Tag: Pat Fields

Defense leads the way as the Oklahoma Sooners defeat Iowa State 28-21

Game recap of Oklahoma’s win vs Iowa State at home on Senior Day.

While it wasn’t always the prettiest display of football, the Oklahoma Sooners find themselves back in the win column after beating the Iowa State Cyclones 28-21. Coming off a tough loss on the road against the Baylor Bears, the Sooners had one week to turn the page and figure out how to stop an underachieving but tough Iowa State team.

The defense led the way for the Sooners. A unit that is was finally healthy for the first time since September dominated large chunks of the game. The Oklahoma defense amassed seven sacks, 11 tackles for loss, two interceptions, forced multiple fumbles (Key Lawrence had two), and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by Jalen Redmond. When the Sooners needed a play to seal the game, it was senior Pat Fields who came through with the timely interception.

The Iowa State Cyclones would start the scoring by driving down the field, aided by a few penalties, and a gratuitous review in the red zone that led to a Breece Hall touchdown run.

On the next drive, Caleb Williams would take a quarterback keeper 74 yards for a touchdown to tie the score at seven apiece. The defenses would settle in and the two teams would trade punts until the Sooners would muster up enough offense to get into field goal range. Kicker Gabe Brkic would miss his third consecutive kick, this time 25 yards out as it banged off the left upright.

The Cyclones would meticulously get downfield before Key Lawrence came in like a heat-seeking missile and blast Brock Purdy, forcing the fumble that Redmond would return for the Sooners’ second score of the game just before halftime.

The Sooners defense would come out of halftime still dominating defensively, while the offense continued to find itself. Oklahoma’s defensive line was relentless and on a 4th down got a stop that gave the Sooner prime field position. On Oklahoma’s ensuing drive, they’d march down the field, ultimately leading to Caleb Williams touchdown pass to Mario Williams. Williams, who played sparsely last week made an incredible catch and toe-touch on the sideline to make it a two-score game.

Brock Purdy was replaced by Hunter Dekkers due to injury on the next drive and came in and tossed an interception to Delarrin Turner-Yell. The Sooners’ offense wouldn’t take advantage of the interception as Caleb Williams tossed his third interception in two games on the following drive.

Dekkers led the Cyclones to the red zone where he’d find tight end Chase Allen for the touchdown to make it 21-14.

On Oklahoma’s next drive, the offensive line and the running game would take over. Kennedy Brooks led the way with 43 yards on three carries and the Sooners would be the beneficiaries of an Iowa State facemask penalty. Eric Gray would cap off the drive in the fourth quarter with a seven-yard touchdown run to make it 28-14.

Ultimately, “Speed D” would be the difference. Iowa State scored once more to close the gap to 28-21, but on the final drive with Brock Purdy back in the game, the Cyclones got to the Sooners 21-yard line, but faced a fourth and 10. Purdy dropped back to pass and looked to have plenty of time before he released the ball just out of the reach of tight end Chase Allen, who knocked the ball into the air before it was secured by senior Pat Fields for the interception. It was a fitting end to an emotional senior say for him and the rest of the Sooners senior class on Saturday.

Caleb Williams would take a knee and finish his day 8/18 for 87 yards with one touchdown pass, one interception, and one 74-yard rushing touchdown. Kennedy Brooks led the way with 17 carries and 115 yards.

The win was Oklahoma’s 10th on the season and guarantees that with one more Baylor loss or a win next week in Bedlam against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Sooners will make another trip to Arlington, Texas to play in the Big 12 Championship game.

For Iowa State, the loss drops them to 6-5 on the season. They’ll end their Big 12 campaign at home against TCU.

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Report Card: Oklahoma Sooners fail to make the grade vs. Baylor Bears

How did the Oklahoma Sooners’ position groups grade out in their 27-14 loss to the Baylor Bears?

Oklahoma’s performance against Baylor wasn’t as pitiful as other earlier games this year. Still, it certainly lacked any level of competitive fire needed for a team who came into the game looking to answer a plethora of questions about how they would fair if tested by a good top 25 ranked football team. The test did not go as planned, and the Sooners took their first loss of the season 27-14 at the hands of the Baylor Bears.

