Tag: Oklahoma Sooners Defense

Instant Takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 28-21 win over the Iowa State Cyclones

Instant takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners gritty 28-21 win over the Iowa State Cyclones.

On a day when the Oklahoma Sooners offense couldn’t do much through the air — again — the Sooners did what they needed to in order to secure their 10th win of the season and move one step closer to securing a berth in the Big 12 championship game.

It was an impressive performance for the defense who played in Brock Purdy’s face all game long and the running game found its footing after several weeks of underwhelming performances against Kansas, Texas Tech, and Baylor.

Though Caleb Williams and the passing game struggled, he made a difference with his legs on the Sooners’ first score of the game, taking the ball 74 yards for the touchdown. Kennedy Brooks provided a fantastic lead block that sprung to go the distance for the score.

The Sooners won their seventh one-score game of the season, which is an impressive feat. Though impressive in some areas, there are some things they need to work on before heading to Stillwater next Saturday for Bedlam. But before we get to that, let’s take a look at some instant takeaways from the Sooners 28-21 win over Iowa State.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Sooners’ 27-14 loss to Baylor

What stood out in this week’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Oklahoma Sooners 27-14 loss to the Baylor Bears?

In one of the worst performances of Lincoln Riley’s career on the offensive side of the football, the Oklahoma Sooners laid an egg against the Baylor Bears, easily the best team they’ve played thus far.

It was the lowest point total for the Oklahoma Sooners in Lincoln Riley’s tenure. Though they’re 9-1 in 2021, things feel different with this team compared to Sooners’ teams of the past few years.

Though it wasn’t fun to write, let’s dig into this week’s “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”

The Good: Brian Asamoah

At least through the first three quarters, the Oklahoma Sooners defense played one of its best games of the year. While the Baylor offense was able to make plays throughout the game, the Sooners defense made strong stands, like the fourth and 2 early in the game, to keep Baylor at bay.

The defense was led by Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Brian Asamoah who had his best game of the season. Per Pro Football Focus, Asamoah finished the day with seven solo tackles, four assisted tackles, five stops, a pressure, and a forced fumble. Most importantly, he didn’t miss a tackle, and though he allowed a 23-yard reception according to PFF, his other reception allowed only went for two yards. Asamoah was the Sooners best player on Saturday on either side of the ball.

Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t help out much on Saturday as they struggled to find any consistency throughout the game.

Up Next: Caleb Williams is Human

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Alex Grinch to Key Lawrence: ‘You deserve to be a starter’

Making his first start at cornerback, Key Lawrence stood out in an impressive performance for the Oklahoma Sooners defense vs. Texas Tech.

In team performances that were a letdown defensively against TCU and Kansas, Key Lawrence had been one of the standout performers for the Sooners’ defense.

With Delarrin Turner-Yell coming back, the question became what to do with Lawrence. He had been one of the Sooners’ best defenders and was playing at such a high level that it would be difficult to take him off the field.

A text message on Sunday night from defensive coordinator to Alex Grinch might have made all the difference for the Oklahoma Sooners defense. Grinch asked, “what do you think about playing corner?” Grinch didn’t provide a word-for-word response from Lawrence but summarized it as “let’s roll.”

According to Grinch, Lawrence went about his work the right way in practice this week, attacking the challenge of the midseason position switch. That decision was challenged on the first play of Saturday’s game.

Looking to set a tone early, Texas Tech came out slinging the ball. Henry Colombi dropped back and looked to have Kaylon Geiger down the left sideline, dropping a beautiful ball into his receiver’s arms. As the play concluded, Lawrence reached his hand in and knocked the ball out of Geiger’s arms to force the incomplete pass.

It was the first play of the game, but the competitive spirit Lawrence displayed on a play he was beaten on set the tone for a Sooners defense to play its best game of the season.

Cornerback has been one of the team’s most significant weakness over the last month. The Sooners have had a hard time keeping up or making competitive plays at the catch point. On Saturday afternoon, that seemed to change on Lawrence’s side of the field.

Lawrence finished the day with seven total tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss and two passes defended. It was the first time in weeks the coverage unit for the Oklahoma Sooners defense looked up to the challenge.

Erik Ezukanma was a difficult matchup for the Sooners’ secondary. He had five receptions for 70 yards in the first half. However, Oklahoma held the rest of the Texas Tech wide receiver group to six catches and 44 yards.

