Tag: Nic Anderson

‘It felt good to get back out there’: Jalil Farooq on the offense’s resurgence vs. the West Virginia Mountaineers

The Sooners offense had struggled since the bye week but had a resurgence on Saturday vs. West Virginia.

The Oklahoma Sooners offense got back on track after two straight weeks of struggling against the Kansas Jayhawks and Oklahoma State Cowboys on the road. The Sooners scored 57 points in the losses, but more than that, mental miscues and turnovers plagued Oklahoma during their two-game losing streak.

They had been averaging 29.3 just points per game since the bye week. But on Saturday they put up 59 points and 644 yards on the [autotag]West Virginia Mountaineers[/autotag]. It was a complete and well-balanced performance as the Sooners threw for 423 yards and rushed for 221 yards.

Jalil Farooq spoke about the offense getting back on track. “It felt good to get back out there,” Farooq said. “Just being out there, clicking. Things coming together felt great to be out there with my brothers.”

Farooq individually didn’t have a great day. He had four touches for 59 yards, but [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] and [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] both had more than 100 yards. Farooq also played a part in Stoops’ 60-yard touchdown catch as he helped pull him into the end zone.

The key now is to keep that momentum going to end the season. The BYU Cougars have the No. 103 ranked defense in the country, and the TCU Horned Frogs have the No. 87 ranked defense.

Neither defense should pose much of a threat to the Sooners’ offense as long as they don’t shoot themselves in the foot like they did vs. the Jayhawks and 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.

No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners vs West Virginia: How to Watch, key players, weather forecast for gameday

Key players, injury report, and how you can watch Saturday’s matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and the West Virginia Mountaineers.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the West Virginia Mountaineers are set to play this Saturday in Norman, Okla. The Sooners are coming off back-to-back losses after starting 7-0, and the Mountaineers are coming off a dominant win over the BYU Cougars.

The Mountaineers have been a pleasant surprise this season in the Big 12. They are currently tied with Oklahoma and a host of other teams for third. They are 6-3 on the season and possess one of the nation’s best running games.

WVU takes a running back by committee approach along with a dual-threat quarterback. The rushing attack is what makes the Mountaineers’ offense go. If the Sooners can stop the running game, they’ll have a good chance at winning this game and snapping their losing streak..

But let’s look at how you can watch the game, some key players, the weather forecast, and the latest injury report.

Keys to the Game: What must the Sooners do vs. WVU to break two-game losing skid?

Oklahoma takes on West Virginia on Saturday. We’ve got you covered with our keys to the game.

Oklahoma takes the field Saturday with one thing on their mind: win. The Sooners are reeling right now after losing their back-to-back games. The most recent loss saw their in-state rivals get the last laugh in what will likely be the final Bedlam football matchup for years to come. Oklahoma played a sloppy game offensively, and ultimately, those mistakes doomed them.

They now turn their attention to West Virginia, a team playing some good football as of late. If Oklahoma is to have any small shot at fighting their way back to one final Big 12 title game, they must win out.

West Virginia is outside the Big 12 title picture but, like everyone, aims to end their Big 12 rivalry with Oklahoma with a win. The Mountaineers are averaging 37.8 points per game in their last four games. Their only loss? Oklahoma State.

What will it take for the Sooners to come out on top come Saturday? We highlighted it below in our keys to the game.

20 highest-graded Oklahoma Sooners through Week 10 per Pro Football Focus

The 20 highest-graded Oklahoma Sooners through week 10 per Pro Football Focus.

Though the Oklahoma Sooners are on a two-game losing streak, they’ve already surpassed their win total from a year ago with three games to go and a bowl game.

They still have a shot at a Big 12 title game berth. And after 6-7, that’s all we can really ask for.

The offense has shown improvement on third down and in the red zone. Dillon Gabriel is having a career year. The defense has shown significant improvement this season. A year ago, they allowed 30 or more points seven times. This year that’s only happened once against Kansas. Texas scored 30, but seven of those can be attributed to special teams on the blocked punt.

Yes, they lost winnable games the last two weeks, playing uncharacteristically sloppy football. Otherwise, they’ve been a really good team this year.

As they get ready to close the season, here are the top 20 highest-graded players according to Pro Football Focus through week 10.

Minimum 25% snap count

Offense: 177.75

Defense: 167.75

Report Card: Offense’s dysfunction dooms Sooners chance to end Bedlam on top

Grading the Oklahoma Sooners by position group in their loss to Oklahoma State.

If Saturday was the last time Bedlam is played, the Oklahoma Sooners will always regret how things went in their final game against their in-state rivals. The Sooners will walk away from this game knowing they have dominated this series. There’s no debating that the Sooners have owned the Cowboys. But on Saturday, Oklahoma had the chance to put one final bow on this lopsided series, and they didn’t get it done.