Despite the final score, the game was tied 7-7 at the half. Oklahoma had a chance to win this game, but they never hit another gear. While this wasn’t a complete dismantling, there were a lot of position groups that struggled, which can only be more head-scratching considering the Sooners were coming off their bye week.

Let’s grade each group and break things down.

5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 52-21 win over Texas Tech

In convincing fashion, the Oklahoma Sooners beat the Texas Tech Red Raiders 52-21 to remain undefeated. Here are 5 takeaways from the win.

As the dust settles on another Oklahoma Sooners football game, we find the Sooners still undefeated at 9-0 after a 52-21 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders. It was the smoothest performance Oklahoma has had all year and it was stress-free and smooth sailing throughout.

The offense threw all over the Texas Tech secondary and the Sooners never trailed.

Caleb Williams set more records joining Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as the only three quarterbacks to throw six touchdown passes and zero interceptions in a game.

The Sooners defense looked quite sturdy as well grabbing a few takeaways in the process. There were some interesting developments to takeaway so without further ado, let’s get started.

Sooners passing game leads the way as Oklahoma routs Texas Tech 52-21

Caleb Williams six touchdowns lead the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners to a dominant 52-21 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Big 12 play.

On this Halloween weekend, the Oklahoma Sooners played the role of Michael Myers while the Texas Tech Red Raiders were Laurie Strode in 1978.

Caleb Williams threw for 402 yards and six touchdown passes and No. 4 Oklahoma finally had a comfortable and complete game, terrorizing Texas Tech 52-21 on Saturday.

From the opening snap, the Sooners got after Texas Tech. Key Lawrence and Isaiah Thomas set the tone on the first defensive drive of the game with pass deflections to force an early three and out.

Oklahoma’s first offensive possession was highlighted by a magnificent Jadon Haselwood one-handed catch. Unfortunately, the drive would stall, and the Sooners would punt.

Another stop by Oklahoma forced Texas Tech to punt again and then the flood gates opened.

The Sooners would score on consecutive possessions and race out to a 14-0 lead on a 67-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Mims and a 22-yard touchdown pass to Mario Williams. Williams touchdown reception came as Caleb Williams bought time by escaping the pocket to find his wideout in the back of the end zone.

Tech would answer as wide receiver Eric Ezukanma made a fantastic touchdown catch over cornerback Jaden Davis to make it 14-7.

An interception of quarterback Henry Colombi by Pat Fields off of another pass deflection by Isaiah Thomas would set the Sooners up in plus territory. Oklahoma would would score again and close the half up 28-7.

The Sooners repeatedly attacked the Texas Tech secondary down after down leading to Caleb Williams finishing the first half with 4 touchdown passes.

After the break, Oklahoma came out and continued to attack the Texas Tech defense and extending their lead to 38-7 before Tech finally answered in the waning seconds of the 3rd quarter. As quarterback Donovan Smith evaded Sooners defenders, he found J.J. Sparkman from 17-yards out who leapt over the Oklahoma defense for the score. 

One final touchdown pass of nine yards to tight end Austin Stogner would conclude Williams’ night who finished as the third Oklahoma player to have six touchdown passes and zero interceptions in a game. He joined Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield in that exclusive club.

Marvin Mims led the team with four catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns.

Spencer Rattler would come in for mop-up duty and throw a 42-yard strike to Brian Darby and was mobbed by teammates and his head coach when coming off the field.

Both teams will get a bye and will be back in action on November 13th. The Red Raiders head on the road to take on Iowa State while Oklahoma’s patented “Championship November” with a matchup against the Baylor Bears who knocked off Texas on Saturday 31-24..

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5 Final thoughts on the Oklahoma Sooners vs. the Texas Tech Red Raiders

As the Oklahoma Sooners get set to host the Texas Tech Red Raiders, here are five final thoughts on the important Big 12 matchup.

The Oklahoma Sooners have an opportunity to move to 9-0 today when they take on the 5-3 Texas Tech Red Raiders. The good news for Oklahoma is they still have room to improve and hopefully reinforcements are coming that will help that.

