Tag: Nic Anderson

Report Card: Saturday against Tulsa was about passing final nonconference test with flying colors

Oklahoma dominated Tulsa from beginning to end. Take a look as we go position by position and hand out grades for the performance.

Saturday’s dismantling of Tulsa was a much-needed conclusion for the Sooners to their nonconference schedule. The Sooners needed to erase any doubts, bouncing back and disposing of teams handily after a grind-it-out win against SMU.

The concerns about the conservative nature of the offense against SMU were put to rest as Oklahoma slung the ball all over the field for 476 yards.

Defensively, the Sooners grounded the Tulsa passing attack, allowing less than 250 yards through the air.

It was a convincing win and a pleasant, feel-good tuneup before they turn their heads to Cincinnati. Big 12 play is upon them, but before we turn the page, let’s pass out grades for this weekend’s performances.

Dillon Gabriel, Nic Anderson earn weekly Big 12 honors after big day vs. Tulsa

Stars from Saturday’s game against Tulsa earned Big 12 weekly awards as Dillon Gabriel and Nic Anderson were honored on Monday.

Just a few short days after Oklahoma put on a show through the air against Tulsa, some of the main characters of that performance earned weekly honors from the Big 12 conference.

Dillon Gabriel was named Offensive Player of the Week after he threw for 421 passing yards and five touchdowns against the Golden Hurricane. He also set the school single-game completion percentage record (min. 25 attempts) by completing 90% of his throws Saturday afternoon. One hundred and twenty of his passing yards went to the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week, Nic Anderson. Anderson caught just three passes, but all three were touchdown receptions.

Gabriel was a maestro on Saturday with a 251.2 pass efficiency rating, the highest by a Power Five player on the week and the fourth highest by a Power Five player on the season.

Gabriel’s selection as offensive player of the week makes this the fourth of his career at Oklahoma.

Nic Anderson’s phenomenal, yet incredibly efficient day was particularly historic. No freshman had ever registered a game with three receiving touchdowns in Oklahoma’s illustrious history.

Anderson is just the third Sooner to score three receiving touchdowns in a game on three catches, joining Curtis Fagan (vs. Baylor in 2000) and Jack Lockett (vs. Oklahoma A&M in 1950).

The Newcomer of the Week award for the native of Katy, TX, is his first Big 12 weekly honor.

Announcing honors for these two Sooners brings Oklahoma to four weekly awards this season.

Gavin Freeman was the first. He was named Big 12 Co-Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 4 after returning a punt 82 yards for a score against Arkansas State. Junior linebacker Danny Stutsman was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 11 after he logged 17 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a quarterback hit, and recovered a fumble.

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 Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

3 stars from the Oklahoma Sooners wire-to-wire domination of Tulsa

Oklahoma fired on all cylinders against Tulsa. Here are this week’s three stars from the Sooners 66-17 win.

The Oklahoma fan base asked for more explosive plays, and Jeff Lebby ensured his offense delivered on Saturday in Tulsa. Oklahoma’s passing offense put up 476 yards and threw for six touchdowns on the way to a 66-17 win.

Oklahoma never trailed and was in complete control throughout. The game was a stark difference from what the Sooners looked like against SMU, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Oklahoma took on the identity of a battering ram against the Mustangs. This week, the offense transformed into long-range combat specialists, opening the passing offense to attack in a variety of ways. It was a sight to behold and allowed Oklahoma to showcase the growth it has experienced in the expansive receiver room.

Defensively, the good times continued to roll as the Sooners held Tulsa under 300 yards of total offense and finished the game with five interceptions. The Sooners turned those five interceptions into 34 points. Overall, it was another complete effort from beginning to end, with complementary football played by Brent Venables’ Sooners.

A handful of players were worthy of recognition for their performance, but we felt these three needed to be highlighted the most.

Up Next: 3 Stars of the Game

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Social media reacts to the Oklahoma Sooners big win over Tulsa

The Oklahoma Sooners put on an incredible performance in their 66-17 win over Tulsa and here’s how social media reacted.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ win over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane was a fantastic way to end the nonconference portion of the schedule. The Sooners won, 66-17, and did so in dominating fashion.

Though Tulsa mounted impressive drives in the second quarter, the Sooners’ defense was in control for much of the rest of the game.

It was another comfortable win for Oklahoma before its opens Big 12 play next week. It received big-time performances from a number of players, starting with quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who had one of the best games of his career.

The big margin allowed for the Sooners to continue to build their competitive depth, and that was on display on Saturday afternoon in a dominant performance.

Here’s how social media reacted to the win.

Five Takeaways from Oklahoma’s dominating win over in-state foe Tulsa

Oklahoma brought the hammer down on in-state foe Tulsa on Saturday as they won 66-17. We have our five takeaways from the game.

