.
Two weeks removed from the return of Dillon Gabriel and a 700-yard offensive performance, the OU offense has a renewed sense of optimism.
The Sooners face a strong test this week. Iowa State’s defense is top 10 in both points per game and yards per game. Steve Sarkisian’s offense scored 24 on them.
Jeff Lebby’s unit has a lot to prove this week.
Eric Gray is having a phenomenal season for the Oklahoma Sooners.
When Brent Venables brought Jeff Lebby with him to Oklahoma, I said these words: Eric Gray is going to feast next season.
He has.
The Tennessee transfer had a disappointing first year in Norman. He had career lows in both rushing attempts and yards in Lincon Riley’s offense with Kennedy Brooks ahead of him on the depth chart.
Now, Eric Gray is the lead back on a top-15 rushing offense. He averages more yards per carry than anyone in the country and is tied for second in the Big 12 in 100-yard games. With how crowded OU’s running back room is, it’s impressive that he’s getting these numbers.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙣𝙚@1ericgray | #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/PwbroQIkGQ
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) October 24, 2022
Gray just looks better in every facet of his game. He looks faster. He’s more physical. While he’s not Bijan Robinson, he is still a very good running back.
NFL Draft Buzz projects Gray as the No. 8 running back prospect for 2023 and has him going in the third round of the NFL Draft.
I’m no draft expert, but this is a pretty good landing spot for Gray. He has plenty of time to drive himself up draft boards.
To finish the season on a high note, the Sooners are going to need Gray, and the rest of their running backs, to dominate. The running game is phenomenal. It needs to stay that way.
[listicle id=74031]
[listicle id=73999]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Ben on Twitter @bendackiw.
Sooners left tackle Anton Harrison was among Pro Football Focus’ week seven Team of the Week
In what has been a frustrating year for the Oklahoma Sooners, left tackle Anton Harrsion has been a rock for Jeff Lebby’s offense. OU’s 700-yard performance against the Kansas Jayhawks did not go unnoticed by Pro Football Focus. The Sooners’ left tackle made PFF’s week seven Team of the Week.
Harrison didn’t allow a single pressure on 51 pass-blocking snaps against Kansas. Throw in a 82.1 run block grade, and the big fella gets his name on PFF’s Team of the Week.
Bill Bedenbaugh’s unit has done a good job protecting the quarterback this season, and keeping Dillon Gabriel upright and clean in the pocket is going to be of the utmost importance for the rest of this season.
Gabriel has rarely gotten hit in the pocket this season, which is a testament to how smart he is with the football, but the offensive line does a good job of giving him time to drop back and pick defenses apart.
If one OU player gets taken in the first round of the NFL Draft next year, it’s going to be Anton Harrison. Good left tackles don’t grow on trees and Harrison will only improve as he gets more and more aggresive.
Harrsion’s NFL Draft stock has been on the rise for awhile now. The Sooners will likely need a new left tackle next season.
[listicle id=73875]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Ben on Twitter @bendackiw.
