NORMAN — Oklahoma came away with a 34-19 win over Tulane on Saturday. But most telling, the rotations are beginning to come into focus at each position group.

The Sooners were again without several key players. Here's some of the notable names: Branson Hickman, Jake Taylor, Troy Everett, Kendel Dolby, Nic Anderson, Andrel Anthony, Gentry Williams and Dasan McCullough. But for other guys, Week 3 provided another close look as to where everybody stands in the pecking order.

As we do every week, here's a look at the snap counts and performance grades for each player, as well as some takeaways and notes.

(Editor's note: The snap counts and grades are from Pro Football Focus.The offense played 78 snaps. The defense played 72)

QUARTERBACK

1. Jackson Arnold — 78 (74.1)

OFFENSIVE LINE

1. Joshua Bates — 78 (43.7)

2. Febechi Nwaiwu — 78 (52.7)

3. Jacob Sexton — 77 (56.1)

4. Michael Tarquin — 73 (53.9)

5. Heath Ozaeta — 62 (50.5)

6. Logan Howland — 17 (54.0)

7. Spencer Brown — 5 (60.4)

RUNNING BACK

1. Jovantae Barnes — 39 (54.7)

2. Taylor Tatum — 27 (63.9)

3. Gavin Sawchuk — 21 (58.0)

WIDE RECEIVER

1. Deion Burks — 71 (68.7)

2. Zion Kearney — 45 (57.9)

3. Zion Ragins — 44 (56.8)

4. Brenen Thompson — 26 (53.7)

5. JJ Hester — 10 (55.3)

T6. Ivan Carreon — 5 (57.5)

T6. Jaquaize Pettaway — 5 (55.7)

TIGHT END

1. Bauer Sharp — 63 (60.4)

2. Jake Roberts — 32 (45.5)

3. Kaden Helms — 2 (60.0)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

1. Gracen Halton — 39 (60.2)

2. Damonic Williams — 37 (62.0)

3. Jayden Jackson — 31 (62.1)

4. Da'Jon Terry — 23 (78.7)

5. David Stone — 3 (58.1)

DEFENSIVE END

1. R Mason Thomas — 50 (91.3)

2. Ethan Downs — 46 (72.4)

3. Trace Ford — 24 (56.1)

4. Caiden Woullard — 20 (69.4)

5. Adepoju Adebawore — 17 (62.3)

LINEBACKER

1. Danny Stutsman — 63 (75.4)

2. Kobie McKinzie — 43 (72.3)

3. Kip Lewis — 30 (67.7)

*4. Samuel Omosigho — 28 (71.5)

5. Jaren Kanak – 7 (63.8)

CORNERBACK

1. Kani Walker — 66 (62.4)

2. Dez Malone — 48 (74.8)

3. Woodi Washington — 46 (60.3)

4. Eli Bowen — 19 (57.0)

5. Jacobe Johnson — 9 (37.7)

SAFETY

1. Billy Bowman — 68 (64.2)

2. Robert Spears-Jennings — 61 (60.5)

3. Peyton Bowen — 14 (64.1)

*Indicates time at cheetah

1. The running back rotation

Gavin Sawchuk again got the start at running back. But for the second-consecutive game, he wasn't the one that saw the most snaps.

That'd be Jovantae Barnes, who operated as the clear lead running back after the first series. Sawchuk didn't even see the change-of-pace snaps behind Barnes, as Taylor Tatum was on the field a lot starting in the second quarter.

Sawchuk saw just six carries for 16 yards. On the year, he has 16 carries for 35 yards.

It's obvious that DeMarco Murray has seen Barnes (14 carries, 53 yards) as the better fit compared to Sawchuk. But it's impossible to ignore Tatum, who has been the most standout running back through three weeks. He scored two touchdowns against Tulane and is the only running back that has scored for OU this season. In all three games, he's finished with the best performance grade among the running backs. Tatum only played six snaps against Houston, but it's notable that he played a season-high 27 snaps against Tulane and played six more than Sawchuk.

Is Sawchuk still the starter against Tennessee? Will Tatum continue to see his role expanded? It's clear through three weeks that there are still things to figure out.

2. Gracen Halton assumes a lead role on the interior defensive line

After arguably being the team's best defensive lineman through the first two weeks, Halton earned the start against Tulane in place of Jayden Jackson.

It wasn't Halton's most impressive game, statistically speaking, but it's notable that he led the interior in snaps. His start also didn't get in the way of Jackson, who still played the third-most snaps with 31.

The snaps on the interior, as a whole, were telling. Todd Bates shrank the rotation, and it's clear the top four is Damonic William, Halton, Jackson and Da'Jon Terry (who did leave the game with an injury). David Stone saw just three snaps, and there was no playing time for guys like Ashton Sanders and Davon Sears.

Things can obviously change. It's still early in the season. But it looks like the top four at defensive tackle has emerged.

— The R Mason Thomas breakout season is here. But it wasn't just the fourth quarter, when he logged three sacks, a strip sack and a pass deflection. He led the entire defensive line in snaps with 50, which was also a career high. He's played 129 snaps and started all three games thus far. He played just 175 snaps last year as he struggled with injuries.

Assuming Thomas stays healthy, it looks like the potential is finally turning into on-field production.

— Peyton Bowen essentially didn't play in the second half against Houston with an injury and only played 14 snaps against Tulane.

— Joshua Bates and Febechi Nwaiwu again played every snap, and Jacob Sexton only left the field for one snap because his helmet came off. Branson Hickman will likely resume the center spot when he returns, but Nwaiwu and Sexton are the clear top two on the offensive line. Michael Tarquin also played 73 of 78 snaps.

Sexton started the game at left guard before quickly moving to left tackle, where he played 61 snaps. Logan Howland started at left tackle and played 17 snaps before he was replaced by Heath Ozaeta, who played 61 snaps at left guard.

The offensive line needs to get healthy and figure things out.

— With Kendel Dolby out, Woodi Washington got the start at cheetah. That left both Kani Walker and Dez Malone to start at cornerback.

Washington will, presumably, slide back to cornerback when Dolby returns. But Walker has already played 154 snaps this year and has made several plays on the field. It'll be interesting to see what the rotation is when Gentry Williams is healthy.