Report Card: Offense’s dysfunction dooms Sooners chance to end Bedlam on top
If Saturday was the last time Bedlam is played, the Oklahoma Sooners will always regret how things went in their final game against their in-state rivals. The Sooners will walk away from this game knowing they have dominated this series. There’s no debating that the Sooners have owned the Cowboys. But on Saturday, Oklahoma had the chance to put one final bow on this lopsided series, and they didn’t get it done.
Oklahoma State came out swinging, and the Sooners responded. But the most common theme was Oklahoma’s offense stalling on four different possessions once they got to the Oklahoma State side of the field. Most notably on the Sooners’ final drive of the game.
Defensively, Oklahoma played well enough to win. After getting bullied early, the defense found its footing and locked in the remainder of the contest.
In the end, the dysfunction and mistakes on offense put Oklahoma in a near-impossible spot. When it mattered most, they couldn’t rectify their own mistakes.
Oklahoma will move on and turn their attention to West Virginia. Before that, it’s time to pass out grades for Oklahoma’s performance against Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Quarterbacks: B+
Saturday’s game was a closer return to normalcy for Dillon Gabriel. After a subpar day against UCF and a game against Kansas where he threw the ball just 19 times, Gabriel bounced back to go 26 of 37 for 344 yards with one touchdown pass and an interception.
Gabriel was intercepted throwing a deep ball into double coverage to start the second half, killing what looked like a promising drive.
It appeared as if Gabriel wasn’t ready for a snap that hit in the shins before bouncing right into the hands of an Oklahoma State defender.
Gabriel wasn’t the issue on Saturday and looked comfortable throwing from the pocket. There was a noticeable lack of QB run game, but other than that, Gabriel did almost all he could to will the Sooners to victory.
Running Backs: B+
For the second straight game, Oklahoma found encouraging results from their running game. Gavin Sawchuk took a big step forward with his best performance since the Cheez-It Bowl. Sawchuk carried the ball 13 times for 111 yards. His day was highlighted by a 64-yard touchdown on the Sooners third play of the game.
Tawee Walker, who was very clearly hobbled from his ankle injury against Kansas, came into the game in the second half and had eight carries for 59 yards. He scored on a 23-yard touchdown scamper.
The biggest blunder of the game? Jovantae Barnes failed to hold on to the ball on a botched snap for what appeared to be somewhat of a trick play. Instead of just taking what he could get, he tried to go forward with the play and hand it off to Dillon Gabriel, resulting in a turnover, killing the Sooners drive.
Offensive Line: B-
At times on Saturday, Oklahoma could do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Cayden Green continued to play well as the starting left guard. Walter Rouse had a much better showing this week than last. Oklahoma gave up two sacks, but on an overwhelming part of his snaps, Gabriel had very clean pockets to throw from.
The offensive line created some nice holes for the running backs, and the Sooners looked good when they ran gap-based runs. What is the most significant difference between zone and gap-based running schemes? On gap runs, the linemen block down to use their leverage. Couple that with the frequency of pulling guards like Green on Sawchuk’s 64-yard touchdown run, and there you go.
The biggest blunder from this unit was Andrew Raym’s errant snaps that both led to turnovers for the offense.
Wide Receivers: C+
Drake Stoops had one of the best games of his career on Saturday. Stoops showed up in a big way, operating out of the slot and effortlessly getting open en route to a 12-catch, 134-yard, one-touchdown day.
His lone mistake?
Running that out route two or three yards short on the fourth down with the game on the line.
Nic Anderson had a solid day with three catches for 92 yards, but his day could and should have been more significant if he could’ve reeled in a dime from Gabriel. He just couldn’t bring it in.
Jalik Farooq had a bounce-back performance with seven catches for 98 yards. Notably absent from this game was his usage in the jet sweep game.
Neither he nor Gavin Freeman saw any action in that aspect. Freeman also dropped a wide-open pass.
Tight Ends: D
There’s not a more disappointing group on the team right now than the tight ends. They struggle with blocking and they aren’t factors in the passing game. Sometimes it feels as if Oklahoma is playing ten versus eleven on offense.
Austin Stogner struggled to block in space on multiple occasions, leading to negative plays putting Oklahoma behind the chains.
The fix won’t come this season. So, for right now, the best they can do is try to put their best foot forward. Oklahoma needs a complete revamp of that room.
Defensive Line: B+
Oklahoma’s defensive line came to play. Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn didn’t want to stray too far away from his bread and butter, which is running the ball with Ollie Gordon.
Still, Oklahoma’s defensive line began to dominate and forced the Cowboys to lean on Alan Bowman.
After a rough first quarter, the defensive line settled in, and Isaiah Coe began to shine. He didn’t fill up the stat sheet. Still, his disruption at the point of attack displaced Oklahoma State offensive linemen on a number of plays, making it hard for Ollie Gordon to get to the second level.
Trace Ford and Rondell Bothroyd both had tackles for loss as well.
Linebackers: B
With Danny Stutsman injured and unlikely to play, the linebackers around him had to step up. Kip Lewis answered the call.
Lewis led the Sooners with 15 tackles (9 solo). He showed a keen eye for diagnosing plays and was lightning-quick to the ball. Jaren Kanak continues to struggle in that regard, and that’s likely why Kobie McKinzie played so much. Kanak also struggled in coverage, and Oklahoma State targeted him throughout the game.
Dasan McCullough continues to be a problem for opposing offenses and also had a pass breakup.
McKinzie is a good run defender but, like Kanak, was targeted in the short to intermediate passing game and showed he’s still got room to grow.
Getting Stutsman back will be huge for the defense.
As a collective, the linebackers, along with the defensive line, held Ollie Gordon under 150 yards, which is something to be proud of.
Defensive Backs: C
Contrary to the numbers, Oklahoma’s secondary played a tough game. They locked in after allowing Alan Bowman to the game 12 of 14. He completed just five of his next 14 pass attempts. Several of the incompletions were throwaways as the Sooners took away any option down the field. The Sooners secondary found a plan and executed well.
Oklahoma State’s Rashod Owens played bully ball out wide, using his physicality to free himself on short and intermediate routes.
Gentry Williams came back and, after a rough few plays early on, settled in. Injuries and Reggie Pearson’s first-half suspension forced Robert Spears-Jennings into a meaningful role, and he played well in his first extended run.
Billy Bowman had a pick that really could have tilted things Oklahoma’s way, but the offense and the playcalling rendered that moot.
True freshman Makari Vickers was thrust into a pivotal role and, despite a questionable defensive pass interference call, looked like he belonged out there.
Brennan Presley, who always seems to make plays against Oklahoma, had eight catches for 97 yards, and his speed and lateral quickness proved problematic.
On the day, Alan Bowman was 28 of 42 for 334 yards. This was easily his best performance of the season.
Specialists: C
The Sooners have a kicker problem. Zach Schmit has lost his confidence and has now missed four of his last five kicks. Granted, Saturday’s miss was from 51 yards, but he’s missed shorter kicks in recent games. Simply put, he’s unreliable right now, and that’s the last thing you want from your kicker.
Luke Elzinga averaged 55 yards on his punts and did a great job flipping fields for the Sooners.
Though there were opportunities in the return game, the Sooners weren’t able to make anything positive happen.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.
