Report Card: Oklahoma Sooners fail to make the grade vs. Baylor Bears
Oklahoma’s performance against Baylor wasn’t as pitiful as other earlier games this year. Still, it certainly lacked any level of competitive fire needed for a team who came into the game looking to answer a plethora of questions about how they would fair if tested by a good top 25 ranked football team. The test did not go as planned, and the Sooners took their first loss of the season 27-14 at the hands of the Baylor Bears.
Despite the final score, the game was tied 7-7 at the half. Oklahoma had a chance to win this game, but they never hit another gear. While this wasn’t a complete dismantling, there were a lot of position groups that struggled, which can only be more head-scratching considering the Sooners were coming off their bye week.
Let’s grade each group and break things down.
Quarterbacks: D
This will likely be the lowest grade we give this group all season, but Saturday was just not good.
Caleb Williams came in on a heater. The last time out, he torched Texas Tech for over 400 yards and six touchdowns thru the air. Against the Bears, he looked like a true freshman.
He was slow delivering the ball, and the mechanics looked wonky. He made bad decisions and also had bad ball security. He took a complete 180 of the player we had seen for basically a month.
After Williams threw two picks and fumbled (though he recovered it), Lincoln Riley turned to Spencer Rattler at quarterback, looking for a spark. However, that didn’t last long, as things didn’t go well for the former starter upon entering, leading to Williams making his return.
The point is this: The Sooners did not get what was needed from either of their quarterbacks on Saturday. If you are not going to get good QB play, the rest of the team has to be flawless or near flawless. That wasn’t the case, and it cost them.
Running Backs: C-
It’s tough to put a grade on the running backs because Baylor did an excellent job bottling both up.
On the game’s first drive, the Bears forced two negative plays against the Sooners running game. And it never really got going positively from there.
Kennedy Brooks would finish with 13 carries for 55 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown came with 2:26 left in the fourth quarter that made it a 24-14 game. Outside of that, he and running back Eric Gray were largely ineffective. Gray had one carry four yards and caught a pass for 15 yards.
Their offensive line and Lincoln Riley’s play-calling left the running backs out to dry. However, Baylor did an excellent job against the Sooners’ rushing attack, and not surprising because it’s something Dave Aranda defenses have done well with over the last few years.
Wide Receivers: C-
The pass catchers of the Crimson & Cream played well in spurts. Their quarterback failed them at times, and they also struggled to get open at the tops of their routes.
However, in many ways, they didn’t have enough opportunities to make plays. Sometimes it was because the quarterback didn’t see them. Other times he threw it late, giving the defense a chance to make a play. Some other times they were interfered with, and it wasn’t called. The Oklahoma Sooners’ wide receiver group struggled in this one but didn’t have as many opportunities as they have in some other games.
Michael Woods was the leader of the day with four catches of 53 yards, and Jadon Haselwood made an outstanding play in the fourth quarter as the only real highlights for this unit. After the way they’d been playing, this was a tough one to watch, but it’s reasonable to expect a bounceback sooner rather than later.
Tight Ends/H-Backs: C-
It was not a great day for the tight ends and H-Backs. Much like it was for the offensive line, the tight ends and H-Backs struggled to get much going for the running backs in the running game. And much like the wide receiver group, it was inconsistent production for this group as well.
Through the air it was alright. They combined for three receptions on five targets for 34 yards. Jeremiah Hall led the way with two receptions for 24 yards, Austin Stogner had one reception for 10 yards, and Brayden Willis was credited with a drop on his lone target.
Offensive Line: D
Saturday was a massive jump off the cliff for an ascending unit, which now has them trending in the wrong direction. They got bullied in five-man protections taking on four rushers, struggled when having to slide and protect, weren’t physical enough to get any push in the run game, and just lacked the urgency of a unit that needed to dominate.
Seniors Marquis Hayes and Tyrese Robinson struggled and did not look all that great. There is still reason to believe this unit can get better, but their younger players will have to take a leap. Andrew Raym and Anton Harrison look to be members of this offensive line next year, and it’s time for them to start making that jump.
Defensive Line: D+
Seeing Oklahoma’s defensive line get knocked around for 296 yards was very painful, considering they knew what was coming, and the Baylor Bears still found a way to impose their will.
Perrion Winfrey was blown off the ball, as was Jalen Redmond, who struggled with this Jeff Grimes-led offense’s wide zone run scheme. They flashed at moments but eventually, they wore down.
This is in some ways a direct result of not being able to play complementary football.
Better and more sustained drives ending in points for the Oklahoma offense, and maybe a lead could’ve gotten Baylor out of their game plan.
Winfrey missed three tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, and misdirection killed the defensive line. Even on plays when the defensive line was able to get into the backfield, over pursuit provided cutback lanes, and Baylor could take advantage.
It doesn’t get easier for this defensive line, who got a wake-up call in Waco. The Sooners next get Breece Hall in Norman this week, followed by Jaylen Warren in Stillwater.
Linebackers: C
I’ll be passing out a C to the linebackers primarily due to the efforts of Brian Asamoah and Nik Bonitto.
Bonitto and Asamoah came to play despite the lack of effectiveness by the guys in front of them. On many plays, Asamoah looked like he knew exactly what Baylor was running and turned into a homing missile on his way to the ball.
Bonitto set the edge well and led the Sooners with two quarterback pressures. David Ugwoegbu played well, too, but in more cases than not, Oklahoma linebackers were taking on far too many offensive linemen at the second level, which didn’t allow them to shoot into gaps at the point of attack.
Defensive Backs: B-
Oklahoma’s secondary showed up quite well Saturday. They may not have been tested all that often, with Bohanon only attempting 21 passes. He would only complete 12 for 112 yards making it all the more apparent that maybe Oklahoma should have forced Baylor into more obvious passing situations.
Woodi Washington returned and wasn’t targeted in the passing game, according to Pro Football Focus. DJ Graham was targeted three times and didn’t allow a reception. Delarrin Turner-Yell got an interception, and he and Pat Fields looked comfortable in coverage allowing just one reception on two targets for three yards.
All in all, it was a decent day coverage-wise for the team. They struggled to tackle at times, combining for five of the team’s 12 missed tackles.
Special Teams: D
Gabe Brkic was recently nominated as a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, honoring the nation’s best kicker. So, naturally, he misses two field goals against Baylor (note sarcasm).
One was from 51 yards, while the other was from 40 yards out. The 51 wasn’t an easy kick, but he’s made those before, and we know he can make those.
However, the missed field goal at the end of the half that would’ve given Oklahoma a 10-7 lead and momentum entering the break was devastating. You hope your All-American kicker can hit a 40 yarder with ease. Especially one that came into the game kicking at an 80 percent clip on field goals of 40 yards or more.
Michael Turk has some nice punts but seeing your All-American kicker let you down as such was a tough pill to swallow.
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