Tag: McKade Mettauer

Five Takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 31-29 win over the UCF Knights

Oklahoma pulled out a nailbiter as they hung on to beat UCF 31-29 in Norman on Saturday. Here are our five takeaways from the game.

Oklahoma escaped by the skin of its teeth on Saturday as they downed Big 12 newcomer UCF 31-29. It was a game that came down to the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

Considering how well Oklahoma has looked all season, it was a jarring performance. Especially after the Sooners had a bye week to put the Texas win behind them. Yet, on Saturday, after a relatively solid start, a pair of missed field goals kept the door open for UCF to run through. Before long, Oklahoma was fighting for its life and the right to stay undefeated.

When the dust cleared, the Sooners came out on top. A late surge in the fourth quarter was enough for Brent Venables’ team to get it done.

Here are five takeaways from the Sooners’ win.

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.

Caleb Shaffer, Dillon Gabriel among key Sooners to watch versus UCF

Oklahoma will look to build on their 6-0 start as they take on UCF. Here are six Sooners that will be key to an Oklahoma win vs. the UCF Knights.

Oklahoma will roll out the crimson carpet and welcome one of the four Big 12 newcomers to Norman on Saturday. Gus Malzahn’s [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag] travel from Orlando, Florida, to take on Brent Venables and the No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners.

Both teams come into the game off of their bye weeks. However, how each team played in the games before the bye will be a significant motivating factor in how things could shake out.

Oklahoma beat their bitter rivals, Texas, 34-30 in one of college football’s best games of the season while the Knights were steamrolled by the Kansas Jayhawks 51-22.

While the Sooners’ win over Texas is a significant win, the boys from Norman won’t be satisfied. They’ve got bigger ambitions now, starting with taking care of UCF. The next major milestone in getting to Arlington to compete for a Big 12 title.

UCF is a motivated and angry team that boasts the nation’s third-best rushing attack and a very athletic quarterback in John Rhys Plumlee. He can play. Oklahoma has a talent advantage, but execution will be the deciding factor.

Without further ado, let’s look at some of the Sooners that will be to a victory on Saturday.

Caleb Shaffer could earn more opportunities after Red River Rivalry performance

Up to this point, Caleb Shaffer hasn’t had a big role for the Sooners but that could change going forward.

There was 1:17 left in the 4th quarter, in the Cotton Bowl, in the biggest game of the season for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners offense trotted on the field missing their leading receiver, [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag], and a starting offensive lineman who had played a ton of snaps in his career, [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag].

Instead, two fresh faces were in to replace them and both ended up making a huge impact on that drive. [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag], who had played this season after missing most of last season, caught the game-winning touchdown pass. [autotag]Caleb Shaffer[/autotag], who is spending his first season in Norman after transferring from the [autotag]Miami (OH) Redhawks[/autotag], threw several key blocks to keep the Texas Longhorns pressure from getting to [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag].

Shaffer talked about what it was like to come into that game at that crucial moment.

“Once in a lifetime moment, for sure, looking back,” Shaffer said. “In the moment, I had to be focused. We had a game to win. We had to prepare. But when Coach B (Bill Bedenbaugh) called my name, I just got my mind ready. That’s what we’re here for. I got an opportunity. We prepare all week super hard. Practice execution equals game reality. When he threw me out there, I’m just going to fall back on what I’m coached, what I’m trained to do.”

Now, it’s unsure if Shaffer will be the starter going forward with Mettauer expected to miss a few weeks. He was named a captain for this week’s matchup, which could be a sign of things to come this Saturday. He’s earned himself an opportunity to get more reps going forward. That could start this Saturday against a defensive line that has struggled, especially against the run, since conference play started.

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.

Oklahoma Sooners name captains for week 8 contest with UCF Knights

The Oklahoma Sooners captains for the Week 8 game vs. the UCF Knights has been set.

It’s finally almost “football time in Oklahoma” once again after their bye week. The Oklahoma Sooners take on their new [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] foe the [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag] on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. CT.

On Monday night, the Sooners announced via social media the captains for this week’s contest. The captains are [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], [autotag]Da’Jon Terry[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag], [autotag]Shane Whitter[/autotag] and [autotag]Caleb Shaffer[/autotag]. Gabriel is fresh off a huge game in the Cotton Bowl and is also playing his former team, perhaps some gamesmanship from Brent Venables.

Pearson is a guy who started early in the year before getting injured. Since returning Pearson, has maintained a steady role in the safety rotation.

Terry is fresh off his best game of the season, where he was virtually unblockable and unmovable.

Shaffer being a captain is interesting because it might point to him winning the starting right guard job while [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag] is out. He came in and played well, especially given the circumstances.

Whitter is someone who is mainly a special teams player for the Sooners. He’s someone people have always thought would be a transfer candidate. He’s committed to the program, to Venables and the standard he’s laid out since arriving in Norman. That’s a guy you want as a leader because it would have been easy to just up and leave.

All in all, it’s a good group of captains, and it’s good to have football back at the palace.

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Cayden Green’s performance in the Cotton Bowl should lead to more opportunities.

Cayden Green impressed in his first Red River Rivalry game and could be the answer to the Sooners left guard inconsistencies.

Coming into the 119th edition of the [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag], there was a feeling the Texas Longhorns‘ great defensive line would provide UT a significant advantage. Texas came into the game with two dominant interior defensive linemen, [autotag]T’Vondre Sweat[/autotag] and [autotag]Byron Murphy II[/autotag].

Both are going to have a future in the [autotag]NFL[/autotag]. It was going to be a tough battle for [autotag]Troy Everett[/autotag], who has spent more time at center than guard in his collegiate career. Early in the game, Everett struggled to handle Sweat and Murphy.

