Report Card: Sooners hit rock bottom in 49-0 shutout by rival Texas
There’s no easy way to say this, but the Oklahoma Sooners are at rock bottom. Three straight losses, and their latest came in the game that’s circled on the calendar every year for Oklahoma. Texas dismantled Oklahoma 49-0, marking the first time in program history the Sooners have lost by 30 or more points in consecutive games.
The game was hardly competitive, and to add insult to it all, Texas has found their quarterback for the next few years as well. Quinn Ewers looks like he has the “it” factor. Things look bleak for the remainder of 2022 for the Sooners as it currently stands. Their performance yesterday may have been the worst of the season, considering the circumstances. The lack of preparation by the coaching staff seemed to exacerbate the issue.
Without further ado, here is the report card for the Sooners’ performance versus the Texas Longhorns.
Quarterbacks: F
Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Davis Beville (11) before the Red River Showdown college football game between the University of Oklahoma (OU) and Texas at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Please let us at the Sooners Wire know if you can find a more horrific display of quarterbacking in college football on Saturday afternoon from a Power Five program than what Oklahoma put on film. If not, the leader was Davis Beville. Beville was not put in any situations to succeed and looked like a baby deer in headlights.
Against Texas, he was just 6 of 12 for 38 yards. He was sacked three times and threw an interception. It just looked horrific out there.
Freshman Nick Evers finally broke through and got an opportunity probably 2.5 quarters too late. Evers deserved a shot early on with the game still in the balance as opposed to being thrown out there once Oklahoma was down 40 points.
Running Backs: B
Oct 8, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA: Oklahoma Sooners running back Eric Gray (0) is tackled while running the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the annual Red River Showdown at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman- USA TODAY NETWORK
Oklahoma’s running back unit had to do the heavy lifting Saturday with the ineptitude of the quarterback room. The Sooners’ ball carriers did their best to help inject life into a Sooner offense. that didn’t feel like it could throw the ball.
Eric Gray had 11 carries for 59 yards. He also threw a horrific jump pass interception that could only happen when you trust your running back to make reads throwing the ball instead of trusting scholarship quarterbacks. Jovantae Barnes and Marcus Major also got in on the action. They combined for 12 carries and 35 yards. Not a great day, but with no passing offense, there wasn’t much room to run.
Offensive Line: B-
Oklahoma offensive lineman Anton Harrison (71) helps quarterback Davis Beville (11) up after a sack during the team’s game against Texas at the Cotton Bowl.
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Going into the game the offensive line knew what was going to be asked of them against Texas. They lined up from play one and tried their best to push a massive Texas defensive front around.
It was fairly successful in the first half, but they were far from the worst part of Oklahoma’s day. The tackles played better than the interior guys, and hopefully, another week will allow them to get Dillon Gabriel back.
They need to continue to develop within offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby’s actual offensive scheme instead of the gimmick offense they tossed out against the Longhorns.
Tight Ends: B+
Oklahoma Sooners tight end Brayden Willis (9) and defensive back C.J. Coldon (22) walk off the field after the Red River Showdown college football game between the University of Oklahoma (OU) and Texas at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. Texas won 49-0.
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Brayden Willis is indispensable to this team. He’s a leader on and off the field and will do whatever’s asked of him to help his team. He blocked, caught passes, and ran the wildcat as its quarterback for a decent part of the game Saturday. On a tough day, Willis made the program proud.
Wide Receivers: Incomplete
Texas Longhorns defensive end Ovie Oghoufo (18) fights through Oklahoma Sooners tight end Daniel Parker (22) to bring down Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Jalil Farooq (3) during the Red River Showdown college football game between the University of Oklahoma (OU) and Texas at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022.
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There’s no way to even grade this unit, as the game plan was never tailored for them to run routes or catch a meaningful number of passes. They spent more time run blocking than they did in routes.
When the receivers were involved, their biggest contributions came from running jet sweeps.
Farooq is a spark plug with the ball in his hands, and he needs to be the kick returner for the remainder of the year as well. While the rest of the game plan needs to be thrown out, getting Farooq the ball on the perimeter should be something Jeff Lebby continues to implement.
Defensive Line: F
Oct 8, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) throws as Oklahoma Sooners defensive lineman Ethan Downs (40) chases during the first half at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Another game, another bad performance from the guys up front. It’s increasingly clear this team sorely misses the disruption and ability of guys like Perrion Winfrey, Nik Bonitto, and Isaiah Thomas.
It’s not solely a talent thing, and it’s irresponsible to boil it down to just that. The Texas offensive line is talented, and the coaching for Oklahoma hasn’t adapted to fit their personnel.
Nonetheless, they couldn’t get home with any effective pressure. The defense couldn’t make Quinn Ewers or these Texas running backs feel anything. Zero sacks and four tackles for loss won’t cut it.
Linebackers: F
Oct 8, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Danny Stutsman (28) reacts during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
The linebackers played another bad game. They struggled again getting off blocks, taking good angles, and being proactive instead of constantly having to be reactive.
Linebackers Danny Stutsman and David Ugwoegbu were among the leaders in tackles. But don’t let those numbers fool you. Bijan Robinson had another good day at the office, just methodically slicing and dicing this front seven for the second straight year.
He ran over Oklahoma’s defense with relative ease.
Jaren Kanak saw the field as well. With Shane Whitter down for the year, expect more Kanak going forward, which can only be a good thing for him. Kip Lewis, a member of the 2022 recruiting class, dressed and traveled for the first time and was a member of the special teams unit due to injuries.
Defensive Backs: F
Oct 8, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA: Texas Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson (5) is tackled by Oklahoma defensive back Key Lawrence (12) while running the ball during the annual Red River Showdown at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman- USA TODAY NETWORK
For the second consecutive week, the defensive backs looked atrocious for Oklahoma. If there’s any consolation, they didn’t have multiplied busted coverages like they had the week before in Fort Worth.
The bottom line is that they didn’t look competitive for the second straight week. The safety play with Billy Bowman out struggled again. Poor angles in pursuit on multiple occasions gave Texas ball carriers an extra seven to 15 yards far too many times.
It was nice to see freshman Robert-Spears Jennings get some playing time and record a tackle for a loss. Spears-Jennings is another young player from the 2022 class that Oklahoma hopes has a bright future ahead of him in Norman.
