AUBURN, Alabama — The Sooners somehow escaped with a 27-21 win over Auburn on Saturday, scoring 17 unanswered points to rally late and stun the Tigers.

That victory was improbable in part because of the injuries. The Sooners were without five receivers and Taylor Tatum, while the defense was missing starting cheetah Kendel Dolby. That led to the Sooners playing several depth pieces on both sides of the ball.

Here's a look at how the snap counts and performance grades shook out for the Sooners on both sides of the ball.

(Editor's note: The offense played 54 snaps. The defense played 76 snaps. All data comes from Pro Football Focus.

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACK

Michael Hawkins Jr. — 54 (60.8)

OFFENSIVE LINE

Jake Taylor — 54 (51.9)

Jacob Sexton — 54 (60.4)

Febechi Nwaiwu — 54 (62.8)

Branson Hickman — 54 (60.2)

Michael Tarquin — 52 (70.0)

Logan Howland — 2 (60.0)

WIDE RECEIVER

Brenen Thompson — 47 (69.5)

JJ Hester — 38 (76.8)

Jaquaize Pettaway — 28 (44.6)

Zion Ragins — 16 (53.2)

Zion Kearney — 4 (58.3)

Ivan Carreon — 3 (59.3)

RUNNING BACK

Jovantae Barnes — 37 (55.4)

Gavin Sawchuk — 19 (62.1)

TIGHT END

Bauer Sharp — 40 (85.6)

Jake Roberts — 27 (45.1)

Kade McIntyre — 11 (42.8)

DEFENSE

INTERIOR DEFENSIVE LINE

Gracen Halton — 44 (59.8)

*Damonic Williams — 39 (62.7)

*Jayden Jackson — 33 (63.1)

Da'Jon Terry — 28 (75.3)

David Stone — 1 (60.2)

DEFENSIVE END

*R Mason Thomas — 50 (65.4)

*Ethan Downs — 46 (69.0)

Trace Ford — 35 (75.1)

Caiden Woullard — 18 (60.4)

Adepoju Adebawore — 11 (56.3)

LINEBACKER

*Danny Stutsman — 72 (62.5)

Kobie McKinzie — 37 (72.1)

*Samuel Omosigho — 37

*Kip Lewis — 31 (92.4)

Lewis Carter — 4 (61.2)

CORNERBACK

Dez Malone — 61 (65.7)

Kani Walker — 56 (54.2)

Woodi Washington — 34 (62.1)

Eli Bowen — 29 (66.5)

Makari Vickers — 5 (64.5)

SAFETY

Billy Bowman — 72 (58.7)

Robert Spears-Jennings — 49 (74.0)

Peyton Bowen — 40 (43.7)

Michael Boganowski — 4 (65.4)

1. Gavin Sawchuk... as the third-down running back?

With Taylor Tatum unavailable, it was expected that Sawchuk would see an increase in snaps. He saw 19 snaps against Auburn, a significant uptick from the seven he saw against Tennessee.

However, he wasn't really utilized as ball-carrier. The Sooners essentially utilized him as a third-down running back primarily tasked with pass blocking. 13 of his 19 snaps came on passing downs and he ran nine routes, though he wasn't targeted. He's also credited with seven snaps, though those likely came on scrambles from Michael Hawkins.

Sawchuk only saw one carry and it was his best of the season, as he gashed Auburn for 16 yards. But the play was called back on a hold by Jake Roberts. Therefore, Sawchuk was not credited with any rushing attempts.

Jovantae Barnes continues to operate as the Sooners' clear running back. He made his second consecutive start and played 37 snaps, recording all 18 of the running back carries. Even with Tatum out, the Sooners simply didn't look for any other running backs to run the ball. Sam Franklin and Kalib Hicks never saw the field.

Barring any unexpected developments, it's clear that the backfield belongs to Barnes and Tatum.

2. Woodi Washington's snaps are going down

If there's been anything noticeable about the Sooners' cornerback room, it's Washington. Specifically, his snaps are only going down. But the Sooners turned to Samuel Omosigho and Bowman to pick up the slack at cheetah.

Here are his snap counts over the last four weeks: 50, 46, 40, 34. His 34 snaps against Auburn were a season low, and that came despite Kendel Dolby and Gentry Williams both missing the game. He also didn't start against the Tigers.

The Sooners have been content to use Kani Walker and Dez Malone at cornerback, even as both have had their struggles. Both got burned for long touchdowns against the Tigers, though Malone had a significantly better grade than Walker. Eli Bowen did play 29 snaps, a slight uptick from the 23 he played against Tennessee.

It just hasn't been the best season for Washington thus far.

3. Bauer Sharp bounce-back game

Sharp took full responsibility for his poor showing against Tennessee, where he struggled with blocking and had a costly drop.

According to the stats, it was a complete 180 for Sharp. He not only led the Sooners in receptions (4 for 43), but he had the highest performance grade on the offense by far. He also had a 70.0 pass-blocking grade a team-best 69.0 run-blocking grade.

The rest of the tight end room was subpar. Jake Roberts accounted for two penalties and Kade McIntyre, who had the lowest PFF grade, had one. On the Sooners' first series of the fourth quarter, Roberts and McIntyre committed costly penalties on back-to-back plays that contributed to a turnover on downs. Neither of them caught a pass.

— Jake Taylor played for the first time since Week 2, and he played all 54 snaps. He finished with the lowest PFF grade on the offensive line.

Meanwhile, Michael Tarquin continues to be the steadiest on the offensive line.

– It was another low-snap game for Adepoju Adebawore, who has played just 47 snaps this season. He didn't play at all against Tennessee.

— Only one snap for David Stone, who has played 11 snaps since the Temple game. Fellow freshman Jayden Jackson reclaimed his starting spot on the interior.

— With the injuries at receiver, JJ Hester logged 38 snaps. He had played just 24 snaps in the three weeks leading up to the game.

Brenen Thompson again led the WR corps in snaps.

— No snaps for Jacobe Johnson on either side of the ball.

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