Oklahoma State came out swinging, and the Sooners responded. But the most common theme was Oklahoma’s offense stalling on four different possessions once they got to the Oklahoma State side of the field. Most notably on the Sooners’ final drive of the game.

Defensively, Oklahoma played well enough to win. After getting bullied early, the defense found its footing and locked in the remainder of the contest.

In the end, the dysfunction and mistakes on offense put Oklahoma in a near-impossible spot. When it mattered most, they couldn’t rectify their own mistakes.

Oklahoma will move on and turn their attention to West Virginia. Before that, it’s time to pass out grades for Oklahoma’s performance against Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Jeff Lebby explains fourth-down call in Sooners’ loss to Oklahoma State

Jeff Lebby explains why the call on 4th Down to keep the game going was the right call.

With 1:46 left in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma Sooners’ quarterback [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] trotted onto the field with one timeout, trailing by three and needing to go 80 yards. On the first play of the drive, Gabriel hit [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] for a 21-yard gain.

The Sooners were in business. But after an incomplete pass to [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag], a drop by Anderson, and a five-yard gain on a quick slant to [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] on third-and-10, the Sooners faced a fourth-and-5 with the game on the line.

Gabriel sprinted to his left and threw it to Stoops, who juggled it but eventually came down with it. The only issue: The route was two yards too short. The Sooners turned it over on downs, and the Cowboys took over and ran out the clock.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby was asked about that call.

“We liked it,” Lebby said. “We thought it was going to be man to man. It needed to be about a yard deeper. That’s the reality of it. I can put us in a better situation there.”

This is the third week in a row the Sooners’ offense and its play-calling have been drawn into question. The offense went up against a very poor Oklahoma State defense and moved the ball pretty well, racking up 492 yards. But they only had 24 points to show for it.

Too many times, the offense stalled around midfield. This is also the second week in a row the offense turned it over three times. Turnovers hadn’t been an issue for this offense in the two years under Lebby. Two of those turnovers were due to snap issues from a guy who has been a three-starter and is a senior on this team. That can’t happen.

No, Lebby didn’t have the bad snaps. He didn’t drop wide-open touchdowns, and he didn’t throw the ball into double coverage resulting in an interception. But he has to be better.

The defense was once again pretty good. It allowed one touchdown after the 9:42 mark in the second quarter. The only other Cowboys score came after Oklahoma State recovered a botched snap at the OU 20-yard line. The defense forced a three-and-out to hold the Cowboys to three and keep the game within reach for the Sooners offense.

Unfortunately, Lebby and the offense couldn’t take advantage of a porous Cowboys defense.

The team can still salvage a good season, but it starts with the offense, and that’s not something we thought would be an issue before 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 Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Oklahoma Sooners stunned by the Oklahoma State Cowboys in final Bedlam

The Oklahoma Sooners were unable to overcome three turnovers and a terrible no-call in the end zone and fall to Oklahoma State 27-24 in final Bedlam.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the [autotag]Oklahoma State Cowboys[/autotag] battled in another classic [autotag]Bedlam[/autotag] game.

Both teams started the game hot offensively. The Cowboys scored on their first drive on a 20-yard run by [autotag]Ollie Gordon[/autotag] and the Sooners answered with a 64-yard run by [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag].

On the next Sooners possession, Oklahoma tried a direct snap to [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] the snap mishandled and the Cowboys recovered the fumble. Oklahoma State capitalized on [autotag]Alan Bowman[/autotag] 13-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7.

The offense really couldn’t find a rhythm and the Sooners quickly found themselves down 17-7 early in the second 1uarter. But that’s when the defense really started to settle in for the rest of the game.

[autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] hit [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] on a six-yard pass to cut it to 17-14.

But just when it seemed like Oklahoma was getting things going, they regularly stalled once they got to midfield.

Trailing 17-14 to start the second half, Dillon Gabriel launched a deep ball to Brenen Thompson in double coverage. The ball was intercepted and Oklahoma State was able to put together a nice drive. The Sooners defense responded, stuffing Ollie Gordon on fourth and 1.The Sooners’ offense answered with a 23-yard run by [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] to take a 21-17 lead.

Oklahoma State had another great drive going before Gordon was once again stuffed on fourth down. However, Oklahoma couldn’t do anything with it, turning it over on downs on their next possession.

With the Oklahoma State Cowboys driving deep into Sooners territory, [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] picked off running back Ollie Gordon’s pass on a trick play to start the fourth quarter. Bowman returned it all the way to midfield. But again, the offense couldn’t capitalize to put the game away. After three straight runs, the Sooners were forced to punt.

