Game Book: OU 62, Texas Tech 28

LUBBOCK, TX — Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said he learned on Friday night that defensive end Ronnie Perkins and running back Rhamondre Stevenson had been reinstated — cleared to play, their suspensions lifted, whatever the semantics — to play in Saturday’s Big 12 Conference game at Texas Tech.

He told the players at a team meeting and it was, apparently, quite the scene.

“Literally, we had only known for about 30 minutes,” Riley said after the Sooners took apart the Red Raiders 62-28 at Jones AT&T Stadium. “ … We told them and the team erupted. I mean, I thought they were gonna tear the room in half, honestly.

“Didn't have the ability to plan for it a whole lot but it was certainly great to have them back. Two quality players, but then just the emotional lift. Our team is very aware of what those guys, along with Trejan (Bridges, who's also suspended but did not return), have been through. To get those two back on the field tonight was ... like I said, quality of player was great, but just the emotional lift for our team was pretty awesome.

“They've witnessed it firsthand and so it was very, very emotional and not just for those guys, but really the entire team.”

“We were extremely excited,” said quarterback Spencer Rattler. “When coach Riley said that, we all got chills. Super happy for (Stevenson) and we knew they would come out and do us justice. They both did a great job.”

He’s back, all right

Riley said earlier this week that T.J. Pledger was Oklahoma’s first running back.

But as well as Pledger played against Texas and TCU, he probably lost that designation Saturday in Lubbock.

Stevenson rushed for 87 yards and three touchdowns — and looked virtually unstoppable in the Sooners’ 62-28 wipeout of Texas Tech.

“Rhamondre certainly had an impact,” Riley said. “All those guys had some nice plays, but adding a back of his caliber that can break tackles and has had some pretty good experience here with our guys was huge, and so kinda gave us a little bit more of the full group that we've hoped to have.”

After his third touchdown, Stevenson lifted his jersey and showed an undershirt that read, “I’M BACK.”

Indeed.

Stevenson was a 2,000-yard junior college rusher in 2018, and he averaged 8.0 yards per carry as Oklahoma’s third-string back for most of 2019 behind Kennedy Brooks and Trey Sermon.

But with Brooks opting out this season and Sermon transferring to Ohio State, the Sooners labored to run the football in the first half of the season.

Pledger — who missed the season opener while in COVID protocol — ran for 131 yards against the Longhorns and 122 against the Horned Frogs. He averaged 5.5 and 5.0 yards per carry in his two most recent games. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound Pledger runs with heart and balance and fierce determination — but the 6-2, 246-pound Stevenson sets himself apart with uncommon burst, good change-of-direction, a powerful stiff-arm and his powerful thick legs and barrel chest.

He zipped and cut around defenders for 6 yards on his first touchdown, then powered through the heart Red Raiders for a pair of 1-yard TDs.

OU had failed to average at least 4.0 yards per rush as a team in any game this year, but Halloween night against Texas Tech — led by Stevenson’s 6.7 yards per carry — the Sooners averaged a season-best 5.5 as a team.

He’s back, too

Perkins’ suspension ended Saturday night, too, and he played much like he did last year — fanatical effort, impactful plays and tireless energy.

Perkins finished the night with three tackles, including two tackles for loss. He also pressured Tech quarterback Henry Colombi once.

Perkins’ return meant fewer snaps for Isaiah Thomas, who had been identified by defensive coordinator Alex Grinch this week as the Sooners’ defensive MVP so far. But Thomas played fresh with three tackles, 1 1/2 quarterback sacks and a fumble recovery.

The return of Perkins means more one-on-one blocking for noseguard Perrion Winfrey (1 TFL) as well as more opportunities on the other side for rush linebacker Nik Bonitto (1 1/2 TFLs, half a sack).

Defensive tackle LaRon Stokes missed Saturday’s game for undisclosed reasons (he was on the sideline but wasn’t in uniform). That led to more playing time for Josh Ellison (two tackles) and Jordan Kelley (two tackles, half a sack).

In all, OU finished with two sacks and nine tackles for loss.

Rattler’s best

Quarterback Spencer Rattler may have played his best game of the year — perhaps not statistically, but in terms of confidence and command of the offense, he looked better than ever.

““The game is getting slower and slower for me all the time,” said Rattler, who finished 21-of-30 for 288 yards and two TD throws while also running three times for 24 yards. “I feel super comfortable now, just with everything. I’ve got a lot of work to do, of course, but I feel really comfortable right now and still trying to get better and improve every week. That's my goal.”

“I thought he did a good job of settling in early even when Tech had some momentum with the early score,” Riley said. “I thought he was really locked into the plan. And he threw the ball well. It was kind of a tricky wind tonight, which it always is in Lubbock. It wasn’t the easiest wind to throw in. You could see some of the balls die into it, and some of the deep balls kind of downwind kind of take off on guys. I thought he controlled the ball and threw it well. Was patient. And I think a lot of that is due to how well our offensive line played. They absolutely controlled the front and I think helped make Spencer comfortable.”

Trick or takeaway

Tre Norwood’s two interceptions in the first quarter were both on tipped passes.

Before the Texas game, the last time OU had two INTs in a game was at UCLA last year, and it’s the first time in four years that one player had two interceptions in a game (Jordan Evans, 2016).

That should serve to let defensive coordinator Alex Grinch know that, while takeaways should be the goal of any defense, they are simply too random in nature to stress over. Practice and preach, yes, but don’t stress.

“I guess it’s proof that it’s possible,” Grinch said. “Sometimes you feel like when you talk about something so much and you end up not getting it, it's almost like this fantasyland. The teams that do. We're just one of those that doesn't. That's obviously not reality. It's not like someone else has a monopoly on takeaways, like we're not in on the secret type of deal.”

“It's one of those type of things, you just have to capitalize on your opportunities,” Norwood said. “We pride ourselves, on the back end especially, on tips and overthrows. So we have to make the offense pay for those mistakes — as some people call them, those gifts. We can’t let those slip away. And that's just the biggest thing. And as a defense as a whole, we always harp on takeaways, because takeaways equal victories.”

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