Tag: Mike Woods

RECAP: Oklahoma Sooners fall to 9-1 after 27-14 loss to Baylor Bears

Oklahoma Sooners drop their first game of the season 27-14 on the road to the Baylor Bears, who rushed for 296 yards on the day.

After a few weeks of feeling as if the CFP playoff rankings disrespected them, the Sooners laid a massive egg when presented with the opportunity to prove the committee wrong. Coming off a much-needed bye week, the Oklahoma Sooners fell to the Baylor Bears 27-14, ending their November winning streak at 23 games.

The Sooners looked disorganized and overwhelmed, especially on offense. Caleb Williams was in limbo from the first snap as he and his offensive teammates were knocked back for consecutive negative plays leading to a punt from Oklahoma to start the game.

The Oklahoma defense largely came to play. The numbers and stats won’t support it, but they played well enough for this team to win the game. However, the offense’s lack of success ultimately undid the team as Baylor’s offense made a few more plays.

Quarterback Caleb Williams struggled. He often held the ball too long, looked confused in the pocket, and largely looked out of it. In the third quarter, Caleb Williams would eventually be replaced by Spencer Rattler, who also struggled in his brief relief performance.

The Sooners hung tough, entering the half tied at 7-7 despite missed scoring opportunities by Baylor and missed opportunities by the Sooners in the form of two missed Gabe Brkic field goals. Each team both threw interceptions in the first half as well. Despite that, the Sooners never came out of the half with any sense of urgency. The Baylor Bears took a 10-7 lead in the third quarter and never looked back. The Sooners were outscored 20-7 in the second half of the football game.

Running back Abram Smith and quarterback Gerry Bohanon led the Bears’ offensive attack combining for 255 yards rushing.

Kennedy Brooks led the Sooners in rushing with 13 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown while Mike Woods paced the Sooners in receiving with four catches for 53 yards. The Sooners offense could only muster 260 total yards.

The Oklahoma Sooners couldn’t hang with the Bears on this day and now have some work to do to rebound to finish the 2021 season on a high note.

The Sooners return home to Norman for their last home game of the year to take on the Iowa State Cyclones. The Bears travel to Manhattan, Kansas, next to take on the Kansas State Wildcats.

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3 offensive keys for Oklahoma versus Baylor

Here’s three offensive keys for Oklahoma as they take on a tough Baylor team.

A rested and motivated team should board the bus to head to Waco from Norman, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Sooners come off their bye in prime position to make a national splash and within their own conference. A win against a top-25 foe can help change the narrative about who Oklahoma is to this point.

It won’t be easy as the Baylor Bears represent the best opponent Oklahoma has played to date. They are well balanced and have equally strong units offensively and defensively. Defensively, Baylor ranks No. 81 nationally in passing defense. There are plays to be made there. However, there are a few keys to this game that ultimately decide how Oklahoma’s offense will look and perform come Saturday.

Lincoln Riley has to show up

What’s about to be said sounds crazy, but just think about it: Lincoln Riley has to show up Saturday. As in, the wizard play-caller Lincoln Riley. Riley’s been stymied by the defense with Aranda’s fingerprints over it a few times now.

The Peach Bowl when the Sooners faced LSU was one example and last year’s game in Norman was another. Yes, Ron Roberts is the defensive coordinator but there’s no reason to believe Aranda doesn’t have input.

Baylor has found ways to pressure Oklahoma quarterbacks and confuse those same quarterbacks with the coverage looks they show them. Riley comes in with a true freshman in a raucous environment. Making things easy and crafting a game plan that keeps him out of situations where he has to be Superman every play is key.

That falls on Riley’s shoulders. We’ll see how the head coach responds.

Cool Hand Caleb

If you’ve never seen the movie Cool Hand Luke, go watch it. It’s one of the best films ever.

The reason it’s brought up here is simple. Caleb needs to become his own version of Cool Hand Luke. In the film, the main character refuses to submit to the order and the pressure of the world he’s thrust into. He navigates his way through and has the last laugh.

The Sooners will need their true freshman to do the same. This isn’t Kansas. This is a very motivated and highly disruptive Baylor team with a fighting chance to go to the Big 12 championship game.

