Sooners drop in Pro Football Focus’ latest Top 25 Power Rankings
Sometimes a football team has to find itself in some self-inflicted adversity to experience a wake-up call. The Oklahoma Sooners got that in the opening week of the season as they let the Tulane Green Wave back into the game after establishing a 23 point lead heading into halftime.
The Sooners were arguably the least impressive of the top teams that won over the first full weekend of college football. Needing a shoestring tackle on fourth down to keep Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt from reaching the line to gain.
Still, the Oklahoma Sooners showed the type of team they can be with their 23-0 outburst in the second quarter. However, it’s not surprising to see them show up on the wrong side of winners and losers lists or to drop back a bit in power rankings and top 25s. In Pro Football Focus’ latest top 25, the Oklahoma Sooners dropped back from the no. 1 team in their power rankings to no. 3 (subscription required) following their narrow 40-35 win over Tulane.
It quickly became evident that Spencer Rattler‘s 2020 form is back for 2021, which is both good and bad. He opened up the game by drifting back far too deep in the pocket, ignoring an open running back in the flat and launching a dangerous heave into double coverage that was picked off. He ended up with two turnover-worthy plays overall but still managed to earn an 80.0 passing grade for the game.
Rattler’s 2020 campaign was full of highs and lows, culminating in a 92.5 passing grade. And he looks to be on that same path in 2021. His few poor throws played a role in the closer-than-expected finish, but so did a Sooners defensive unit that allowed positive EPA per play and produced the eighth-worst unit grade among Power Five programs in Week 1. – Anthony Treash
The Sooners have some things to iron out as they head into their official home opener with Western Carolina in week two. It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t pretty, but the reality is the Sooners just need to win football games. If they win every game this season, they’ll be in a position to make the College Football Playoff, regardless of how it looked.
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Big 12 Power Rankings after week 1 of the season
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5 takeaways from the Sooners week 1 win over Tulane
