Latrell McCutchin – Page 2 – Syndication Server

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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Stock Up, Stock Down: How are the Sooners trending as they prepare for the Kansas Jayhawks?

Following a resounding win over TCU, how are several Sooners trending in this week’s Stock Report?

A flashy and explosive offensive performance has dominated the news cycle in the wake of Oklahoma’s 52-31 win over the TCU Horned Frogs. We are now. a few days removed from the game and the Sooners have turned the page and are prepping for a road matchup with Kansas.

Offensively and defensively, the Sooners had some great performances and some showings that are quite worrisome going forward. We’ll unpack whose stock is up and whose stock is trending downward as the Sooners turn the page on TCU.

STOCK UP: Andrew Raym, Center

Andrew Raym, like the rest of the offensive line, is figuring it out. Raym was one of the most sought-after Oklahoma offensive line prospects in recent memory.

He contracted COVID before the season and Robert Congel started in his place. Raym would eventually replace Congel in the second half of the Nebraska game and since then has not given the job up.

He’s played well anchoring the middle. He’s had to navigate a quarterback change and handled that seamlessly. He’s doing a good job in the passing game and opening holes on the ground for these running backs.

Raym posted the third-highest grade on Oklahoma’s offense for his performance Saturday according to PFF.

STOCK DOWN: Billy Bowman, Defensive Back

This particular name is more a function of having a couple bad games in a row. Billy Bowman was solid early on but has struggled the last few games.

He’s ultra-talented and his coaches and teammates believe in him. Unfortunately, he was saddled with a tough matchup against the much bigger Quentin Johnston against TCU.

Bowman a talented player who will continue to improve. Hopefully, his struggles over the last couple of weeks are things he can work through and aren’t compounded any further.

Playing as an outside corner for the first time on Saturday was a tough ask if the true freshman.

The Sooners are so depleted at cornerback asking Bowman to move outside was necessary. Another week of working at outside in practice could do him well, but hopefully they can keep him at his more natural slot corner spot. He’ll have the benefit of a less than stellar Kansas opponent looking across at him.

Up Next: More Stock up, Stock Down

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Best Pro Football Focus Grades from Oklahoma’s win over TCU

Who earned the highest grades from Pro Football Focus in the Oklahoma Sooners 52-31 win over the TCU Horned Frogs?

On Saturday night, the Oklahoma Sooners were in a dog fight in the first half of their matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs. Though the game ended as a 21-point blowout win for the Oklahoma Sooners, it was a three-point game when the Sooners took over with 1:25 left in the second quarter.

Caleb Williams and the offense went 76 yards on five plays, culminating in an 11-yard touchdown strike to Jadon Haselwood on a beautiful back-shoulder throw, to make it 24-14. From that point, the Sooners never looked back.

They forced the Horned Frogs to punt on the opening possession of the second half, and another Williams to Haselwood touchdown essentially put the game out of reach, 31-14.

Though TCU battled to get back in the game, the Oklahoma Sooners had an answer at every corner and never let the game get closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

As we do each week, let’s look back at how Pro Football Focus graded the Sooners in their 52-31 win over the TCU Horned Frogs.

Sooners’ Cornerback Justin Harrington to enter transfer portal

Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Justin Harrington enters the transfer portal.

As they get ready to take on Big 12 foe Kansas Ste, the Oklahoma Sooners will be down one less defensive back as cornerback Justin Harrington has decided to enter the transfer portal, according to 247Sports.

Harrington committed to the Sooners in 2020. He was a four-star recruit and was considered by some the number one JUCO safety available at the time per 247. He was recruited as a safety out of junior college but has since bounced around to nickel back, and from there, made the switch full time to cornerback.

Harrington brought elite size to the Sooners secondary, standing at 6-foot-3 but failed to play in any game in 2020 and has failed to see the field this year as well. The Sooners’ depth is being challenged at the moment as Woodi Washington and Jeremiah Criddell are dealing with injuries. That may raise some eyebrows as the Sooners look to navigate the injury situation at the position.

According to OU Daily, true freshman Jordan Mukes was moved to cornerback on Thursday in this week’s updated depth chart. That move now makes a lot more sense, considering the confirmation that Harrington has since entered the transfer portal.

DJ Graham and Jaden Davis will likely continue to hold down the starting spots, with Latrell McCutchin and Joshua Eaton backing them up as the Sooners suit up tomorrow vs. Kansas State.

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

Passing Out Grades: Report Card for the Sooners vs. West Virginia

The Oklahoma Sooners played another tight one in their 16-13 win over West Virginia, but how did each position group grade out in the week 4 win?

Without ever having thoughts of being a teacher, passing out bad grades doesn’t seem like a fun time. The Oklahoma Sooners won against West Virginia but it wasn’t pretty and most notably one side of the ball struggled immensely.

At the end of the day, a win is a win. However, things must change offensively if the Sooners are to seriously contend for any trophies this season.

Let’s pass out some grades.