The sparkplug that galvanized Oklahoma’s season will have to be the guy who plays as close to mistake-free football as possible and is able to lead his team to a win in a hostile environment. Any failures to communicate between quarterback and his offense and the Sooners could be in for a long afternoon.

Offensive Line must take ownership

It’s safe to say that the Oklahoma Sooners have a plethora of playmakers now. Mike Woods will be returning as well to add to a receiver room oozing with confidence.

However, the foundation of this offense is its offensive line. There’s a lot of starts on this line amongst left guard Marquis Hayes, right tackle Tyrese Robinson and right guard Chris Murray.

All three have started at least two years worth of power five football games. Andrew Raym remains the most unseasoned of the Sooner starters. This offensive line will need to play their best game against one of the best defensive front sevens in the country to help out their quarterback.

If Caleb has to bail from the pocket every pass attempt or the Sooners aren’t able to run the ball, this game could get weird in the worst way very fast. The leadership and vet presence of their experienced linemen is where Oklahoma will have to win the game.

If those guys show up and continue performing at the level they have been, Oklahoma can put together some drives and win this game.

There’s a very visible path Oklahoma can take to win this game. Championship November is here and players and coaches alike for Oklahoma will need to raise their game even more if the Sooners are going to win the month.

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3 offensive keys that could lead to an Oklahoma victory over Texas Tech

3 Offensive keys to an Oklahoma Sooners win vs. the Texas Tech Red Raiders in week 9.

The Oklahoma Sooners are desperate for a bounce-back in the worst way. After an embarrassing performance against the Kansas Jayhawks, which saw the Jayhawks dominate for at least 2.5 quarters of the game, the Sooners should be chomping at the bit to play again.

They will get their shot as they play their penultimate home game this 2021 season against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Texas Tech comes in with their cloud hanging over their head in the form of having to play with their interim head coach in Sonny Cumbie, who took over for recently let go head coach Matt Wells.

The Sooners offense looked very uninspired much of the game. The offensive line didn’t dominate as they should’ve and while they were down a few playmakers, the Sooners’ offense didn’t look like it had been looking of late.

This Texas Tech defense ranks 70th in the nation in total defense. They aren’t great but they are not horrible either. They offer some decent resistance. However, with better focus and some better execution, there are plays to be had against them. Here are the Sooners Wire offensive keys to the game:

Switch it up

Far too often teams come out and just try to jam the ball down their opponent’s throat by running hapless runs one after the other.

This week, the Sooners should come out with some of their more creative play designs and get the juices flowing early.

The fans will be rocking and the Sooners need a fast start to wash away the stink of that previous game. Lincoln Riley should roll out one of his patented gadget plays and some quick passes to get Texas Tech on its heels early and the offense into a rhythm.

As Caleb Williams gets more comfortable in this offense, we should see the Sooners bring back the uptempo play calling as well to wear teams out.

Up Next: Play Action a Key to OU’s success

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Oklahoma Sooners Missed Mario Williams, Michael Woods versus Kansas

Kansas kept No. 4 Oklahoma scoreless in the first half on Saturday as wide receivers Mario Williams and Michael Woods were absent.

Kansas shocked the college football world by slowing down No. 4 Oklahoma in the first half over the weekend from Lawrence, Kan.

In fact, the Jayhawks kept OU scoreless until after halftime. It was the first time that the Sooners had been shutout in the first half since Lincoln Riley became head coach and since the 2014 season.

It was also the first time in 32 consecutive games that Oklahoma didn’t score in the first quarter. That snapped the Sooners’ FBS-best streak in that department.

Oklahoma’s first-half possessions against Kansas went like this: five plays and a punt on the first series. Caleb Williams was intercepted on the third snap of the second possession. Then Oklahoma turned it over on downs at the Kansas 33-yard-line after nine plays on the third and final offensive series.

Basically, it was a mess. Williams completed just 6-of-9 passes for 71 yards and he was intercepted by Kansas’ Ricky Thomas Jr. OU running back Kennedy Brooks rushed it just six times for 28 yards before recess.

As a team, Oklahoma was outgained by Kansas in the first half 195 to 78. The Jayhawks chewed up the first-half clock and ran 39 offensive plays compared to Oklahoma’s 17.