As the Sooners started to pull away, the difference was the Oklahoma defense not allowing the opposing offense to respond to OU touchdowns. The defense put the clamps on, forcing three punts and an interception in the first half.

From the defensive front to the secondary, it was a total team effort. However, the move of Key Lawrence to cornerback provided energy, competitiveness and an edge the Sooners defense had been missing on the outside with Woodi Washington and D.J. Graham out.

On Saturday, Graham returned to the lineup and started for the Oklahoma Sooners alongside Lawrence at cornerback. It remains to be seen what will happen when Washington returns to the lineup, but it’s clear Lawrence needs to be on the field.

And Grinch agrees. He said, “Keyshawn (Lawrence) has played to a level over the last couple weeks when Delarrin (Turner-Yell) was out to establish himself as a starter on our defense.”

That move was so influential it was arguably one of the keys to Oklahoma’s 52-21 victory over Texas Tech.

“Doesn’t bat an eye,” is how Grinch described Lawrence’s response to the suggestion of a position change, and that’s been evident with the way that he plays.

The sophomore transfer from Tennessee was a game-changer for the Oklahoma Sooners on the outside. The defensive staff must make sure he continues to see the field as the OU secondary continues to get healthier by the week.

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2 Oklahoma defenders find themselves in Mel Kiper’s positional top 10

ESPN Analyst Mel Kiper provided an updated look at his big board for the 2022 NFL Draft. 2 Sooners’ defenders land in his positional top 10.

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While it’s been a struggle for the Oklahoma Sooners defense for much of the last few weeks, that isn’t entirely reflective of the season that two Oklahoma Sooners are having individually.

Nik Bonitto and Perrion Winfrey have been good for the most part. They’ve been disruptive pass rushers, and in the case of Bonitto, he’s continued to cause havoc in the running game.

With four games left in the 2021 regular season, Nik Bonitto and Perrion Winfrey find themselves in the top 10 at their position on ESPN Draft Analyst Mel Kiper’s big board (ESPN+ Subscription required).

Perrion Winfrey is the fifth-best defensive tackle for Kiper, who’s been analyzing the NFL draft for ESPN since the 80s. Kiper has Bonitto listed as an outside linebacker, and the Oklahoma edge defender is the eighth-best player, according to Kiper, at this stage of the 2022 NFL draft cycle.

Nik Bonitto leads the Sooners with five sacks, and Winfrey is right behind him with 4.5. Bonitto has nine tackles for loss and Winfrey six.

Bonitto will be an interesting case study for teams and the draft process. Though he’s listed as a “rush linebacker” on Oklahoma’s depth chart, and most analysts view him as a linebacker, he’s more of an edge player. Think a 3-4 outside linebacker like a T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Bonitto can drop into coverage and make plays, but his real value comes as a pass rusher and setting the edge in the running game.

One of the issues Oklahoma’s rush linebackers have had at finding roles at the next level is, in some part, due to the inability of NFL coaching staffs and front offices to adequately define their role.

We’ve seen it with Obo Okoronkwo and now with Ronnie Perkins. Though the Oklahoma depth chart might have had linebacker next to their name, they’re more suited to play off the edge as a weakside defensive end in a 4-3 or an outside linebacker in a 3-4 whose primary responsibility is to rush off the edge.

It’s the same fate Bonitto might suffer as well, despite being an incredibly productive player for the Oklahoma Sooners in his career.

Pro Football Focus’ positional designations for players along the defensive front are the most accurate. They list guys as interior defensive linemen, which includes defensive tackles and 3-4 defensive ends. EDGE players are designated as  4-3 defensive ends and 3-4 outside linebackers. This is because the responsibilities of a 4-3 defensive end and a 3-4 outside linebacker are generally the same. And the duties of a 4-3 defensive tackle and a 3-4 defensive end are essentially the same.

Only time will tell in this draft cycle if Nik Bonitto will be dinged because of how his position designation is viewed or if the smart teams will look past that and see an edge player capable of dominating at the point of attack.

If you’re wondering how draft analysts currently view Spencer Rattler, Kiper offers his thoughts on keeping him out of the top 10 quarterbacks eligible for the 2022 NFL draft.

You’ll notice that Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler has been removed. It’s tough to keep him in the top 10 when he’s not playing. I think he’s likely to transfer, play elsewhere in 2022 and enter the 2023 draft. – Kiper

It remains to be seen what Rattler will do with his playing future. He’s still a talented player that might require a fresh start to get his career back on track.

