It didn’t take long for all of the hype and preseason accolades to fade into the background. On just his second attempt of the season Spencer Rattler attempted to hit his receiver down the left sideline only to have the ball undercut by the trailing defender and be intercepted.
It was a deflating start to the season for the Oklahoma Sooners, who have as high of expectations as they’ve had in quite some time. Following in the long lineage of great quarterbacks at Oklahoma, Rattler bears the weight of lofty expectations every time he steps on the football field.
On Saturday, in Oklahoma’s 40-35 win to the Tulane Green Wave, Rattler was solid. But that’s about it after two interceptions and a third that was called back on a questionable pass interference call.
Though the stat line will show a nice completion percentage and a 300 yard passing day, it wasn’t as good as he or the Sooners would have liked.
And like the shine that has faded off the high expectations surrounding the Sooners, Spencer Rattler’s Heisman candidacy has taken a hit as well.
David Kenyon of Bleacher Report ranked Rattler fourth in his latest Heisman Trophy rankings.
But Rattler doesn’t see any reason to panic.
“We just gotta be cleaner, gotta be sharper,” he said, according to Austin Curtright of the Oklahoma Daily. “I gotta be better. Everybody’s gotta be better.”
If the 2020 season didn’t exist, the statement might feel empty. But we’re inclined to trust a quarterback who tallied 9.6 yards per pass attempt, totaled 3,191 yards, accounted for 34 touchdowns and led his team to a conference title last year in an offense that has produced two Heisman winners and a runner-up since 2017. – Kenyon
Championships aren’t won in September and neither are Heisman trophies. Though he put himself behind Alabama’s Bryce Young in the Heisman race, Rattler has plenty of time to put himself at the forefront of the discussion yet again.
It’s no longer about potential or possibility, but about production. On Saturday, Spencer Rattler produced decent numbers, but didn’t pass the eye test. He’ll get better as the season goes along and there’s no reason to panic.
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