At first glance, freshman wide receiver Mario Williams and senior wideout Michael Woods missing the Kansas game due to injury wouldn’t have seemed a big concern. After all, this was KU who ranks 123rd nationally in total defense and 127th in scoring defense.

It didn’t play out that way. Oklahoma looked like it missed both Williams and Woods as the Sooners’ passing game never fully got on track.

Williams did toss a couple of touchdown passes after halftime, a five-yarder to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jadon Haselwood and an eight-yarder to redshirt senior H-back Jeremiah Hall.

Still, he only passed for 178 yards. That was Williams’ lowest passing mark since taking over the quarterbacking duties.

Junior running back Eric Gray actually finished as Oklahoma’s leading receiver with three receptions for 42 yards. A week after his three-touchdown performance against TCU, Haselwood notched just the three receptions for 38 yards.

Junior receiver Drake Stoops had three grabs for 30 yards and sophomore Marvin Mims and freshman Jalil Farooq each had one grab for a combined 19 receiving yards.

OU wide receivers caught eight passes total. According to Pro Football Focus, Sooner wide receivers were targeted just ten times in the game.

Asked about Oklahoma’s slow start against Kansas, Kennedy Brooks was transparent with his thoughts immediately after the game against the Jayhawks.

“I mean, honestly, we just played down to our opponent. We try to fight for our standard to play hard for four quarters and we didn’t do that today, so we’ve just got to go back to the grind. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for practice and just work and just strive for that,” Brooks said.

Oklahoma head football coach Lincoln Riley was pleased with how his team responded after halftime but disappointed the 35-23 win over Kansas represented another game where OU didn’t put it together for four quarters.

“Obviously, proud of the win and our fight in the second half. Not excited about how we played in the first half. Just really poor football in the first half all the way around,” Riley said.

“So, we had to bow up obviously the second half and we did that,” Riley continued. “We played better on all three sides in the second half. I give our team credit for rising up. Again, I don’t care who you’re playing, if you don’t seize momentum early in a road football game, you’re going to be in for a dogfight and we were. I think Kansas deserves a lot of credit. They made some really nice plays. I thought they were very efficient offensively, did a few things that obviously gave us trouble, and had a good plan.”

Despite being down personnel on both sides of the football, it’s what Riley said next about this Oklahoma football team that really resonated on exactly who and what OU currently is.

“For this team, we’ve kind of figured out our personality a little bit. Our personality is we can finish with the best of them, but it’s frustrating for us of how much we put ourselves I think in position, especially not playing our best early in games, where we have to finish,” Riley said.

Riley added, “We have to finish all the time, but where we need to finish well to win games. We’re going to keep battling with it. We had a good visit in there right after the game. I think our guys know what we need to do, but it’s time for us to start, you know, closing the gaps and playing a little bit better here and more consistently. That is what it is. We’re still a very capable football team. There’s no question and we’ll be excited to have a chance to get some guys back.

“That’s got to be our spark right here is a combination of getting some of these guys back. We’re obviously pretty thin in a lot of areas today. We’ve got to get guys back. The guys that are playing have got to play at a high level. We’ve got to coach at a high level. Our time’s when we’re not playing well, it’s close, but we’re tired of being close. We’ve got to push it over the edge. We’re getting here back half of the season. This is the time where we’ve got to do it. Again, proud of the win, don’t take them for granted, know we have to be a lot better.”

Riley summed up the play of his quarterback Caleb Williams against Kansas and it mirrored the team’s day overall.

“He didn’t play very good in the first half. I thought more than anything there was probably a little bit of frustration when we didn’t… you know, had low possessions, weren’t playing well. Especially the interception, I mean we’ve got a back just standing wide open in the flat,” Riley said.

“He’s got to be a little bit more composed there, but he did, he handled the second half well. I think he understood what we were doing, obviously made some important plays, I thought was pretty calm the second half and certainly more settled in.”

There wasn’t an injury update on Williams and Woods’ statuses after the win over Kansas. Hopefully, Oklahoma gets good news on both quickly, because their absences corresponded with the worst offensive first half in the Lincoln Riley era.

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Positional Report Card: How did the Sooners grade out in their win vs. Jayhawks?