‘It’s my fault I can’t inspire and motivate’: Alex Grinch focuses on accountability to correct OU’s defensive woes

As the Oklahoma Sooners seek to rebound from another poor defensive performance, Alex Grinch focuses on accountability to correct poor play.

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The Oklahoma Sooners defense hit a low note on Saturday against Kansas as the Sooners appeared to have mental lapses and effort issues particularly in the first half of their 35-23 win over the Jayhawks. It was a troubling display that saw several Jayhawks have the best game of their 2021 season against a Sooners’ defense that’s been struggling in recent weeks.

Injuries have played a part in the poor performance of a defense that was expected to take a step forward in 2021. Speaking to the media in his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Alex Grinch admitted that the defensive performance hasn’t met expectations.

But how do the Oklahoma Sooners turn it around on the defensive side for the ball nine weeks into the season? As Pro Football Hall of Fame Head Caoch Bill Parcells once said, “you are what your record says you are.” And while the Oklahoma Sooners have a perfect 8-0 record, the performance on the defensive side of the ball has been far from perfect.

But what can be changed at this point in the season? Grinch mentioned weeks ago that there are players on his unit that don’t seem to value practice. And at times it shows because players are coming into games appearing unprepared or mentally checked out as they did against Kansas.

For Alex Grinch, it all starts with accountability.

I think if you’re a competitor at all… you get the outcome but you don’t get the how and the standard in terms of how you play right over the course of several weeks, I think if you’re a competitor at all, you’re motivation coming into the following week, the following Monday, the following Tuesday… should get cranked up another level, another level. I don’t know that I’ve seen that over the last couple of weeks. So to assume we’re just going to do that now, what’s the breaking point? What is that line in the sand?… In the end you gotta get a group of guys over it and actually perform up to a standard. To assume now’s the time to change behaviors because we’re fatigued with poor performance would be an understatement. It’s long overdue. And so, I think for us right now it’s just from an accountability standpoint. Every guy in the program, specifically the defense, has to look at it through the lens of ‘it’s my issue.’

What’s the breaking point? That’s a fantastic question that has yet to be determined. Typically, in the Lincoln Riley era, the Oklahoma Sooners have already been dealt a loss by this point in the season. Those early-season losses likely created a sense of urgency in the program, understanding that a second loss would eliminate them from College Football Playoff contention. It’s great that the Oklahoma Sooners have learned how to come back from second half deficits to get wins. At the same time, it’s problematic that they continue to find themselves playing from a deficit.

Nine weeks into the season, with just four games remaining in the Big 12’s regular season, Grinch admitted that this team is running out of time to get things right while also stating there’s a sense of urgency while also taking ownership of the deficiencies of the defense.

‘There’s a sense of urgency. There has to be,” Grinch stated. “And I think for our guys as you go through a Tuesday practice, I thought there was more intentional work today. It pains me to say that nine weeks into the season to finally see more intentional work. What are we doing wrong as coaches? How am I not landing a message? Again, it’s all of our fault, cool, but I’m the one talking so it’s my fault. It’s my fault that I can’t inspire and motivate to get guys to play at their best. So you teach scheme. The scheme’s installed and obviously, there’s adjustments over the course of each individual week. But the chief job of the coach is to inspire and motivate guys to play at an elite level and continue to fail to do that as the defensive coordinator.”

Grinch is right that as the leader of the defense, he’s the one most accountable for the performance of the defense. At the same time, unless there’s an internal drive to be great from each individual player, it’s hard to motivate. They’ve got to want it too. A coach can only say so much.

If the performance against Kansas didn’t wake up the Oklahoma Sooners’ defense to the reality that they need to be locked in each and every practice rep and each and every snap, then it’s not so much on Grinch as it is on the players to find that next gear.

As the Oklahoma Sooners get set for the stretch run of the season, they need to find an edge that can carry them through some tough games over the next six weeks. If they don’t show up from the first snap and play a full sixty minutes in any of their games the rest of the regular season, they’ll get beat.

Now’s the time for the defense to turn it up in practice so that when game-time comes, they’re ready to go from the first whistle.

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This weakness could be the Oklahoma Sooners’ Undoing

With Big 12 title and College Football Playoff aspirations, the Oklahoma Sooners could be held back by this glaring weakness.