Lincoln Riley hinted that several defensive players could be back this week or after the bye and it appears that Jalen Redmond is one of them.

On the offensive side, he said Michael Woods and Mario Williams were close to returning as well. If the Sooners can maintain a relative level of health this week and during the stretch run of the season they still have a great shot to complete an undefeated 2021.

On paper, the Oklahoma Sooners are the better team, but they’ve played six of their eight games close and this one has the potential to be a close one as well. As we get ready for Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech, here are some final thoughts on Saturday’s game.

3 Defensive Players to watch as Oklahoma takes on Texas Tech

The Sooners will take on Texas Tech in the last game before a much-needed bye week. Which 3 defenders will make an impact in Saturday’s game?

Some things are better solved with simplistic answers instead of trying to overcomplicate things. In the case of the current state of the Oklahoma Sooners defense, they simply need to get it done.

After a horrible showing for over half of the game in Lawrence, Kansas the Sooners found a way to make enough plays to get out of there with a win.

Now, they return home and face a Texas Tech offense that is far from a slouch and has some players that can make this game a headache for Oklahoma.

Texas Tech ranks second in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma in passing offense, and senior quarterback Henry Columbi has a big (literally) receiving weapon in 6-foot, 3-inch Eric Ezukanma, who will tower over the smaller OU defensive backs that Oklahoma is bound to send out there.

Senior Kaylon Geiger is their other main wide receiving threat and he has over 400 yards receiving to this point as well.

Their running game has guys like SaRodorick Thompson and Tahj Brooks, who both have over 300 yards and at least four touchdowns on the season.

Who are the three defensive players that can help out Oklahoma this week taking on this multi-faceted and talented Texas Tech offense? Take a look below.

Up Next: Redmond Returning

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Sooners’ Safety Pat Fields named a finalist for the Campbell Trophy

Oklahoma Sooners Academic All-American Pat Fields has been named a finalist for the 2021 Campbell Trophy.

As part of a secondary that’s been through the wringer on the injury front, senior safety Pat Fields has been the stabilizing force for a group that has missed key players at corner and safety for the past several weeks. To help overcome the losses of his secondary teammates, Fields leads the team in the snap count, playing 87% of the possible 539 defensive snaps in 2021.

Fields has provided the necessary leadership and a steady hand to a defensive unit that is missing Woodi Washington, Delarrin Turner-Yell, and D.J. Graham.

For his efforts on the field and those in the classroom, Fields has been named a finalist for the Campbell Trophy. The trophy, which was also won by former Sooners center Ty Darlington in 2015, goes to the player that both exemplifies excellence in the classroom, on the field, and makes an impact in the community.

In Norman, and in his hometown of Tulsa, Fields has been active in the community creating programs like “Town Business,” a financial literacy seminar that provides instruction on budgeting, money management, credit, and personal branding to high school football student-athletes.

A fourth-year Senior, Fields is pursuing both a Bachelor’s in Business Administration degree in accounting as well as a master’s degree in accounting. Per the University of Oklahoma Fields has maintained a 3.82 GPA in his studies.

Pat Fields was a 2020 second-team Academic All-American selection and an All-Big 12 Academic first-team selection in 2019 and 2020. He’s a two-time captain of the team and is currently second in tackles for the Oklahoma Sooners defense.

As a finalist, Fields has won a post-graduate scholarship of $18,000 and will attend the Campbell Trophy awards ceremony at the ARIA Resort and Casino in Las Vegas Nevada on Dec. 7 for the 63rd annual selection of the Campbell Trophy award winner. If selected, Fields’ post-graduate scholarship would increase to $25,000.

Fields founded “Town Business,” a financial literacy seminar that teaches high school football student-athletes about budgeting, money management, credit and personal branding. Along with other collegiate student-athletes and former NFL players, he conducted the first seminar in May in his hometown of Tulsa. He also founded the Black Wall Street Scholarship, collaborating with the president of the OU National Black Alumni Association to establish an endowment with the purpose of providing scholarships for underrepresented and lower income students from Tulsa, and coordinated a back-to-school event and football camp in July for economically vulnerable elementary school students in his hometown. – OU Athletics Department

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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.

