Tag: Sooners

4 takeaways from Oklahoma’s 77-69 win over Oregon State

After a slow start, a huge lead and a close finish, Oklahoma improves to 3-0 on the season with a win over Oregon State.

After a slow start, a huge lead and a close finish, Oklahoma improves to 3-0 on the season with a win over Oregon State.

The Sooners’ 77-69 victory over is the Beavers’ first loss of the season.

THIS TEAM IS FUN

When the Sooners are clicking, they are a really fun group to watch. Oklahoma showed off their athleticism, shooting abilities and defensive prowess against the Beavers. It did not matter who was out there, once the Sooners found their groove, they were going to score.

Four Sooners finished the game in double digits with Kristian Doolittle leading the way with 19 points.

austin reaves is a walking heat check

Austin Reaves is really going to hurt an opposing fan base one day. The transfer from Wichita State was 5-9  from three point range, finishing the game with 17 points and one rebound.

KRISITAN DOOLITTLE CONTINUES TO IMPROVE

In his second game back from suspension for playing in an unsanctioned summer league (a suspension in which ESPN commentator, Jay Bilas ripped the NCAA for), Doolittle looked like he does when he plays to his full ability.

Doolittle was the Sooners’ leading scorer and rebounder with 19 points and a career high, 16 boards. Six of those points came from deep as Doolittle tickled both times he shot behind the arc.

Aside from his 19 and 16 efforts, Doolittle also had three assists in his 32 minutes.

FULL TEAM WIN

Not just the starters got in on the action. Kur Kuath, Jalen Hill, Victor Iwuakor and Alondes Williams all posted stats against the Beavers. For what they lacked with their 18 combined points, they made up for in play that be kept with numbers. The Sooners kept Oregon State relatively quiet, forcing the Beavers on multiple minute-long scoreless streaks.

Oklahoma’s next game is Monday, November 18, against William & Mary at the Lloyd Noble Center. The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Southwest. Tip-off is set for 6pm CT.

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Oklahoma falls one spot in this week’s College Football Playoff Rankings

After a big win by Minnesota and a close call against Iowa State, Oklahoma actually fell in the College Football Playoff Rankings.

After a big win by P.J. Fleck’s Golden Gophers and a close call against Iowa State, Oklahoma actually fell in the College Football Playoff Rankings.

The CFP committee released its second rankings of the 2019 season Tuesday night, and the Sooners fell one spot to No. 10 as Minnesota entered the top-10 and Penn State didn’t fall below them.

No. 10 Oklahoma was up 42-21 on Iowa State halfway through the third quarter. The Cyclones put together a productive drive right before the third-quarter ended, then punched in a touchdown early in the fourth-quarter on the way to scoring 20-straight. A failed two-point conversion attempt cost Iowa State a chance to upset the Sooners on the road.

Here is how the rest of the top-10 of the College Football Playoff Rankings rounded out:

  1. LSU
  2. Ohio State
  3. Clemson
  4. Georgia
  5. Alabama
  6. Oregon
  7. Utah
  8. Minnesota
  9. Penn State
  10. Oklahoma

Kansas State stayed in the top-25 after a loss to Texas at No. 24 and Oklahoma State stayed in at No. 22. The Longhorns entered the rankings at No. 19.

Oklahoma will take on No. 13 Baylor, who fell one spot in this week’s rankings, Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.

The Sooners have two games left against current top-25 opponents with this week against the Bears and on Nov. 30 against Oklahoma State.

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Defensive back Jaquayln Crawford has entered the transfer portal, per report

As Alex Grinch moves towards getting his own defenders to Oklahoma, transfers are inevitable and that number is rising.

Oklahoma has lost another defender to the transfer portal.

Redshirt freshman Jaquayln Crawford—who started out his career in Norman, Oklahoma, as a receiver—has entered the transfer portal, according to a report from The Athletic’s Jason Kersey.

Crawford was a highly touted athlete out of Rockdale, Texas, that had the top-end speed and makeup of productive Z-receiver in Lincoln Riley’s offense. The 4-star chose Oklahoma over the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Georgia, Florida and Auburn.

Earlier this season, Crawford made the move from offense to defense to help build depth for Alex Grinch in the secondary. He has played in two career games, making his lone appearance this season in the South Dakota game.

This is the fourth Oklahoma defender to enter the transfer portal this season. Crawford followed defensive backs Starrland Baldwin, Miguel Edwards and linebacker Jonathan Perkins. All four of those players were in their first or second years at Oklahoma.

Based off the optics, defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is wasting no time finding room to bring in his own guys that fit and can play his style of defense.

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Bryce Thompson commits to Kansas over Oklahoma

In state 2020 product, Bryce Thompson chose Kansas over Oklahoma in front of a national audience on CBS Sports.

In state 2020 product, Bryce Thompson chose Kansas over Oklahoma in front of a national audience on CBS Sports.

