The Spencer Rattler story has a ton of chapters yet to be written at Oklahoma, but you just never know if the Texas game will be one of those career-changing ones.
If you wanted to make the comparison, you absolutely could go back five years to what Baker Mayfield, as a first-year starter, had to do to rally the troops in double overtime at Tennessee.
That was the moment, in the eyes of many, where Mayfield went from in over his head, plucky quarterback to the Baker that led the way in Norman the next three seasons.
After being benched in the second quarter in OU’s 53-45 4OT win vs. Texas on Saturday, it’s the Rattler response that is catching a lot of people’s attention in terms of the similarities.
The Rattler that dominated the overtimes vs. the Horns was a lot like the Mayfield who took command that night in Knoxville.
“So yea, but it’s all part of the growth process, and you’ve got to continue to push through whatever’s in front of you,” said head coach Lincoln Riley on Tuesday’s Zoom call. “You’ve got to continue to get better, stay confident in yourself and make the plays that you’re capable of making.
“So I think to be able to continue to improve and execute, especially like we did there in the second half, I think will give those guys a lot of confidence and the belief that we’ll be able handle anything that’s thrown our way in this crazy year.”
It was a gutsy move by Riley to take out Rattler. After back-to-back turnovers, though, Riley felt like it was the right move to make.
And it sent a message to everybody. If Rattler can be replaced, competition absolutely keeps going on a week-to-week basis.
“We haven't been in that situation a ton, but it just kind of made sense. It was kind of the right recipe,” Riley said. “We'd had a couple of bad plays in a row and I thought it was the right thing to try to calm Spencer down and Tanner had practiced well and has experience and I have a lot of confidence in him. So it made a lot of sense at the time and I do believe it's the right thing to do.”
Moving on from clock error
You could argue it’s easier to move on from an official’s mistake when you win, but you hear in the tone from Riley that he’s going to be able to move on for other reasons, too.
The Big 12 conference announced Monday evening, through officials liaison Greg Burks, about a 39-second error that was made in favor of Texas at around the six-minute mark in the fourth quarter with OU up 31-17.
“Greg gave me a heads up that they were gonna put out that statement yesterday afternoon, which was a classy move by him,” Riley said. “Greg's been great. He's fantastic to communicate with.
“They're battling ... nobody wants to hear it right now for players or officials, but our officials, there's a lot of challenges with COVID as well. They're having to mix crews, travel issues, I mean, it's difficult for everybody, not just the players and the coaches and the fans. Greg's been very transparent about that. He owns mistakes, holds his guys accountable and continues to push to get them better, just like we're trying to do with our team.”
Following a replay review, the clock was moved to 6:36 when it should have been 5:57. Riley said he has not spoken to Burks just yet about how it happened, mentioning usually he talks to Burks during the latter stages of the week.
Murray in, Perkins is…?
OU did get a dose of good news prior to Texas as well. Riley confirmed SoonerScoop.com’s report that offensive lineman Chris Murray has won his waiver appeal and will be available to play for the Sooners throughout the remainder of the season.
Murray transferred from UCLA to OU earlier this year.
Murray is in, but the status of Ronnie Perkins remains a mystery. After coming to Iowa State for moral support, said Riley, Perkins was not in Dallas.
One day, we might all get to hear what Riley thinks about the situation. One day.
“Ronnie Perkins’ deal, I’ll — if I ever happen to write a book, I’ll have a whole chapter dedicated to that one,” Riley said. “Um, Chris Murray, we found out on Friday, won his appeal so he is eligible, and, you know, based on the length of time — it comes at a good time; we’ve got bye week, a chance to get him up to speed, but he’s certainly a guy that, based on what we’ve seen, I believe will have a chance to contribute for us this year.”
Receiver coming together?
Theo Wease made a jump last week. Austin Stogner has become the No. 1 target for Rattler. Marvin Mims has come through for big plays. And Charleston Rambo provides a lot of experience and leadership.
But the receiver position isn’t what OU fans are used to seeing on a yearly basis. Riley knows that, but it’s a group that’s coming along.
“For the first three games, we've had so many guys out. We've had several who haven't been available for any of the games,” Riley said. “We've also had throughout these games a guy available for one or two of them and not the others.”
The time is close, getting closer for former five-star receivers Trejan Bridges and Jadon Haselwood to return for the second half of the season. Add that to the experience guys have earned in the first month, it should be a much stronger group in the second half.