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The Oklahoma Sooners’ struggles continued in their week eight win over the Kansas Jayhawks. They got the win, but it was a dogfight against one of the worst teams in college football. It wasn’t just that it was a 12 point win against the Jayhawks that was disappointing; it was that they didn’t show up for the first half of the game.

Not till they were down 10 at halftime did the Sooners wake up and begin taking control of the game. Even as the Oklahoma Sooners mounted their comeback and scored touchdowns on all five drives in the second half, the Oklahoma defense kept the Kansas Jayhawks in the game.

As Pro Football Focus writer Anthony Treash took a look back at the week eight action, he wrote quite a bit about the Sooners biggest weapon, Caleb Williams. However, Williams’ impact might be limited due to one of the worst pass defenses in college football in the Sooners secondary.

Ultimately, the biggest concern with this offense isn’t Williams’ inconsistency as a passer — it’s the lackluster coverage unit. The Sooners allowed a Power Five-worst 32% explosive pass play rate to Kansas, who entered the week sixth-to-last among those 65 teams in successful pass rate on offense. – Treash

Oklahoma’s pass defense currently ranks 113th out of 130 teams in Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Only 17 teams have been worse against the pass than the Oklahoma Sooners.

That’s terrible.

Yes, they’ve been missing Woodi Washington. Yes, D.J. Graham and Delarrin Turner-Yell have missed significant time. However, their losses alone shouldn’t make the Sooners a bottom-15 pass defense in the NFL. The Sooners still have Pat Fields, and one of the best pass rushes in college football. And yet, they’ve been unable to impact the opposing passing game with much frequency.

Jason Bean went from completing 55% of his passes in 2021 to completing 74% of his passes against the Oklahoma Sooners defense.

The Sooners have championship aspirations. Though they have a Texas Tech offense that’s been inconsistent, Baylor and Iowa State could pose some problems through the air for the Sooners to handle. If Oklahoma hopes to be playing for the Big 12 championship and in the College Football Playoff, they’ll need to shore up their coverages as the competition gets tougher down the stretch.

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What’s wrong with the Oklahoma Sooners’ defense?

Kansas found success against No. 4 Oklahoma’s defense on Saturday and it continues a troubling trend for the Sooners.

The now No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners rallied back, stayed perfect and beat Kansas 35-23 on Saturday. The poor start and uneven performance defensively against a previously anemic Jayhawks offense left Sooner fans scratching their heads as to just how good OU’s defense can be, though.

Kansas took the opening drive of the game right down the field and scored the game’s first points when KU freshman running back Devin Neal plunged into the end zone from a yard out.

That Kansas scoring drive was a 14-play, 80-yard one that drained the first 9:15 of the game clock. The Jayhawks converted three different third-down conversion tries on it, too.

Meanwhile, a trio of Sooners — defensive linemen Josh Ellison and Isaiah Thomas and linebacker Brian Asamoah — each picked up offsides penalties on Kansas’ first scoring drive.

The Jayhawks followed that first drive up with a 12-play, 69-yard drive that soaked up another 6:36 of the first-half clock. Jacob Borcila booted through a 28-yard field goal and that 10-0 Kansas lead was the margin at halftime.

All told, Kansas won the first-half time of possession battle in lopsided fashion. It finished with KU possessing the football for 22:00. The Jayhawks also ran 39 offensive plays against the Sooners’ 17 before intermission.

“It kind of became the theme, specifically in that first half, you know, the inability to get stops in the run game. That just eats away at some yardage and creates some situations in second and medium, second and short. And then add penalties to that, undisciplined football in the front. Then, all of a sudden, whether you’re handing the first down away or again shortening the distance with multiple downs still yet to go to convert,” Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said.

“Really disappointed in not stopping the run there, specifically early, although I don’t know that we got a whole lot better as the day went. Obviously, you’ve got to give the opponent credit. There’s a theme there. There’s a theme there forming over the last few weeks. The opponent makes plays, we make plays and then at some point there’s a jockeying back and forth who makes the most on a given day and we’re just not making enough plays defensively and specifically on third down. You’re just asking for long drives and you’re just asking for momentum. It was very difficult for us to turn the tide momentum-wise.”

Kansas was supposed to be the get-right week for a defense that had allowed a banged-up Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson to return and throw for 320 yards and three touchdowns against them, Texas’ Casey Thompson for 388 and five passing touchdowns and TCU’s Max Duggan for 346 and four scores in its last three games. It wound up far from that get-right week.