The five-star guard out of Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.) had his choice of school, narrowing his decision to Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and North Carolina.The Jayhawks prevailed even though the Sooners and Cowboys both made late charges.

Thompson is already 6-foot-4 and weighs in at 180 pounds, he does not have to do much to his body to get ready for collegiate basketball.

With a program steeped in history and tradition alike, Thompson adds another feather to the cap of Jayhawk head coach, Bill Self who has consistently had Kansas atop the Big 12 during his tenure.

Thompson’s commitment to Kansas jumped the Jayhawks up 40 spots in the 2020 recruiting rankings. Previous to Thompson’s commitment, Kansas had the No. 51 overall 2020 class of recruits coming to Lawrence, Kan. Now the Jayhawks are the No. 11 class in the country and back where they traditionally are ranked when it comes to recruiting.

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3 keys for Oklahoma against Oregon State

Nothing quite like an OU-OSU matchup in November.

Oh, wait… it’s not the same OU-OSU I was thinking of.

Nothing quite like an OU-OSU matchup in November.

Oh, wait… it’s not the same OU-OSU I was thinking of.

Oklahoma (2-0) and Oregon State (2-0) are facing off for the fifth time ever as part of the Phil Knight Invitational. The Sooners lead the series with a perfect 4-0 record against the Beavers. The last matchup came in 2000 when the schools played in the Big Island Invitational in Hilo, HI.

Both teams are off to solid starts to the season with Oklahoma winning its games against UTSA (85-67) and Minnesota (71-62). Oregon State comes off victories over Cal State Northridge (87-67) and Iowa State (80-74).

Here are three things the Sooners need to do in order to remain undefeated against the Beavers.

STOP TRES TINKLE

Although it sounds simple, Oregon State senior forward Tres Tinkle, has been an unstoppable force through two games.

Leading the Beavers in points per game (26.0), rebounds per game (10.5) and assists per game (5.5), Oklahoma is going to have to key in on Tinkle, forcing the Beavers to have anyone else beat the Sooners.

KEEP IT LOW SCORING

Oregon State is 15-0 when scoring more than 80 points in a game over the past three seasons. Oklahoma may have to change their pace to slow the game down and keep the Beavers in front of them. The Sooners, under Lon Kruger have played both up tempo and slow during his tenure.

FORCE THE BEAVERS OFF THE THREE POINT LINE

Oregon State has been unconscious as a team from three point territory so far this season. The Beavers are shooting 46.3 percent from deep as a team and Tinkle is shooting 69.2 percent from three on his own.

The Sooners have two options: Run Oregon State off the three point line or make over half of their attempted threes. The prior being the much more reliable and realistic option for Oklahoma.

Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

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Oklahoma does sense when home crowd thins out, per Lincoln Riley

As the time started to wane in Oklahoma’s game against Iowa State, the crowd was thin—something OU can sense, according to Lincoln Riley.

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley didn’t call out Oklahoma fans … until he did.

The Sooners’ head football coach is as calculated in terms of relaying a message as it gets. When asked about the crowd thinning out after halftime of Saturday’s game, Riley didn’t initially touch it.

After halftime, Oklahoma was in control or up by three touchdowns for most of the second-half.

 

“It’s our job as coaches and players that we gotta play to our level no matter what,” he said at his press conference Monday. “That is certainly our job, and I would never put that on our fans or anybody else’s fans or any atmosphere or any stadium.”

Then the crowd thinned out, and it’s clear he noticed it.

“Now, the flipside of that, like I’ve said up here many times, we have one of the great stadiums in America, we have one of the great fan bases in America, and when it’s rocking in there, does our team feel that? Hell yeah, they do,” Riley said. “And when it’s not, do they feel that? Hell yeah, they do. Yup.”

With a win this week against Baylor, the Sooners may be in play for another night game in its final home game against TCU on Nov. 23 as the Big 12 conference

So … Yup.

Oklahoma opens as smallest betting favorite of season against Baylor

After Iowa State about upended No. 8 Oklahoma, the Sooners opened up as its smallest betting favorite of the year against Baylor.

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Iowa State about handed No. 8 Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) a surprising, unexpected comeback win as the Sooners pulled out a 42-41 win over the Cyclones on Saturday

Now, Oklahoma heads to Waco, Texas, to take on No. 10 Baylor (9-0, 6-0) in a primtime matchup that has brought the presence of College GameDay to the Bears’ campus.

The Sooners have been huge favorites for most of the season, but oddsmakers think this will be their closest game of the season as Oklahoma opened up as an 8.5-point favorite over Baylor according to BetMGM.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Nov. 11 at 5:05 p.m. ET. 

Oklahoma was last this low of a favorite in the Red River Rivalry as 11-point favorites over Texas. The Sooners are 4-5 against the spread this year, including a 1-3 record away from Norman, Oklahoma.

“Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.”

Oklahoma will kickoff against Baylor at 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.

*Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Final game grades, report card for Oklahoma-Iowa State

Oklahoma about suffered an epic collapse against Iowa State. Here are the final game grades, report card for Saturday’s game.

As Lincoln Riley says, “The game is never as good as you thought, and it’s not going to be bad.”

On first glance, Iowa State stayed with what was working and ended up making a game out of one that didn’t seem to be close. Oklahoma had an atrocious fourth-quarter, but it didn’t feel like they played bad during the first three quarters.

After every game, Sooners Wire’s Kegan Reneau will rewatch and provide his final thoughts before moving on to the next one.

Here are the grades for the unit and the grades for individuals who ended up on the stat sheet or were noticeable for Oklahoma. These grades reflect how the Sooners played on that game indicative of the perception Reneau expects them to play.

QUARTERBACK — C-

Jalen Hurts — C-

We are at the point where it is acceptable to ask:

What would this offense look like with Spencer Rattler or Tanner Mordecai? 

Jalen Hurts should have thrown a pick-six and two more interceptions against Iowa State.  

His running ability has brought a different variable to Lincoln Riley’s system, but his inability do dissect coverage and consistently hit vertical throws has done more harm than good. Has it limited the offense’s ceiling? That’s something I pondered with prior to the season, but CeeDee Lamb’s and Charleston Rambo’s yards after the catch have inflated the numbers for this offense. 

No, this isn’t me calling for a quarterback change. This is me stating the reality that this offense is different and Jalen Hurts will never be the quarterback Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray or the future quarterbacks will run. 

RUNNING BACK —  A

Trey Sermon — N/A
Kennedy Brooks — A
Rhamondre Stevenson — N/A
T.J. Pledger — N/A

So, this is what happens when one of the best running backs in the country get the ball … 

H-BACK — B

Jeremiah Hall — B
Brayden Willis — B

Solid day. Nothing stood out as bad and both made a couple plays.

WIDE RECEIVER — B+

CeeDee Lamb — A-
Charleston Rambo — B
Trejan Bridges — B-
Nick Basquine — N/A
A.D. Miller — B-
Theo Wease — N/A

CeeDee Lamb is the best receiver in college football. No ifs, ands or buts about it. That fumble cost him an A+.

Some of the blocking in the running game did not hold up. 

TIGHT END — B

Lee Morris — B

Morris is becoming more and more useful for Riley as the season has gone on. 

OFFENSIVE LINE — B-

Iowa State has one of the most underrated defensive lines in the country and the Oklahoma offensive line held its own. Nothing too flashy. Lot of the success in the running game was based on play design, but the offensive line did what its job is supposed to do. 

OFFENSE — 81

Not its best day at the office, but Oklahoma did what many can’t against Iowa State: Chunk plays and points.

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CeeDee Lamb named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week

CeeDee Lamb went off against Iowa State, earning him Big 12 offensive player of the week.

Expect anything different?

CeeDee Lamb went off against Iowa State, earning him Big 12 offensive player of the week.

Being the main offensive weapon against the Cyclones, Lamb could not be contained even if he was covered by three defenders.

Not only was he a threat through the air with his eight catches for 167 yards and a touchdown, but he was a huge help in the run game. Lamb is one of the best blocking wide receivers in the nation, proving his abilities once again last Saturday.

This is the fourth time this season that the offensive player of the week is a Sooner and the second time this season that Lamb has been recognized as the offensive player of the week.

Jalen Hurts has also won offensive player of the week twice and newcomer of the week twice. Safety, Brendan Radley-Hiles and linebacker, Kenneth Murray have each been awarded Big 12 defensive player of the week once. In total, players from Oklahoma have been recognized eight times this season.

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Lincoln Riley announces Trey Sermon, Kenneth Mann have season-ending injuries

“Im sick, heartbroken for those two.” Lincoln Riley told reporters at his weekly press conference, Monday. “They’ve put a ton into this program.” Both running back Trey Sermon and defensive tackle Kenneth Mann are done for the season after …

“Im sick, heartbroken for those two.” Lincoln Riley told reporters at his weekly press conference, Monday. “They’ve put a ton into this program.”

Both running back Trey Sermon and defensive tackle Kenneth Mann are done for the season after sustaining leg injuries against Iowa State.

Sermon went down late in the first half against Iowa State this past Saturday. Coming into the game against the Cyclones, Sermon had little production from what fans grew accustomed to over the previous two seasons. Even still, Sermon’s loss is not what the Sooners need as they head into the stretch run of the college football season.

Kenneth Mann was also injured in the second quarter against Iowa State. Mann was unable to put any pressure on his left leg as trainers assisted him off the field, Saturday.

Mann was a captain of the 2018 team and had 40 games under his belt coming into last week.

Sermon finishes the season under 400 yards rushing and just four touchdowns.

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