š Good and bad of West Virginia
š Good and bad of West Virginia
Plus new Big 12 power rankings!
āš½ Happy Monday, friends. Letās ride.
š¤ Trivia: What was the score of OU's last victory over Kansas State? [Answer in footnotes]
š Wrapping up West Virginia
If you would have told me at some point this season Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler would lead a game-winning drive in front of a prime-time audience at home, I would only assume itād be an iconic moment in Rattlerās legacy.
Strangely, that wasnāt the case.
Rattler led the Sooners down the field and set Gabe Brkic up to knock through a go-ahead field goal with no time left to beat West Virginia 16-13 on Saturday. But somehow on the same night this happened, some of OUās fans chanted āWe Want Calebā in support of the Soonersā young but promising backup quarterback, Caleb Williams. So a few final thoughts:
The good: OU is 4-0, and the Sooners figured out their offense when it mattered. The Sooners clearly have a defense up to par with some of the best in the country. It hasnāt been pretty, but itās not much of a different feeling from when OU was beating teams 62-59. Itās just a different brand of football.
The bad: The Sooners drew a road game against Kansas State just before taking on Texas a week later to open their October slate. This two-game stretch could leave the Sooners 1-2 in conference play if their problems offensively persist. The defense can only carry this team for so long.
The uncertain: How will OU respond from its final series that resulted in a walk-off field goal? The Sooners seemed to go to another level after a clutch win over Texas last season. Perhaps OU can pull that same energy again from this win.
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š Big 12 power rankings
Oklahoma (4-0, Last week: 1):Ā The ceiling remains high for OU, which has leaned on its defense the past two weeks. Winning ugly is still better than losing ugly.
Texas (3-1, Last week: 8):Ā Texas Tech and Rice might not be the best measuring sticks, but Casey Thompson looks legit as the Hornsā signal-caller. Up next, TCU.
Baylor (4-0, Last week: 9):Ā Baylor stunned Iowa State on Saturday, marking Dave Arandaās first big win as the Bearsā head coach. The Bears will go for another upset Saturday, facing No. 19 Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
Oklahoma State (4-0, Last week: 7):Ā Oklahoma Stateās offense has woken up. The defense is still playing at a high level. The Pokes didnāt look great out of the gate this season, but the Cowboysā season is trending in a positive direction.
Kansas State (3-1, Last week: 2):Ā So, I donāt expect Kansas State to stay in the top half for much longer. Itās no fault of their own. Injuries are piling up for what could have been a fun team to follow this year.
Iowa State (2-2, Last week: 5): The Cyclones arenāt who we thought they were. Perhaps Matt Campbell can still turn this one around, but it doesnāt feel like Iowa State will be going back to the Big 12 Championship Game after making its debut last season.
TCU (2-1, Last week: 2):Ā The Horned Frogs fell to rival SMU 42-34, which prompted a postgame scuff between the schools.
West Virginia (2-2, Last week: 4):Ā The Mountaineers are quickly becoming a team that feels like theyāll be in a lot of games, but just arenāt quite ready to finish most of them.
Texas Tech (3-1, Last week: 6):Ā Credit to the Red Raiders for posting 35 points against Texas. If only the defense didnāt allow 70.
Kansas (1-3, Last week: 10):Ā A 52-33 loss to Duke? Sure, why not.
š Sooners fall to No. 6
Oklahoma dropped to No. 6 in the latest AP Top 25 poll.
Who moved ahead of them? Penn State and Iowa. The Nittany Lions are coming off of a 38-17 win over Villanova, while the Hawkeyes topped Colorado State 24-14.
The new top 10: 1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Oregon, Penn State, 5. Iowa, 6. Oklahoma, 7. Cincinnati, 8. Arkansas, 9. Notre Dame, 10. Florida
Other Big 12 teams in the top 25: 19. Oklahoma State, 21. Baylor
š Sooners in the NFL
Baker Mayfield had 246 yards and a touchdown through the air, helping Cleveland beat Chicago 26-6 and improve to 2-1.
Baltimore beat Detroit 19-17. Mark Andrews led the Ravens with 109 yards via five catches. Marquise Brown had 53 yards receiving on three receptions.
Kyler Murray led Arizona past Jacksonville 31-19. He threw for 316 yards, completing 28-of-34 passing attempts.
Joe Mixon had 90 yards rushing in the Bengals' 24-10 win over the Steelers.
Kenneth Murray's Chargers beat the Chiefs 30-24 on Sunday. Murray had three tackles.
Trent Williams is not fair. See below:
ā° On this day
Thirteen years ago today, Oklahoma beat TCU 35-10 in the programs' final meeting as nonconference opponents. š„ The highlights:
The Sooners won 51-14 in 2018. I completely forgot this game happened, but thereās some great plays from Kyler Murray throughout this one. š„ Watch highlights