Coveted in-state 4-star Oklahoma target announces commitment date

Gentry Williams, long time Sooners recruit announces date for commitment.

Highly rated four-star cornerback Gentry Williams is ready to wrap it up. The in-state star took to Twitter to announce he’ll be committing at Booker T. Washington High School on October 18th. In a post that included a graphic, four teams are in the last race for Williams’ commitment: Oklahoma, USC, Missouri, and Florida.

The Sooners have recruited this young man since he was a freshman in high school. It’s been a long journey for them but they can confidently say they put in the work to be in a position to keep the talented in-state star home.

Williams was recruited as an athlete by colleges for his first couple of years in high school. After time passed and it became increasingly clear he was zeroing in on playing defense in college, he began to be listed as a cornerback and recruited by schools to play as a cornerback. Williams has great size, athleticism, and speed to play corner. He’s far from raw but he’s still in theory a developmental cornerback. However, due to his athleticism and size that you can’t teach, he’s a must-have for this Sooners defense.

Oklahoma cornerbacks coach Roy Manning has been at the front of the recruitment for Williams with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch following right behind. The duo looks to land the highest-rated cornerback commit of their time in Norman. It’s also important to note that Williams has a strong relationship with current Sooners starting safety and captain, Pat Fields. Both have grown up in Tulsa and know each other very well.

According to the crystal ball predictions on 247 sports, the predictions lean 80 percent in favor of Oklahoma and 20 percent in favor of USC. The contrast wasn’t always like this as USC was thought of as the biggest threat to lure him away from home due to his close bond with USC cornerback and interim head in Donte Williams. Upheaval within the program following the midseason firing of Clay Helton and uncertainty of where Williams may be next year has likely opened a rift in the closeness between the two allowing Oklahoma to feel a bit more confident in their chances.

The Sooners had the last visit as Williams had his official visit for the Nebraska game. The initial returns from the visit were good as Rivals forecasts and crystal ball predictions started trending in Oklahoma’s favor days after. Steve Wiltfong, 247’s superstar football recruiting lead has a pick for Oklahoma with a confidence level of 8/10.

Gentry Williams’ Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247 4 37 1 3
Rivals 4 67 1 8
ESPN 4 63 2 3
247 Composite 4 21 1 8

Vitals

Hometown Tulsa, Oklahoma
Projected Position CB
Height 6’0
Weight 175

Recruitment

  • Offered on April 29th, 2019
  • The official visit took place September 17th, 2021

Offers

  • Oklahoma
  • Oklahoma State
  • Florida
  • USC
  • LSU
  • Missouri
  • Arkansas
  • Nebraska
  • Baylor
  • Michigan
  • Georgia

Crystal Ball

Film

Check out Gentry Williams work over at HUDL.

Twitter

 

12 Sooners who Stood Out in Oklahoma’s win over Kansas State

In their win over Kansas State, the Oklahoma Sooners got contributions from a variety of sources. Here are 12 Sooners who stood out.

Football is the ultimate team game. It takes 11 guys on both sides of the ball and a variety of role players to put a team in a position to win the game. Though it’s a quarterback’s game, it takes a team to win football games.

And that’s what the Sooners got on Saturday in their 37-31 win over Kansas State. It wasn’t a perfect team win, but the defense held the Wildcats to 24 points (that kickoff return for a touchdown isn’t on the defense) despite Skylar Thompson and Deuce Vaughn having monster games.

The defense also got the offense a short field and looked to be on the verge of scoring until a botched snap and penalty forced them to kick a field goal after having second and goal at the one.

In the first half, it looked as if the Kansas State defense was going to be as stingy as West Virginia’s. However, Spencer Rattler and company continued their efficiency and at the end of the game they had scored on of their eight possessions (not counting the kneel-downs at the end).

It wasn’t a win that moved the needle in the eyes of the voters, who allowed the Sooners to drop back a spot in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll and let a team jump them in the AP Top 25.

Despite how the Sooners are viewed nationally, they’re 5-0 and coming off arguably their best win of the season. Here are 12 players who made significant contributions to the win.