Report Card: Poor grades all around as Oklahoma loses to Kansas
Oklahoma took their first loss of the season on Saturday, falling to the Kansas Jayhawks on a rainy and disgusting day in Lawrence. From the first play from scrimmage, it appeared Oklahoma would be in for a fight. And sure enough, that’s precisely what happened.
Oklahoma fell victim to another slow start on both sides of the ball. The Sooners were never able to get their passing game going. Due to the weather conditions, they relied heavily on their offensive line and running backs to generate offense.
The sooners will try and figure things out as they get set to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys in what will be the last Bedlam for quite some time.
OU played a rough game on all fronts. Some things were encouraging, but a lot of the performance put forth was not good enough. We broke it down by position group below.
Quarterbacks: C
Saturday was a tough day at the office for Dillon Gabriel. He threw the ball just 19 times. For comparison, Jason Bean threw it 32 times.
Aside from the baffling lack of opportunities for Gabriel to have a real, meaningful impact on the game, Gabriel was a little erratic to start the game. His first two throws were an incomplete pass that was way off target, and the next was a late decision that resulted in Kansas cornerback Mello Dotson taking the pass the other way for a pick-six.
Gabriel used his feet as much as he could, even willing himself into the endzone late as Oklahoma fought their way back into the game.
For a guy putting up a Heisman finalist-caliber season, it was strange not to see him have more opportunities to win the game for the Sooners, especially late in the fourth quarter.
The weather conditions were less than ideal, but it felt like, at the very least, Oklahoma would’ve attempted to use their quick passing game more. Ultimately, that’s a conversation for his offensive coordinator and head coach to answer to.
Running Backs: A
On Saturday, the running game woke up in a big way. One of the most significant bright spots from Saturday was seeing how effective the ground game was, even in circumstances where the opposing defense knew the Sooners were running.
At one point, Oklahoma ran 19 consecutive times. Tawee Walker solidified himself as RB1 going forward. Any decision to not let him be the lead back for the foreseeable future is coaching malpractice.
Walker is far from the most athletically gifted back Oklahoma has ever had. You could argue he’s not even the most athletically gifted in that running back room, right?
Still, he’s strong and determined. His downhill running style is punishing for opposing defenses. Saturday, he led the way with 23 carries for 146 yards and a touchdown. It was nice to see Gavin Sawchuk continue to produce; he scored a touchdown for the second straight game. And it was a bit of a surprise that Jovantae Barnes came in and had a couple of spirited runs in the second half, too. Slowly, the running back room is getting healthy and finding some success.
Wide Receivers: C
Emmett Jones’ unit was in an impossible spot Saturday. Jalil Farooq and Gavin Freeman doubled as running backs at times. And while it was not a bad experiment, it took both from doing what they do best, and that’s play receiver. Farooq and Freeman saw multiple jet sweeps called their way and tried their best to make the most of them. Farooq’s fatal flaw on Saturday was a fumble that Kansas recovered on Oklahoma’s side of the field.
The jet sweep game was a struggle altogether.
Drake Stoops led the way with four catches for 76 yards. Brenen Thompson came off the bench and caught a 39-yard pass to give Oklahoma an honest shot as they tried to make a last-minute game-winning drive happen.
With just 19 pass attempts for Dillon Gabriel, the Sooners failed to take advantage of a significant group of playmakers, which limited how they could attack the Kansas defense.
They’ll need a big bounceback next week for Bedlam.
Tight Ends: B
Austin Stogner and Blake Smith had really good days on Saturday. Not because of their impact on the box score but because of both players’ efforts as run blockers. Once it became apparent the Sooners offense would be heavily run-dominant, the Sooners primarily went with 12 personnel looks. Smith and Stogner handled their roles admirably.
Along with the offensive line, they created lanes and holes for the running backs and receivers.
Offensive Line: B+
Bill Bedenbaugh’s group may have found their rhythm on the ground, and that’s a beautiful thing. However, they had a few untimely mishaps and some struggles blocking in the passing game.
