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The Oklahoma Sooners are 7-0 headed into a road matchup with the Kansas Jayhawks. Even at 5-0, things never felt completely comfortable. The Sooners offense was playing well, but it was far from the dominant force we’d seen under Lincoln Riley.
All of that changed midway through the second quarter of the Red River Showdown when Riley inserted Caleb Williams into the lineup to replace Spencer Rattler. Rattler had turned the ball over twice to the Texas Longhorns as the offense struggled to get going.
Though as much a circumstance of the coverages played against him, Spencer Rattler was never able to activate the deep passing game that had been a characteristic of Lincoln Riley’s offense.
Because teams have to respect Caleb Williams running ability (teams have to commit more defenders to stop the run), Oklahoma wide receivers are getting more one-on-one opportunities with Williams under center.
According to Bill Connely of ESPN, who highlighted the greatest strength for each of the College Football Playoff contenders, the Oklahoma Sooners may have unlocked their greatest weapon with the quarterback switch. Their explosiveness.
Greatest strength: The Sooners might have just found the explosiveness to go with their efficiency. Despite the early-season clamoring from Oklahoma fans to bench quarterback Spencer Rattler for backup Caleb Williams, there wasn’t much wrong with the OU offense at the beginning of the year. The Sooners have moved the ball efficiently, and they currently rank fourth in offensive success rate. Explosiveness was an issue, however.
With Williams behind center, the big plays have returned en masse. The Sooners averaged 4.4 gains per game of 20-plus yards over their first five games, but they put up eight against Texas (six after Williams entered the game for Rattler), then nine against TCU on Saturday. Opponents will adjust, and OU’s home stretch is brutal: The Sooners will play at Baylor and Oklahoma State and will host Iowa State over a three-week span in November. Any of those defenses could make Williams look like the freshman he still is. But for one Saturday, OU looked like full-blown OU again. – Connelly
When Williams took over, the big plays returned at a much higher clip. Whether through the air or on the ground, the Sooners are scoring in bunches because of that big play ability.
Whether or not the Sooners take this new-found explosive offense and turn it into a College Football Playoff run. Much of their story will be written during a three-game stretch to close out Big 12 play.
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By: John Williams
Title: As a playoff contender, what is the Oklahoma Sooners' greatest strength?
Sourced From: soonerswire.usatoday.com/2021/10/20/oklahoma-sooners-football-as-a-playoff-contender-what-is-the-oklahoma-sooners-greatest-strength/
Published Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2021 20:00:50 +0000
