Adapt or die: Five Sooners that need more snaps — and five that need less

The Sooners’ margin for error is officially gone after Saturday’s 38-33 road loss to Kansas, which marked the Jayhawks’ first win over Oklahoma since 1997. The defeat dropped Brent Venables’ program to No. 10 in the AP poll, and while their playoff hopes remain alive, another loss would do more than knock them out of CFP contention. Should the Sooners stumble over their next four games (at Oklahoma State, vs. West Virginia, at BYU, vs. TCU), it would serve as a crushing — and potentially decisive — blow to their chances of appearing in the Big 12 championship game.

If one thing became apparent Saturday in Lawrence, it’s that the Sooners aren’t on a championship level at the moment. And to be fair, that’s perfectly fine. Entering November, Oklahoma sits at 7-1 in Year 2 of the Venables era, which is congruent with even the loftiest preseason expectations. But if the Sooners are to make a run to Arlington and maintain an outside shot at the College Football Playoff, more than a couple of changes need to be made.

Venables and his staff have continually stressed the importance of competitive depth, and a multitude of players on both sides of the ball have been given ample leeway to prove their worth through eight games. And as the Sooners prepare for the final month of the regular season, it’s becoming increasingly clear what — and who — Oklahoma’s winning recipe includes.

Who needs more snaps, and who needs less? Here’s a glimpse at five players that ought to see more action down the stretch, as well as five players whose scope of opportunity has exceeded their respective value.

1) Peyton Bowen — The most obvious candidate tops this list, as there’s arguably no player who has produced a higher ratio of big plays to total opportunities than Bowen. The freshman safety has lived up to the five-star billing and then some, but still has yet to see a snap count commensurate with that of a key contributor. And if Bowen hasn’t already proven he is a key contributor, one is left to wonder what else he needs to accomplish in order to do so. Granted, he’s been bothered by a sore ankle over the last two weeks, so that’s impacted his playing time as well. But there is little excuse for keeping Bowen on the sidelines when he’s fully healthy. He leads the Sooners with four pass deflections, and is eighth on the team with 25 tackles. He’s also added a sack and a forced fumble, and is the first Sooner to record two blocked punts in a season since Brandon Shelby in 2004. Bowen is a difference-maker whenever he’s on the football field, and Oklahoma needs difference-makers on the defensive side of the ball right now.

2) Brenen Thompson — What needs to happen for the Oklahoma staff to take the kid gloves off the pride of Spearman, Texas? He’s barely been utilized in 2023, but when he’s gotten the chance to make his dent, Thompson’s contributions have been loud. You’d be hard-pressed to find a player in the Big 12 that has the pure straight-line speed he possesses, and both Iowa State and Kansas found out the hard way that Thompson is capable of getting behind any secondary. He reeled in a 54-yard reception against the Cyclones, then wasn’t targeted again until almost a month later in Lawrence. After remaining on the bench all afternoon, Thompson entered the game on the Sooners’ final possession, in which they had to go 75 yards in 49 seconds for a game-winning touchdown. And in the most obvious of downfield passing situations, he still beat his man down the sideline for a 39-yard reception to give the Sooners a fighting chance at victory. The Sooners lack a vertical component to their passing game at the moment. There’s nobody on the roster capable of unlocking that aspect of the aerial attack than Thompson.

3) Kendel Dolby — Albeit somewhat quietly, Dolby has been a rock-solid option for the Sooners at cheetah this season, and has made numerous game-changing plays in the process. He recorded interceptions against Tulsa and Texas, snuffed out a game-tying two-point conversion against UCF, and tipped a pass against Kansas that would up getting intercepted off the deflection by Billy Bowman. Dolby plays with a fearless demeanor, which is a welcome commodity in the Oklahoma defensive backfield. Though he’s a bit undersized relative to some of the Sooners’ other defensive backs, he more than compensates for what he lacks in stature with an aggressive and relentless style. If Gentry Williams misses any more time, trying Dolby at outside corner might not be a terrible maneuver, but he looks perfectly at home at cheetah. He’s been the alpha dog at that position, without question.

4) Kip Lewis — He hardly touched the field for the Sooners as a freshman in 2022, but the redshirt year appears to have done wonders for Lewis. Though his playing time has been irregular and sporadic, he’s made the most of the run he’s been given. His season highlights include a career-high nine tackles against SMU, a critical stop in the Sooners’ memorable goal-line stand against Texas, and a fumble recovery on special teams this past weekend at Kansas. He’s fifth on the team with 30 tackles, and if Danny Stutsman’s injury forces him to miss any time, Lewis could be thrust into a much greater role down the stretch. Either way, he’s earned the right to a larger piece of the pie in the Sooners’ linebacker rotation.