But overall, it’s hard to fault them for Oklahoma’s troubles on Saturday.
We saw Troy Everett at center, Savion Byrd at guard, and McKade Mettauer playing multiple snaps. Walter Rouse and Mettauer were replaced by youngsters Jacob Sexton and Cayden Green, who, all told, did a fantastic job when they were inserted into the game.
It’s apparent that both look like they will be rock solid on that left side together. It gave us a glimpse of what could be the left side of the offensive line as soon as next year rolls around.
Tyler Guyton was also punishing while sealing the edges on his side of the field. Some of the struggles the line had in the passing game felt more like issues where the offensive line wasn’t in pass-blocking mode as much as they had been and were so committed to run blocking that when they had to pass block, they were a bit slow or unsure of stunts and so forth.
Again, without the offensive line’s hard work run blocking, Oklahoma would have had no offense. So, it’s hard to complain too much about their efforts.
Defensive Line: C-
Saturday was the first time, maybe this entire season, that the Oklahoma defensive line felt pedestrian. They weren’t horrible, but they weren’t as impactful or dominant as they had been. They recorded no tackles for loss, and the veteran Kansas offensive line had a field day at times, pushing the Sooners around and creating holes for Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw Jr.
Rondell Bothroyd had two quarterback hurries off the edge, and Ethan Downs continued his run with another splash play. He recognized a screen was coming and baited Jason Bean to throw a pick, which he caught. What should have been the game-winner had Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator called a much more aggressive series wasn’t. Kansas got the ball back and set up the winning score.
Linebackers: D
Saturday was a despicable day for the Oklahoma linebackers. Missed tackles, poor eye discipline, over-pursuing, and missed assignments plagued the unit.
Danny Stutsman also suffered what the broadcast reported as an ankle injury, so he was not on the field during crunch time.
Jaren Kanak missed so many tackles at one point that Kobie McKinzie and Kip Lewis both played with the first-team defense him. Because of injuries and poor performance, we saw extended looks for McKinzie and Lewis. The results weren’t great, but again, getting inserted mid-game is a tough ask.
Dasan McCullough had an excellent game in his cheetah role. He had six total tackles, a tackle for loss, and one quarterback hurry. He’s been on an upward trajectory and is becoming a dependable force for Oklahoma.
Missed tackles by your linebackers are a surefire way to get beat, and as the Sooners prepare for Oklahoma State, they’ll need to clean that up and hope that Danny Stutsman is ready to roll. If not, Lewis and McKinzie will need to be prepared to stop Ollie Gordon III.
Defensive Backs: D-
It’s hard to articulate how rough of a game the Oklahoma secondary had on Saturday.
In many ways, it’s unbelievable to think about because they didn’t even give up some obscene amount of passing yards. They allowed less than 250 through the air, but on multiple occasions, the Jayhawks ran wide-open in the middle of the field.
The safety play on Saturday was horrendous. It just has to be better. From the pass defense to run support, the Sooners received next to nothing. Billy Bowman and Key Lawrence missed multiple tackles, as did Reggie Pearson.
Bowman nabbed a pick that led to an OU touchdown. Lawrence also had two pass breakups but dropped a sure-fire pick-six late in the fourth quarter. If Lawrence intercepts that, it’s hard to imagine he doesn’t score or at the least puts the Sooners in scoring position.
Gentry Williams was hurt, so Kani Walker started opposite Woodi Washington and did a solid job. Washington also bounced back from his rough performance last week. The Sooners are missing the playmaking ability of Peyton Bowen as well. Hopefully, what’s ailing him doesn’t keep him out much longer.
Specialists: C
Zach Schmit did not attempt a single field goal on Saturday, and considering the conditions, it was probably for the best.
Luke Elzinga had a decent day punting, but nothing like his day in Norman against UCF.
The big ding against the Sooners on special teams was the Kansas staff exploiting Oklahoma for having a defensive end on the kick return team. Kansas kicked it right to Marcus Stripling, who fumbled, and Kansas ended up stealing a possession from the Sooners.
