Tag: Robert Spear-Jennings

Defense and special teams provide Oklahoma’s 3 stars for the week

Three stars from Oklahoma’s narrow escape from the Houston Cougars.

Saturday was one of the most head-scratching performances from an Oklahoma team in quite some time. There were a lot of bad things to take away from the game. Most notably, the performance or lack thereof from the Sooners offense. The good thing and the most important thing is that the Sooners found a way to escape with a 16-12 win over a Houston team that gave them everything they had and then some.

It is hard to quantify how weird that game was and how unexpected that performance was for Oklahoma’s offense based on what we have come to expect out of Sooner offenses for the last 20 years.

However, Brent Venables would never trade an ugly win for a pretty loss, and you’d be certain the rest of the Sooners locker room feels the same.

Oklahoma needed a few players to step up and show up to win that game, and for that reason, we have our three stars from the win below.

Danny Stutsman, LB

On a night where defense ruled the day, the best defensive player on the field had to be present and great for Oklahoma to win. Danny Stutsman was that and more for the Sooners on his way to tallying 15 tackles, 12 of which were solo and one for a loss. That gave him his 11th career game with double-digit tackles.

Stutsman earned an excellent run defense grade from Pro Football Focus, the best on the team.

Robert Spears-Jennings, S

There was simply no better defender on the field for either team than Robert Spears-Jennings. The junior safety, a local kid from nearby Tulsa, has been the highest graded Sooner in back-to-back weeks. Last night, he was incredible, once again. He was really good against the run and was fantastic in coverage as well.

Spears-Jennings’ third-down interception, while Houston was driving at the beginning of the fourth quarter, was also a monumental play in the game. He showed up and showed out, all while contributing to special teams as well.

Luke Elzinga, P

You simply don’t win a 16-12 game without incredible special teams play, and that is precisely what the Sooners received from punter Luke Elzinga. He’s probably going to need a little extra time in the cold tub today for that sore leg, but he deserves it.

He punted eight times for 352 yards, good for an average of 44 yards per punt. Five of the eight punts were downed inside of the 20, which was pivotal in a game where field position became gold by the second half. In particular his second to last punt of the night, which OU downed at the Houston five, set up Gracen Halton’s safety that sealed the win for the Sooners.

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Isaiah Coe’s message to his teammates following Saturday’s loss? ‘Just keep fighting’

Saturday’s loss was a tough one, but Isaiah Coe has a message for his teammates.

The Oklahoma Sooners fell to the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday in the final Bedlam game for the foreseeable future. It was a heartbreaking loss for the players and the fan base.

The Sooners had plenty of chances to separate themselves and come away with a win, but as we’ve seen too many times in the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]’ era, they were unable to win a close game. That’s beginning to be a bit of a trend for the Sooners. Mistakes that weren’t typical prior to the Red River Rivalry win have plagued Oklahoma in their last three games. It’s no coincidence they’ve gone 1-2 since the bye week.

Isaiah Coe talked about it after the game about what his message is to the team. “Just keep fighting,” Coe said. “The season is not done yet. We’ve still got a couple more games, a bowl game, you know, just keep fighting. Finish strong. Try to finish the course. Do what we came here to do. Have some pride.”

While the loss makes the conference title far more difficult, the Sooners still have a chance to show they are much improved from a season ago. We’ve seen it this year. The defense has taken major steps. Last year they were the No. 122 ranked total defense. In 2023, they’ve improved to No. 60 in the nation. That’s a major jump. They also rank 22nd in scoring defense.

It wasn’t all bad yesterday. Several young players for the Sooners got into the game due to injury and showed what the future might hold for this program. Whether it was [autotag]Kip Lewis[/autotag] with 15 tackles or [autotag]Kobie McKenzie[/autotag] and [autotag]Robert Spear-Jennings[/autotag] with seven tackles a piece, the Sooners’ young stars showed out.

While yesterday’s loss stings, the future is bright. It’s going to be a bumpy road early on, but if they stick with it and let the young guys on the team grow, all of these struggles will be worth it in the end.

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