Instead, a Kansas offense that’s struggled against everybody seemed right at home against Oklahoma. The Jayhawks converted on each of their first five third-down conversion tries and finished 9-of-13.

Perhaps most distressing? It was across the board offensively where Kansas improved upon its season averages as it attacked Oklahoma’s defense.

The Jayhawks entered averaging 6.6 yards per pass attempt and KU quarterback Jason Bean hadn’t thrown for more than 189 yards against anybody but Duke.

Bean ended his day 17-of-23 through the air for 246 passing yards and 10.7 yards per attempt. After playing OU, Kansas’ season-long passing numbers jumped from that aforementioned 6.6 yards per pass attempt to 7.16 after the Jayhawks bested their per-game passing numbers by more than 70 yards.

Kansas’ Neal also tallied his second-best rushing mark of the season with 100 rushing yards on 23 carries. Senior KU wide receiver Kwamie Lassiter II matched his season-high in receptions with seven and recorded his best receiving-yardage day with 101 yards.

“As I said, there’s a theme forming over the last few weeks is an inconsistent unit. Whose fault’s that? It’s all of ours. Obviously, specifically me. It does come down to practice. That’s where you attack those issues,” Grinch said.

“In the end, what we need to do is we’ve got to find ways to make more plays. Maybe guilty a little bit as a play-caller in trying to call some things to initiate that play. Maybe that is the inappropriate thing to do, but trying somehow, some way to get that TFL that we’ve been so known for as one of the better defenses against the run really over the last year or so. To see where we find ourselves today is extremely disappointing and we all got to take responsibility for it.”

OU has been operating minus starters in its secondary as cornerbacks D.J. Graham and Woodi Washington as well as starting safety Delarrin Turner-Yell all missed Saturday’s game against the Jayhawks.

Asked if he was worried about the secondary, Oklahoma head football coach Lincoln Riley wasn’t ready to say yes.

“I just think we’ve got to play better. Kind of like we said last week, that secondary gets better when you start pressuring the quarterback. That secondary gets better when you handle the zone-run game and an athletic quarterback better than what we did. The secondary gets better when you’re not constantly having penalties that put them in plus-situations,” Riley said.

“We know we’ve got to continue to get better there. We’re looking for that right lineup that we feel like is going to give us a spark, especially with so many guys out. I think it’s going to be a combination of the guys that have been getting all these reps need to take some jumps and need to improve. And then, obviously, hope to be able to get a number of these guys back here pretty quickly and the combination of that needs to be better for us, yes.”

As Riley mentioned, Oklahoma would desperately like to see its production in its opponents’ backfields improve. Against Kansas, OU was only able to muster up one sack and three quarterback hurries.

Improvement will need to come along quickly as the Sooners’ closing stretch looks to be its most challenging of the season. After Texas Tech this week and then a bye week to follow, OU closes its regular season with three straight games against ranked opponents when they’ll play Baylor, Iowa State and Oklahoma State in successive weeks.

REPORT: Sooners Safety Delarrin Turner-Yell out tonight vs. the TCU Horned Frogs

As the Sooners look to stay undefeated, they’ll be without safety Delarrin Turner-Yell who is out with a hamstring injury vs. TCU.

The Oklahoma Sooners health struggles in the secondary will continue tonight vs. the TCU Horned Frogs. With Woodi Washington already out of action, the Sooners will be missing safety Delarrin Turner-Yell for the second time in the last three weeks.

Turner-Yell, who typically leads the Sooners’ defense in snaps along with Pat Fields, has been dealing with a hamstring injury since the Kansas State game when a Wildcats receiver accidentally stepped on the Oklahoma defensive leader.

This likely means more snaps for Justin Broiles and Key Lawrence as the Oklahoma Sooners look to slow down a big-time rushing attack of the TCU Horned Frogs.

As we inch closer to game time, Oklahoma looks to keep pace with the undefeated Oklahoma State Cowboys who knocked off the Texas Longhorns in Austin earlier today.

Turner-Yell is a huge loss to a defense looking to start faster than they did a week ago against the Longhorns in the the Red River Showdown.

As we await word or any indication from the team about who will be starting at quarterback tonight against the Horned Frogs, the Sooners’ defense will be without one of their leaders in the secondary.

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

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Stopping the run vital to Oklahoma’s success vs. TCU

The Oklahoma Sooners have faced tough runners the last few weeks and will get another test this week against Zach Evans and Kendre Miller.