Oklahoma wrapped up their nonconference schedule for the 2023 regular season on Saturday with pure domination of their in-state foe, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Oklahoma blew the doors off Tulsa 66-17.

From the outset, the Sooners had a weird start as starting receiver and kick returner Jalil Farooq fumbled the opening kick to Tulsa. But from then on, the Sooners were in control.

The week there was a lot of focus on Oklahoma’s offense and the conservative approach against SMU.

Jeff Lebby answered those concerns quickly, and the defense continued their improved and inspired play on the way to a runaway victory.

With the game fresh on our minds, here are our five takeaways from Oklahoma’s win.

Oklahoma Sooners roll pass the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 66-17

Dillon Gabriel threw five touchdowns and the Sooners had five interceptions on defense to beat Tulsa 66-17 to close nonconference play.

The Oklahoma Sooners ended their nonconference slate undefeated for the seventh year in a row. The Sooners knocked off in-state opponent, the [autotag]Tulsa Golden Hurricane[/autotag] to the tune of 66-17.

The first quarter started off with a massive kick return before [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] was stripped, resulting in the first turnover of the season for the Sooners.

But five plays later, Tulsa took a deep shot that was picked off by [autotag]Gentry Williams[/autotag]. Two plays later, Gabriel found Farooq for the 34-yard touchdown.

The Sooners then forced a punt before the offense went on a methodical 11-play drive resulting in a touchdown pass from Gabriel to [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag]. On the ensuing Tulsa possession, [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] intercepted quarterback Roman Fuller and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.

On the following drive, [autotag]Kendel Dolby[/autotag] picked off Fuller for the third time, resulting in a short field for the offense. They cashed in with another touchdown pass to Stoops to go up 28-0 to end the first quarter.

The Golden Hurricane finally got something going after [autotag]Cardell Williams[/autotag] came in to replace Roman Fuller. He was able to convert several third downs before finding [autotag]Marquis Shoulders[/autotag] in the end zone after [autotag]Makari Vickers[/autotag] got caught peeking into the backfield.

The Sooners responded with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Gabriel to [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] on a 3rd and 11.

Williams went back to work, picking apart several soft spots in the Sooners coverage. Tulsa got back into the end zone when Williams found Devan Williams on an out-and-up, beating Reggie Pearson in coverage.

On the following possession, Dillon Gabriel threw his first interception of the year trying to take a deep shot to [autotag]Gavin Freeman[/autotag].

The Sooners ended the half with a great drive that chewed up the clock but couldn’t punch it in, settling for a field goal. After it was a masterful first half for the Sooners, their inability to score a touchdown after getting to the Tulsa 23 yard line with more than a minute to play and all three timeouts left a lot to be desire. Oklahoma settled for a field goal to go into the break 38-14.

The Sooners outgained Tulsa 371-200 in the first half. The Sooners also didn’t punt in the first half. The only blemish on what was a fantastic first half were the two turnovers.

Tulsa started the second half with a great drive but Oklahoma stoned them once they got to the two-yard line forcing a field goal.

The rest of the quarter belonged to the Sooners, who scored 21 points, including two 40+ yard touchdown passes to Nic Anderson. One of those came from Gabriel, his fifth of the day, and the other from [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag].

[autotag]Key Lawrence[/autotag] came away with the Sooners fourth interception of the day in the third quarter to run away from the Golden Hurricane.

The fourth quarter was much like the third as [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag] picked off Williams and took it to the four-yard line before [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag] capped off the scoring with his first touchdown of the season.

The Sooners outgained Tulsa 596-292. The Sooners continued to find success on third-down success, going 7 of 9. Dillon Gabriel had another impressive performance, completing 28-31 attempts for 421 yards and five touchdowns. The 421 yards passing are the fourth most in Gabriel’s career and this is the fourth time in his career with five or more touchdowns.

Three wide receivers went over 100 yards on the day. Jalil Farooq led the way with six receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown. Farooq also had three kick returns for 105 yards, including the 62-yard return to open the game. Andrel Anthony continued his strong 2023 season, catching four passes for 112 yards, while Anderson tallied three receptions for 120 yards and three touchdowns.

Drake Stoops added a pair of scores and caught eight passes for 53 yards.

The defense was impressive yet again, holding the nation’s 26th-ranked rushing attack to 75 total yards on 1.6 yards per carry. The Sooners also created five interceptions and were credited with three sacks in the contest.

Danny Stutsman led the Sooners with nine total tackles, two tackles for loss, and the interception. Tulsa native and one of this week’s captains, Gentry Williams was second on the team in tackles with six. He also had a tackle for loss and an interception in his homecoming.

