Lincoln Riley doesn’t plan to name a starter for TCU, doesn’t like playing 2 quarterbacks
The most intriguing storyline to come out of the Red River Showdown will continue to carry us to 6:30 p.m. Saturday when the Oklahoma Sooners host the TCU Horned Frogs at Owen Field.
At every opportunity, when presented the chance to name a starting quarterback for the week seven clash, Sooners’ head coach Lincoln Riley has declined to do so. Today was no different when he met with the media for his weekly press conference.
Per Eric Bailey of the Tulsa World, Riley doesn’t plan on naming a starting quarterback this week ahead of the matchup with TCU.
Lincoln Riley doesn't plan on naming a starting quarterback this week for the TCU game. #Sooners
— Eric Bailey (@EricBaileyTW) October 12, 2021
That’s not surprising, given what we know about Lincoln Riley. He’s a head coach that likes to hold onto as much information as possible week to week to keep an advantage. If not naming a starting quarterback means Gary Patterson has to plan for two quarterbacks, then Lincoln Riley will hang onto that advantage.
And while Patterson may have to plan for two quarterbacks, just one of them sees a starter’s share of the snaps. Per Ryan Aber of The Oklahoman, Lincoln Riley mentioned that he would prefer not to have a two-quarterback system as it can mess with the rhythm of the offense.
Lincoln Riley, in response to @BerryTramel Q on whether he’d considered playing two QBs: “I think the rhythm is tough. I think there’s some challenges there with the rhythm of the game, seeing things.” Says he’s considered playing both but isn’t something he’d like to do
— Ryan Aber (@ryaber) October 12, 2021
As the old football adage goes, “if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks.” On the flip side, generally, two-quarterback systems come about because a team doesn’t have a good or great option, and that’s not the case at Oklahoma.
With Caleb Williams and Spencer Rattler, the Sooners have two good options at quarterback. Say what you want about Rattler. He’s still a good player. It’s just not working out in 2021 for a variety of reasons.
Based on what we saw Saturday at Texas, it would be hard to imagine the Oklahoma Sooners trotting out anyone other than Caleb Williams at quarterback this Saturday. Of course, Lincoln Riley could have a surprise up his sleeve, but there was a stark contrast in the effectiveness of the offense between the two starting quarterbacks.
With Caleb Williams in the lineup, it looked more explosive, composed, and his running threat gave the Longhorns one more thing to think about. With Rattler in at quarterback, it looked disjointed and erratic.
For the first time since maybe the 2013 season when Blake Bell and Trevor Knight split time at quarterback, the Oklahoma Sooners have a question at the game’s most crucial position. The difference between 2013 and 2021 is that the Sooners have two good options to look to when they line up to play the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday night.
Could that matchup at home be the beginning of the Caleb Williams era at Oklahoma, or will Lincoln Riley give Spencer Rattler another chance to lead the Sooners?