After facing Deuce Vaughn two weeks ago and Bijan Robinson last week, the Oklahoma Sooners will face another tough test with Zach Evans coming to Norman this evening.

Evans, the lead running back for TCU, and Kendre Miller lead the Horned Frogs offense and will be the focus of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s gameplan.

Last week, the Horned Frogs racked up nearly 400 yards rushing en route to a blow out win in Lubbock. Stopping the run will be crucial if the Oklahoma Sooners hope to improve to 7-0 on the season.

It all starts up front for the Sooners who will rely on Perrion Winfrey, Isaiah Coe, and Jordan Kelley. With Jalen Redmond still on the sidelines, this trio must continue to be strong up front, helping the Sooners linebacker corps stay clean and have a chance to run.

They’ve got to win their matchups inside and get penetration. If they can get into the backfield or at least keep the offensive line from getting to the linebackers at the second level, it will go a long way to slowing the Horned Frogs rushing attack.

Tackling will be a key at every level as that’s been a problem for much of this season. In order to limit the missed tackles, the Sooners need to get guys to the ball carrier in bunches. Much like the last two weeks, it won’t be enough to get one defender to the running back. The Sooners need to tackle as a team in order to limit the impact that Zach Evans and Kendre Miller have on the outcome of this game.

TCU showed last week that they’re more than happy to run the ball and keep it out of Max Duggan’s hands if they can. The Sooners can’t allow the TCU ground attack to dictate the flow of the football game.

The Oklahoma Sooners rank eighth in the country at stopping the run. They’ve been up for every challenge they’ve faced in 2021.

After a rough first half against Bijan Robinson and the Texas offense, they bounced back and held Robinson and the Texas offense in check as they rallied to overcome an 18 point halftime deficit.

With another tough test ahead, hopefully their second half performance from a week ago can be the catalyst for this week’s outcome. For the Sooners to win the game, it’ll start with controlling the TCU Horned Frogs rushing attack.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Sooners 55-48 win over the Longhorns

What stood out in the Oklahoma Sooners’ improbable win over the Texas Longhorns in this week’s version of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The 2021 Red River Showdown did not disappoint in terms of drama and excitement. The Texas Longhorns were in complete control of the football game through the first 30 minutes. Still, they didn’t do enough to ensure victory as the Oklahoma Sooners stormed back from 18 down at halftime to win a thrilling meeting between the two bitter rivals.

There was a lot to like from the Oklahoma Sooners performance on Saturday and a lot they need to improve upon.

The most important thing that will happen this week will be what happens at quarterback. And with that, let’s take a look at this week’s version of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Oklahoma Sooners 55-48 win over the Texas Longhorns.

The Good: Lincoln Riley’s Decision

It’s never an easy thing to replace your starting quarterback. Given that Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley was in the same situation with quarterback Spencer Rattler a year ago probably made the decision even more difficult.

In hindsight, it proved to be the right decision, and it remained the right decision as Riley stuck with true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams. Spencer Rattler didn’t have it on Saturday, and there have been few games in 2021 in which he has.

Two more turnovers bring Rattler’s total to seven in six games. And as much as it was about the turnovers, it was about the time of the game in which they took place.

The Sooners were down just 14-7 after the offense scored, and the defense forced a three and out. Oklahoma was driving, and a miscommunication between Rattler and tight end Austin Stogner led to the interception. Texas would go on to score on the ensuing drive.

A little bit later in the game, with the score 28-17, on the first play from scrimmage after the Sooners’ defense forced a punt, Rattler attempted to avoid pressure and after running into his offensive lineman had the ball ripped out by Ben Davis and recovered by Demarvion Overshown.

Again, Texas took the turnover and drove for a touchdown to make it 35-17.

Twice Oklahoma had a chance to either tie or take a big bite out of the Longhorns’ lead, and both times Spencer Rattler turned the ball over.

Caleb Williams helped spark the Oklahoma Sooners offense, who then outscored the Longhorns 38-13 the rest of the way.

While Lincoln Riley hasn’t indicated what he would do at quarterback, the Oklahoma offense just looked differently with Williams at the helm.

With the in-game move, Lincoln Riley showed that he’s not above removing his starting quarterback or any other player if they’re not performing well. He did it last year and proved it again this year. And it was the right move. Regardless of how the game turned out, it would have been the right call to sit him down for a bit. Unlike last year with Tanner Mordecai, however, Caleb Williams wasn’t giving the job back.

Up Next: The Bad

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