There are a lot of internal issues for Oklahoma to figure out heading into the Bedlam showdown with Oklahoma State, but OSU definitely presents some problems as well.
To begin with, the toughness of quarterback Spencer Sanders. Physical, mental, you name it, Sanders has shown in during his time in Stillwater.
Perhaps it was never on display more than Saturday when Sanders came in relief to lead OSU to the win vs. Iowa State, when speculation was Sanders was done for the season.
He showed he wasn’t done, and you know he wants one more crack at the Sooners.
“He’s a really, really dynamic football player,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “I think we figured it up yesterday – going back to his high school days, he’s had 90 something career starts as either a high school quarterback or a college quarterback. That’s a lot of snaps when you’re starting 90 something ball games. That’s a lot of snaps.
“He puts pressure on a defense with his mobility, creates explosive plays. He leads the Big 12 in total offense I think, so he’s back, he’s ready to roll. It’s a great challenge and a great opportunity for us.”
Roof admitted OU will prepare for Garrett Rangel and Gunnar Gundy, but after the way Sanders finished Saturday’s game, the belief is it will be the Sanders show once again for the Cowboys in Norman on Saturday night.
OSU an opportunistic defense
A lot of people were wondering how the OSU defense was going to fare under Derrick Mason instead of Jim Knowles. And while it hasn’t all been great, the Cowboys have been able to do a couple of things at a high level.
One, get off the field on third downs. And two, create some takeaways and give their offense more chances to make something happen.
“The biggest thing that stands out is their league-leading on third down,” offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby said. “They've been great on third down. Obviously with the way we played third down on Saturday, that'll be a huge deal for us on Saturday.
“So, that's the thing that sticks out initially. And they create some turnovers. They've done a great job of that, creating five turnovers last week versus Iowa State. So you got to be great situationally and take care of the rock.”
OSU’s defensive line causes a lot of problems, Lebby said, especially with their ability to get off blocks and make competitive plays.
Getting Willis back in the flow
Through the first seven games, tight end Brayden Willis was someone routinely coming up with monster plays and monster performances.
But after his first 100-yard game of his career, he’s gone quiet. Willis only has five catches for 35 yards combined in the last three games.
That’s something that has to change, Lebby said.
“I think just situationally it didn't happen,” Lebby said. “Obviously, he had a catch for a touchdown that got called back for OPI. Tried to force it to him on the fourth and sixth and got batted where he's wide open and we're not able to connect there on fourth down. So there's a couple of situational things where he was the guy that was getting it and didn't work out.”
Willis did have a touchdown called back at West Virginia because of an offensive pass interference penalty.
Untimely miscues
The Sooners lead the Big 12 in penalty yards, but what Saturday illustrated more than anything is the awful timing of the penalties.
Like offensively, the Sooners only had two penalties. Two massive penalties that ultimately changed the course of the contest and what would be expected of the offense.
“The biggest issue was both penalties we had offensively took points off the board,” Lebby said. “Those two penalties weren’t just big penalties, but they changed the game. That’s the most frustrating part. We go play the plays we played. We have two penalties and both of them took points off the board. It’s not good enough. We can’t do that.
“In short yardage situations, we have to have better attention to detail. On the third-and-one where we walk into the end zone, and it’s a perfectly legal play but we’re past the line of scrimmage by like 12 inches. Can’t happen. Have to execute it cleaner and we’d be talking about something a lot different today.”
Young growing pains
You want to play young guys, you have to take everything that comes with. The good and the bad because there’s always some of both.
At WVU, it was a couple of penalties from freshmen with R Mason Thomas and Gracen Halton in crucial moments.
“They're teachable moments, especially for the young players, to be able to learn from them and understand the impact that every play and every detail impacts the rest of the game,” Roof said. “There were certainly a lot of other things that we could've done better. But after those penalties, those drives resulted in scores. That's a big deal. But at the same time, we learn from it and grow from it because that's all we can do now after the fact.”
Defensive freshmen are seeing more and more time for OU as the injuries have mounted up. Especially in the secondary where Robert Spears-Jennings and Gentry Williams have been thrown into the fire more and more.