In what turned out to be the Oklahoma’s worst performance of the season, how did each position group grade in this week’s Report Card?

Despicable. That’s it. That’s the word for Oklahoma’s collective performance against the Kansas Jayhawks.

Of course, they did enough in the second half to win the game and hop on the bus for Norman still undefeated. However, not one group put their best foot forward and it’s a start contrast from last week’s performance.

Some individual efforts were nice but collectively, position group by position group, this may have been the lousiest game of the year.

Without further ado, let’s look at the positional grades Oklahoma earned for their game against Kansas.

Oklahoma Football: Sooners might be missing several key offensive pieces versus Kansas Jayhawks

No. 2 Oklahoma might be down two of its top pass-catchers against the Kansas Jayhawks according to OU radio sideline analyst Gabe Ikard.

From the looks of things, No. 2 Oklahoma will be without the services of two of its top pass-catchers against the Kansas Jayhawks.

OU radio sideline analyst Gabe Ikard reported that freshman wide receiver Mario Williams is out versus KU.

 

Ikard also said he would be surprised if senior wide receiver Mike Woods plays for the Sooners.

 

If that’s the case, it means Oklahoma is without two of its top four receiving yardage leaders. Woods is second on the team with 294 receiving yards on 25 grabs, while Williams has hauled in 24 passes for 219 receiving yards.

Maybe that just means a monster day for the Sooners’ leading pass-catcher. Sophomore Marvin Mims enters the Kansas game with 456 receiving yards on 21 receptions.

Oklahoma fans would be happy to see redshirt-sophomore Jadon Haselwood follow up his three-touchdown performance against TCU with another big showing against the Jayhawks. Haselwood finished last week with six receptions for 56 yards.

However it plays out, there’s no question it opens the door for other guys to shine as playmakers for OU.

Report Card: Grading the Sooners following their 52-31 win over TCU

The Sooners dispatched TCU relatively comfortably. Let’s take a look at how each position group graded out in the 52-31 win.

For a while, it may have seemed like an afterthought to grade out the offense with A’s and B’s across the board. However, that time has arrived.  The offense was a bright spot, and the defense wasn’t as bad as maybe it appeared.

As we do each week, let’s look at how each position group graded in the Sooners 52-31 thrashing of the TCU Horned Frogs.

Quarterbacks: A

No need to beat around the bush here: Caleb Williams was phenomenal in his first start since usurping Spencer Rattler in Oklahoma’s thrilling come-from-behind win against Texas.

He dazzled the sold-out crowd in Norman and had national media in an uproar. Williams was 18 of 23 for 295 yards passing and four touchdowns, three of which made their way to Jadon Haselwood. He added 66 yards rushing, including the electric 41-yard TD run in the third quarter you can see below.

After that performance, there’s no need to speculate about who will be the quarterback as Oklahoma heads to the state of Kansas again for their second true road game against the Kansas Jayhawks.

The next step for Williams is to continue to mature and grow within the offense.

Up Next: Backs and Pass Catchers

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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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3 Stars of the game: Sooners shine on both sides of the ball vs. Kansas State

The Oklahoma Sooners had several players who stood out in their 37-31 win over Kansas State, but who earned our 3 stars of the game?

The Oklahoma Sooners just keep winning games. It may not always be pretty, but here they are six days away from a date with their Red River rivals undefeated. College Football Playoff rankings will be making their appearance soon, and the Sooners are starting to build a strong case.

To stay undefeated, three guys elevated themselves to help the Sooners get over a foe that’s been quite a hassle the last few years. Let’s look at who stood out and earned one of our 3 stars from the 37-31 win over Kansas State.

Third Star – Isaiah Thomas, Defensive Line

Isaiah Thomas has proven that he is indispensable to this defense’s growth and evolution for two years in a row. He’s so versatile and can play inside and out.

Whether it was setting the edge or penetrating gaps and allowing his linebackers and safeties free to fill, he did it all against Kansas State. The absence of their other uber versatile defensive lineman Jalen Redmond has only highlighted how awesome Thomas is.

He finished with two tackles for loss and this sack of Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson in the red zone to force a Wildcats field goal.

Up Next: Second and First Stars of the Game

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