A beautiful pooch punt put the Cowboys on their own three-yard line. But that didn’t stop them. Oklahoma State took the lead on a 97-yard drive that was aided by a pass interference call on Makari Vickers and a Brent Venables unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The official appeared quick with the flag on replay.

Gordon would cap it off with a one-yard run to give Oklahoma State the 24-21 lead.

The Sooners gave it right back to the Cowboys on their half of the field on an Andrew Raym snap that hit Gabriel in the shins and rolled straight to the Cowboys defensive line.

The defense responded to force a three-and-out, but the Cowboys would add a field goal to go up 27-21.

The next drive is where things get interesting. Gabriel hit [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] on a 46-yard pass to give Oklahoma a first down at Oklahoma State’s 16-yard line. The Sooners were stuffed on their first two plays and on 3rd and 12, Gabriel would fire a ball to Stoops in the end zone.  Stoops was tackled by the Cowboys defender allowing the ball to fall to the turf incomplete. There were no flags on the play, despite an official standing right there. Oklahoma settled for a field goal to make it 27-24.

The Sooners’ defense forced a Cowboys punt. Gabriel got the ball back on their 20-yard line with 1:46 to go in the game. Gabriel hit Stoops on a 21-yard pass. But again at midfield, the Sooners’ offense stalled again.

On third and 10, Jeff Lebby called a short slant to Jalil Farooq, who was only able to pick up five yards, setting up a fourth and five. Lebby dialed up another pass attempt that Stoops caught short of the first down marker and was tackled out of bounds before he could turn it upfield, turning the ball over on downs.

It was an unfortunate end for the Oklahoma Sooners who had numerous opportunities to take control of the game, but turnovers, mental miscues and poor officiating kept them from winning the game.

Drake Stoops had a phenomenal game, catching 12 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. Gabriel completed 70% of his passes for 344 yards and a touchdown. He also had a fumble and an interception.

Gavin Sawchuk and Tawee Walker had solid performances, helping the Sooners average 5.5 yards per carry in the game.

Getting the start in place of Danny Stutsman, Kip Lewis led the Sooners with 15 total tackles. Robert Spears-Jennings earned the first extended run of his Sooners career and finished second on the team with seven total tackles, including a pivotal fourth down stop.

Oklahoma’s defense did a nice job, limiting Ollie Gordon in key situations, still, the star running back ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns. The Sooners held Oklahoma State to 5 of 15 on third downs and 1 of 4 on fourth downs. The defense was good enough to win the game.

The Sooners’ three turnovers on offense had a huge impact on the outcome of the game.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys now put themselves on the road to the Big 12 title game with the win. The Sooners have now lost two in a row and head home to take on an underrated West Virginia squad.

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.

Pair of Sooners named semifinalists for Freshman of the Year Award

Two Oklahoma Sooners freshmen were named semifinalists for national Freshman of the Year Award.

One of the best things so far about the 2023 season for the Oklahoma Sooners is seeing all of the young talent making big plays.

Whether it’s catching a touchdown on what feels like every pass thrown his way, including the biggest moment in the [autotag]Cotton Bowl[/autotag] like [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] or blocking two punts and causing a huge fumble in that Cotton Bowl win like [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag], those two guys seem to always make plays.

Anderson has 17 catches for 405 yards and leads the team with eight touchdowns. Bowen has 25 tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, one forced fumble, and two blocked punts on the year.

Due to how well both have played this season, they are among 14 semifinalists for the [autotag]2023 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award[/autotag]. According to a press release from the [autotag]University of Oklahoma[/autotag], the Sooners are the only program with two semifinalists for the award, which was first presented in 2018 and is given each year to the outstanding freshman player in college football.

While the award is still new, no Sooner has actually ever won the award. But if the season continues the way it has for both of these guys, and Bowen can get healthy, they have as good a chance as anyone nationally to take it home.

The finalists for the sixth annual award will be announced on Nov. 29, 2023, and the award winner will be announced on Dec. 27, 2023.

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.

No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners vs Oklahoma State Cowboys: How to Watch, key players, weather forecast for gameday

Here is how to watch the final regular season Bedlam game as conference foes.

The Oklahoma Sooners head north to Stillwater to take on the [autotag]Oklahoma State Cowboys[/autotag] in the final Big 12 Bedlam battle.

The Sooners have a record of 91-19-7 in the series. The Cowboys are looking to end the series by winning two of the last three games. They come in red hot winning four straight and by an average margin of victory of 15.25 points per game.

Ollie Gordon has burst onto the scene, rushing for more than 900 yards in his last five games. He currently leads the nation with 1,087 yards rushing. The Sooners come into the game off their first defeat of the season and two weeks removed from a nailbiter against UCF.

They haven’t played well the last two weeks and are dealing with injuries to key players.

But let’s dive into how you can watch the game, some key players, what the weather will look like, and the injury report for both schools.

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.