Enter true freshman [autotag]Cayden Green[/autotag].

Green was recruited to play tackle, and his future could be on the outside. However, he’s shown that he has the skill set to be a dominant guard. He further proved that in the biggest game of the year against arguably the best defensive lineman in the conference.

Once Green was inserted, rarely did we hear Sweat’s name called. Holes started to open up that weren’t there before Green started to play. Green was the one who paved the way on Tawee Walker’s walk-in touchdown.

Green talked to reporters on Monday about playing against Texas’ defensive line. “Their line was pretty nice-sized, but at the end of the day, it’s just football. You just have to do your job,” Green said.

And he certainly did his job.

He might have performed so well he should have a starting role along the offensive line this season. Oklahoma hasn’t been able to solidify their left guard spot. Savion Byrd and Everett have struggled with consistency. Green may go through some growing pains, but his ceiling is so high that it may be better to get his future going now.

With the likelihood that OU and Texas could meet again in the Big 12 title game, there’s no better time to get your future going along the offensive line. Green’s shown he’s good enough to play along Oklahoma’s offensive line. The next six games provide a significant opportunity to get the former four-star offensive lineman significant snaps and be better prepared for a possible Red River title game rematch.

As the Sooners work to improve their ground game and solidify their offensive line, Cayden Green has earned an opportunity to run with the starting offensive line. There’s no bigger stage to announce your arrival to college football than on the grandest stage of them all.

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.

Midseason positional review: How have the Oklahoma Sooners looked at the midway point?

How have each position group done so far for the Oklahoma Sooners at the midway point?

The Oklahoma Sooners have hit the midway point of the 2023 college football season. The Sooners are undefeated at 6-0 in year two under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. Venables is now 13-7

Offensively they’ve been pretty good. They rank No. 6 in total offense, No. 9 in 3rd down offense, No. 2 in 1st down offense, and No. 4 in scoring offense.

The defense has also been pretty good and shown vast improvement. They rank No. 50 in total defense, No. 12 in 3rd down defense, No. 31 in rush defense, and No. 2 in turnovers forced.

There is still much improvement that needs to be made for both units, but so far, they’ve made significant strides.

Prior to the season, I broke down each position group, so let’s go through and see how they are doing at this point and give them a midseason grade.

Brent Venables provides injury update: Andrel Anthony done for the season

Sooners get some good news and some bad news on the injury front on Monday. Andrel Anthony will miss the remainder of the 2023 season.

The Oklahoma Sooners lost three starters to injuries during the game on Saturday. On Monday night, [autotag]Brent Venables [/autotag]gave an update on each of the players.

The good news is Venables said [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag] is good to go. Also, after a scary injury where he was carted off the field, [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag] will be back “sooner rather than later,” according to Venables.

But the Sooners also received some bad news. Oklahoma will be without leading receiver [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag] for the rest of the season. Anthony went down with what looked like a noncontact knee injury at the end of the third quarter.

He’s been huge for the Sooners in his first year in the crimson and cream. From the very first game, it has looked like he and [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] had developed a special connection. He’s been the most consistent deep threat for the Sooners.

Anthony has 27 catches for 429 yards and a touchdown on the season. The Sooners’ depth is going to have to rise to the occasion. [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] is the one who replaced Anthony during the game and caught the game-winning touchdown pass.

He’s the most likely candidate to take his spot in the starting lineup. Anderson leads the Sooners with six touchdowns on the season.

You could also see a healthy dose of [autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag]. For the deep threat, we could see some more of [autotag]Brenen Thompson[/autotag], who we saw against the Iowa State Cyclones but didn’t see last week.

Anthony is just a junior, so he most likely will be back next season, but it’s a tough blow for a guy having a career year for Oklahoma. Now it’s up to his teammates to make up for the loss of his production.

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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.

‘This is why I came here’: Dillon Gabriel leads Oklahoma to win in Red River Rivalry

Dillon Gabriel became a Red River Rivalry hero in the Oklahoma Sooners win over Texas.

[autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] trotted onto the field down three with 1:17 left in the game and the ball at his own 25-yard line. After scoring on the first possession of the half, the Oklahoma Sooners had been shut out on four straight possessions.

Oklahoma’s top wide receiver [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag] had been ruled out with an injury. One of the Sooners’ most experienced linemen, [autotag]McKade Mettauer[/autotag], had also been lost for the game. The odds were against Gabriel.

What he did next will go down in [autotag]Red River Rivalry[/autotag] history.

Gabriel led the Sooners on a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in 1:02, to put the Sooners up, 34-30, with 15 seconds left on the clock. Gabriel went 4-for-4 for 58 yards and ran for another three yards, setting up the game-winning touchdown pass to [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag].

Gabriel talked about the final play after the game.

“Just saw the corner clamp and saw Nic in the back of the end zone,” Gabriel said. “That’s what we practice week in and week out, and just proud of everybody coming together. Just controlling the chaos and just dialing it in. That’s big-time football and something you dream of as a little kid.”

Gabriel finished the game 23-for-38 for 285 yards and one touchdown while also rushing 14 times for 113 yards and a touchdown. He registered a QBR of 93 in the win. A QBR of 100 is perfect; 93 is phenomenal.

It was arguably his best game as a Sooner. He shined when they needed him most. A player who’s been hotly debated among fans, certainly earned his flowers after this game. If they didn’t love Gabriel before, I’m sure they do now.

He told ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game this is why he came to Oklahoma.

“This is what OU football is all about,” Gabriel said. “This is why I came here, this game.”

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.