It's not officially the midway point of the season, but it may as well be.

The Sooners now have five games under their belt, heading into the bye week with a 4-1 overall record and 1-1 record in SEC play. They've mostly finished their non-conference schedule — they host Maine in November — and have gotten their feet wet against SEC opponents. But the final seven games of the season will have even bigger challenges, which includes a matchup with No. 2 Texas coming out of the bye week.

There's still plenty of season to be played, but the Sooners have already put a ton on tape. As we evaluate the first 42% of the season, Jesse Crittenden and Bryan Clinton hand out most valuable player awards on both sides of the ball, evaluate the special teams and point out the best candidates for more playing time among freshmen moving forward.

Bryan: It feels bizarre to say this after he started just one game in the first half of the season, but I've got to go with Michael Hawkins Jr. here. Sure, the Sooners won their first three games without him, but he sparked an offense that was dead in the water against Tennessee and then found a way to win the game late against Auburn on the road. His 48-yard touchdown run and 60-yard completion to J.J. Hester are the longest rushing and passing plays of the season for OU, and honestly, the offense has been incredibly disappointing outside of him. Perhaps the best way to justify my pick here is to ask this question: What part of the Sooners' offense scares opponents right now more than MHJ at quarterback?

Jesse: Amid all of the struggles on offense, there's been one consistent standout. That'd be receiver Deion Burks, who leads the team in receptions (26), yards (201) and touchdowns (3). He's accounted for nearly a third of the team's receptions and he's currently on pace to finish the regular season with nearly 80 receptions, which is particularly impressive given that he missed last weekend's game against Auburn. As the wide receiver and offensive line groups have been decimated with injuries, Burks has been the closest thing OU's had to an engine.

The only negative is he's averaging under eight yards per receptions, which is more a reflection on OU's inconsistencies at quarterback and the offensive struggles as a whole. Assuming he returns against Texas, the Sooners need to find ways to utilize Burks' explosiveness.

Bryan: I wanted to go Robert Spears-Jennings here, and he certainly deserves it as he's arguably been the best player on Oklahoma's defense this season. However, I'm giving this award to R Mason Thomas. OU has lacked a lethal pass rusher in recent years, and the emergence of RMT — particularly in fourth quarter gotta-have-it situations — has been an answered prayer for this team. His performance at the end of the Tulane game was the first time that fans got to see how much of a game-wrecker he could be, and his back-to-back sacks against Auburn helped secure that win. He's been one of the best edge rushers in the SEC through five weeks.

Jesse: Thomas is firmly second on my list and has arguably made the most game-changing plays through five weeks. But Spears-Jennings has been the catalyst for OU's defense. It's not just the 35 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and two forced fumbles, which are all impressive. He has the team's highest overall grade (87.2) and coverage grade (85.1), per Pro Football Focus. He has a grade of 82.8 or higher in rush defense, tackling and pass rush, ranking in the top four on the team in all of those categories. If he keeps this up, his stock is going to soar on NFL Draft boards.

Bryan: Hiring Doug Deakin has been one of the most underrated wins of the Brent Venables era. Oklahoma's special teams unit might be its most improved unit year over year. Over the last few years, special teams blunders have cost the Sooners dearly. Missed field goals, bad punts, and muffed punt returns were all an issue at one point or another. However, through the first half of the season, OU has had a notable advantage on special teams in pretty much every game. They've dominated field position thanks to Luke Elzinga and both Zach Schmit and Tyler Keltner have been excellent with placekicking duties. Peyton Bowen is going to have a huge punt return at some point this season, and when that happens, it'll be safe to say that OU's special teams are truly special again.

Jesse: The turnaround on special teams from the last two years to now is nothing short of impressive. The Sooners ranked 107th nationally in special teams efficiency, per FEI ratings. Now, they rank sixth. Elzinga has been one of the most dominant punters in the country, ranking 13th in yards per punt (45.8) while booting 11 punts for over 50 yards. 13 of his punts have been downed inside the 20.

Once a detriment, the kicking game has also been solid and helpful. Schmit and Keltner are a combined 8 of 9 (88%) on attempts after the Sooners made just 69% of their kicks the past two seasons. I'll have more on the special teams on Friday, but in short, special teams have largely been the best unit on the team through five weeks.

Bryan: I've got one for each side of the ball. First, I'm going with running back Taylor Tatum. The Sooners running game has been horrendous through the first five games, and the only back that's shown any reason for excitement has been the freshman out of Longview, TX. On the year, Tatum has 18 carries for 116 yards (6.4 ypc) and two touchdowns. He's earned 10-15 touches per game. On the defensive side of the ball, it's got to be Eli Bowen. With Gentry Williams down and Woodi Washington dealing with some issues early on, Bowen has had the chance to get on the field and show what he's capable of. Unfortunately for those other guys, he's showing that he might just be the best cover corner that the Sooners have. He's been sensational in spots to this point, and once he's got the experience to match his talent, the younger Bowen brother could become a legitimate star.

Jesse: Tatum is the obvious pick on offense. The most telling stat to me is that he's averaging 3.6 yards after contact, significantly more than both Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk. He was the co-starter alongside Barnes against Tennessee and appeared poised for a big day before exited with an injury. His absence was noticeable against Auburn. He has asserted himself as the No. 2 running back, but after averaging just 15.5 snaps per game through the four weeks, I'd like to see that number increase to at least 25 moving forward.

On defense, I'd like to see more of David Stone. The true freshman has played just 27 snaps this season and only logged one against Auburn. It's clear he's behind Damonic Williams, Jayden Jackson, Gracen Halton and Da'Jon Terry on the interior. But with the Sooners heading into the meat of SEC play, they're going to need to rotate more and Stone needs more playing time to develop.