The Oklahoma Sooners are 3-0 to start the season and will face their first true test when they travel to Cincinnati to open Big 12 play.  The Sooners take on the Bearcats at 11:00 a.m. CT as part of Fox Big Noon Kickoff.

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.

3 keys for the Oklahoma Sooners offense to come away satisfied vs. Tulsa

What do the Oklahoma Sooners need to do offensively to not simply get a win but come away satisfied with their performance agains the Tulsa Golden Hurricane?

At least offensively, Oklahoma’s path to victory on Saturday is reasonably straightforward. The obvious things are executing situationally, dominating the line of scrimmage, and not turning the ball over.

Oklahoma has the talent advantage. That should be enough as long as they execute.

However, things aren’t that simple because Oklahoma isn’t just trying to scrape by. This is an opportunity for them to continue to refine themselves as an offensive unit so that they are firing on all cylinders in preparation for the Big 12 portion of their schedule.

Offensively, if they play like they did against SMU, the Sooners may have some problems on their hand that wouldn’t bode well for the remainder of their season.

With that in mind, let’s look at the three offensive keys to a Sooners victory in which Oklahoma fans and the offensive unit can walk away feeling like they accomplished something.

Up Next: 3 Keys on Offense vs. Tulsa

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Time for a bounce back: Some Sooners on offense to keep an eye on vs. Tulsa

After a poor showing on offense against SMU, we’ll be looking at these Sooners to have better games or get more playing time.

Oklahoma’s performance on offense against SMU was head-scratching. The playcalling felt disjointed, especially after the first quarter. Poor blocking was the main culprit, but it also felt very conservative.

Whether that was by design, it needs to be better.

The entire offense needs to be better. The blocking took a step back after dominating Arkansas State. The running backs weren’t particularly explosive or impactful until later in the game. The receivers were essentially a non-factor outside of [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag] and a late fourth-quarter touchdown catch from [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag].

This Saturday will give Oklahoma one more tune-up before they embark on a journey to start their Big 12 schedule. After this week’s matchup with Tulsa, the Sooners will go on the road again to face Cincinnati. The Sooners will want to feel better about their offensive performance before making the trip in week 4.

With a unit that struggled against SMU, there are a number of candidates in need of bounce-back performances. Here are the three players we’ll be watching closely on Saturday.

Up Next: 3 Sooners to Watch on Offense

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Sooners wide receiver Nic Anderson hoping to build off a strong Week 1

Nic Anderson flashed his big play ability in the Sooners win this past Saturday. Now he hopes to build off of it.

Early in the second quarter, just after the [autotag]Arkansas State Red Wolves[/autotag] missed a field goal, the [autotag]Oklahoma Sooners offense[/autotag] trotted onto the field. Out wide right was [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag].

The redshirt freshman is someone fans and the staff have been high on for a while, but now was his chance to make an impact. [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] took the snap on first down and slung it over to Anderson on an out route for 16 yards.

The very next play, Gabriel sat in the pocket before firing a deep ball down the opposing sideline to Anderson for a huge 52-yard gain to set up a first and goal. The Sooners eventually punched it in for a touchdown.

Anderson told reporters it was good to make some plays during a game.

“Honestly, just being out on the field was a blessing,” Anderson said. “Just being out there with my teammates. Gabriel gave me a beautiful ball. I didn’t have to do much. Just being out there with my teammates making plays means everything to me.”

With offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby saying the Sooners want to play 6-7 wide receivers this year, Anderson seems to factor into that equation. If he continues to make plays like he did on Saturday, he definitely will find a role in this offense.

Anderson and 2022 classmate Jayden Gibson bring something unique to the offense with their size. The Sooners just haven’t had that in a while. They’ll both have another chance to build off of their Week 1 performance this Saturday versus the [autotag]SMU Mustangs[/autotag].

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.

Report Card: Sooners breeze through Arkansas State with big-time performances

The Oklahoma Sooners were fantastic in their win over Arkansas State, but how did they grade in this week’s Report Card?

Saturday allowed us to see team 129 in Oklahoma’s illustrious football history for the first time this season. This team entered the day with cautious optimism, but a cloud of last season’s disappointment still hungover over the program. Year two of Brent Venables’s tenure needed to start off with a bang, and his team did just that as they dismantled the Arkansas State Red Wolves 73-0.

The Sooners are on another level regarding raw talent than the Arkansas State Red Wolves. That is abundantly clear, but Oklahoma had to show it could dominate an inferior opponent. They also needed to showcase the improvements in recruiting and among their returning players.

Saturday was a fun, stress-free showcase of domination. Now that the first game is behind us, it’s time to dive deeper and hand out our first grades of the year in this week’s report card.