Quarterbacks: C-

This grade is the lowest grade I’ve handed out to this position group this year. It needs to be said that all quarterback grades are products of the offensive line play in front of them.

Spencer Rattler’s offensive line was not good but he has also had moments when he answered the call. Rattler, upon further review, missed a few throws that really would have given Oklahoma some chances to open things up.

He’s still struggling to make better decisions throwing vertically. A contested deep ball to wide receiver Michael Woods could have been intercepted had the defensive back not prematurely celebrated.

He threw an interception as he was targeting Drake Stoops late in the first half, focusing on Stoops the entire route and letting the ball float in the air too long.

At times, he continues to not set his plant foot and drive off of it causing balls to sail or not have the accuracy they need.

At the end of the game, he was 6 for 6 and orchestrated the game-winning drive to lead his team down the field and get them in a position to win. He has to be better and Lincoln Riley has to coach him better.

Most importantly…

Up Next: The Offensive Line

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Best Grades from Pro Football Focus in OU’s win over WVU

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.

6 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 16-13 win over West Virginia

The Oklahoma Sooners are finding new ways to win in the Lincoln Riley era and here are five takeaways from the 16-13 victory over WVU.

Over the last three weeks, the Oklahoma Sooners defense has become the strength of this team. In their win against West Virginia, they held the Mountaineers to 13 points and now have three games in a row of holding their opponents to fewer than 16 points.

On the season they’re allowing just 16 points per game and against Power Five opponents just 14.5 points per game. If the offense is going to struggle like they have the last couple of weeks, then the defense will have to provide that level of play each and every week.

Unlike previous seasons during the Heisman era of Lincoln Riley’s tenure, the Sooners are winning games at the other end of the spectrum. Instead of winning close games with both teams scoring over 30 points per game, the Sooners are finding to win defensive battles.

They’re winning, just winning differently. And that feels strange.

Let’s take a look at five takeaways from the Sooners win over West Virginia.

5 questions we’re asking as the Sooners open Big 12 play vs West Virginia

Five questions we’re asking as the Oklahoma Sooners focus their attention on West Virginia.

Big 12 football is officially a go for the Oklahoma Sooners. They navigated a less than stellar non-conference slate with an escape of Tulane, a throttling of Western Carolina and tough rivalry win against long-time foe Nebraska. They’ll start their conference title defense against the Mountaineers of West Virginia under the lights on Saturday night.

Heading into the game, it’s been noted that Oklahoma hasn’t shown themselves to be worthy of the preseason hype as national champions. Whether you agree or disagree, it means nothing as the games now are tough every week. OU has plenty of time to mold themselves into the team that many think can compete against the likes of Georgia and Alabama for the national title. Each game presents their own set of problems and questions.

As the Sooners narrow their focus in on West Virginia, let’s take a look at the five questions we will be asking.

Final thoughts on the Oklahoma Sooners matchup with the Nebraska Cornhuskers

Final thoughts as the Oklahoma Sooners get set to close out their non-conference schedule vs. the Cornhuskers on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff.

The anticipation has come to a head as the Oklahoma Sooners get set to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers today at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium as part of Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff.

Bob Stoops will be in Norman with Fox and will be honored at halftime for his upcoming College Football Hall of Fame Induction in December. It is fitting that Stoops is in attendance as the former Oklahoma Sooners head coach was on the sidelines the last time these two teams met in the 2010 Big 12 Championship game.

The Oklahoma Sooners take on a Nebraska team that has rebounded well after a week 0 loss to Illinois in the rare opening week conference game. The Cornhuskers have won their last two games against Fordham and Buffalo by an average of 35 points.

Nebraska isn’t the team it once was, but that doesn’t lessen the excitement for this game. Our Sooners Wire Staff feels very confident in the Sooners’ chances to win this game, but some things need to be figured out as the two teams lock up for the first time in more than a decade today.

Key Players for the Oklahoma Sooners defense vs. Nebraska

A look at the three players on the Oklahoma defense that are key players against Nebraska.

Oklahoma will wrap up its nonconference schedule with their toughest opponent thus far in Nebraska. The game is symbolic as an old rivalry is renewed on the 50th anniversary of the ‘Game of the Century.

On the field, OU will face a noticeable step up in competition as opposed to their games against Tulane and Western Carolina University. Defensively, they will have to contend with one of the best running quarterbacks in the nation in Adrian Martinez.

Martinez, a veteran quarterback has seen a lot of football over the years and will hardly be scared of the moment. However, his relatively young offensive line will line up across from one of the best front sevens in the country. Pressure is something Martinez is very familiar with. We wrote about that here.

Oklahoma will be without some key players on the back end of their defense. Woodi Washington and Billy Bowman are not expected to play. Look for Latrell McCutchin and Jeremiah Criddell to fill in for them in their spots. Here are candidates for the defensive players to watch as Oklahoma tries to bottle up Nebraska and head into Big 12 play undefeated:

Up Next: A Monster in the Middle ready to be unleashed.

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