5) Jayden Gibson — The sophomore wide receiver’s lack of usage, especially in third-down and red-zone scenarios, is perplexing. Gibson has looked impressive, even dominant, when targeted in 2023. The 6-foot-5 Florida native has an enormous catch radius, excellent ball skills and an alpha dog’s mentality. He flashed early in the season with a couple of eye-catching touchdown snags and appeared poised to take on a bigger role in the offense, but he’s recorded just one reception on two targets across the last three games. The Sooners could certainly make greater use of his skill set on the perimeter, and the reality is that he’s going to win the majority of one-on-one matchups he draws. There might not be a more obvious physical mismatch amongst the Oklahoma pass-catching corps, and yet the staff has been reticent to let him off the leash. It’s about that time.

1) Savion Byrd — The redshirt sophomore guard’s descent to the second string might well have accelerated given what occurred Saturday in Lawrence. If it didn’t, it certainly should. In the third quarter, Byrd committed an inexplicable personal foul, shoving a Kansas player into the Oklahoma bench well after the whistle for no apparent reason. An incensed Bill Bedenbaugh promptly pulled him for Cayden Green, but the ramifications of Byrd’s infraction proved significant. Suddenly facing third-and-19 instead of third-and-4, Oklahoma’s offense couldn’t move the chains and the Sooners had to punt from the shadow of their own end zone. Kansas capitalized on the ensuing short field with a drive that culminated in three points. Especially given Green’s emergence over the past three games, there’s no justifiable reason to deploy Byrd by choice hereafter. He ought to be no better than the backup for the remainder of the 2023 season.

2) Kani Walker — There’s no way to sugarcoat it: Walker looked lost on Saturday. In relief of an injured Gentry Williams, the Louisville transfer drew his first career start at cornerback and played 71 of a possible 77 snaps. Especially in hindsight, those snaps would almost certainly have been better allocated to some combination of Jasiah Wagoner, Key Lawrence and Makari Vickers. Most conspicuously, Walker ended up out of position on two critical fourth-down plays, as he first missed his assignment on a fourth-and-4 that allowed Kansas to move the sticks in the closing minutes. Ethan Downs’ interception slammed the door shut on that particular Jayhawk drive, but Walker’s less forgivable mistake came on Kansas’ winning possession. Facing fourth-and-6, Kansas wideout Lawrence Arnold toasted Walker down the field for a 37-yard gain that set up the decisive touchdown. Sooner fans are collectively praying that Williams doesn’t miss any more time, because a steep drop-off in cornerback play was evident Saturday.

3) Jaren Kanak — By no means am I suggesting Kanak needs to ride pine, but if Lewis is to play more, somebody obviously has to play less. And it ain’t a healthy Danny Stutsman. Kanak’s inexperience at linebacker has been all too apparent at times, perhaps never more so than this past weekend. Per ProFootballFocus, Kanak missed four tackles on Saturday at Kansas, which is probably a generous tally and was the highest such figure on the team anyway. Lewis seems to outpace Kanak in the instinctual department, and also seems to be a bit better at shedding blocks. Though Kanak’s athletic prowess is off the charts, he’s very obviously still learning the ins and outs of linebacker. That’s understandable, as he came to Oklahoma having never played the position. But a more gradual approach to increasing his comfort level might be the best move all around, and it would also allow Lewis to make more of an impact.

4) Austin Stogner — It’s unfortunate to have to list Stogner here, because he’s a fifth-year senior, and he came back to Norman for one final ride because he loves Oklahoma with every fiber of his being. But alas, he simply isn’t the mismatch that he was in his younger days. Prior to a bout with sepsis in November of 2020, Stogner was in the midst of a banner sophomore season that might well have put him in the Mackey Award conversation. Ever since, he seems to have progressively become less and less of a factor in the passing game. He caught just 14 passes in 2021, then reeled in a mere 21 balls in his lone season at South Carolina in 2022. Thus far in 2023, he’s logged nine receptions for 81 yards and has yet to find the end zone. He’s just not a viable threat as a pass-catcher, and his presence on the field ultimately comes at the expense of numerous Oklahoma receivers that might give the Sooners a better individual matchup to exploit. Stogner is a key leadership figure and has been a willing blocker in the run game, but if the Sooners are to make headway through the air, he’s not a crucial piece of the puzzle.

5) Marcus Major — He missed the Kansas game with a bum shoulder, but even when he’s been healthy, Major just hasn’t been a consistently effective presence in the Oklahoma backfield. He’s averaging 3.9 yards per carry this season, and his longest rush of the year covered all of 19 yards. The fifth-year senior probably plays second fiddle to Tawee Walker the rest of the way, but there’s quite a healthy argument for Gavin Sawchuk as the primary change of pace to Walker. Major is what he is, and he’s a decidedly average Power 5 running back. Average doesn’t cut it for a program that’s fighting for a berth in the Big 12 title game and has a very open path to the College Football Playoff. Walker’s style of running might not be sexy or explosive, but it’s steadily productive. Oklahoma’s two best outings on the ground this year have come against SMU and Kansas; Major logged a season-low eight carries against the former opponent and obviously didn’t play against the latter. Walker shouldered the overwhelming bulk of the workload in both games. There may well be a correlation.

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