Matt Campbell impressed with OU's growth
Spencer Rattler scores against Iowa State
Pool photo / Ty Russell
Color Matt Campbell impressed.
The Iowa State coach has certainly noticed Oklahoma’s resurgence since the Sooners left Ames with a 37-30 loss back on Oct. 3.
And it’s not been just the midseason additions of defensive end Ronnie Perkins and running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
“I think most impressively is the young players — and the super talented young players — that are on this team (and) how they’ve grown through this season,” Campbell said Monday on the Big 12 teleconference.
Campbell has his Cyclones (8-2) in pole position in Saturday’s Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington, TX. ISU beat the Sooners (6-2) straight up, then rolled to an 8-1 record in conference play.
OU, meanwhile, won its last six games by an average score of 47-21 to finish second in the league standings. The Sooners are a 5-point favorite in the rematch at AT&T Stadium, and Campbell has some ideas why.
One is the progress of quarterback Spencer Rattler. In his first four games, Rattler threw five interceptions and fumbled five times. Since then, he’s thrown two picks and hasn’t fumbled once. Rattler’s raw numbers are still good, but he’s clearly more comfortable in the pocket, making better decisions about when to leave it, and is taking care of the football.
“I think you take elite talent and then you take a guy like coach (Lincoln) Riley, who’s done as good a job as anybody maybe in our sport of developing the quarterback position, and I think what you get is a proven track record of excellence,” Campbell said. “And I think that’s what you’ve seen really with a really talented young quarterback and just his growth through the entirety of the season.”
“He’s done well,” Riley said. “He’s been learning each week, he’s been eager, made a lot of big plays for us, becoming more mature and seeing more things as he goes. Each week for him has been a learning experience like it is for any quarterback. He’s remained hungry. He’s still being the aggressive player that we want him to be but certainly done a good job here the last several games of not making very many mistakes or putting our team or our offense in bad situations.”
Rattler is emblematic of the growth and maturity of an inexperienced OU roster. But the boost from Perkins and Stevenson’s return can’t be overstated.
In four games, Perkins has energized the OU defense with four sacks and eight tackles for loss. Projected over a 13-game season, those marks would both challenge the school record (14 sacks, 24 TFLs). Meanwhile, Stevenson’s four-game pace so far would put him at 1,242 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in a 13-game season.
“From my end, more than anything, those are two outstanding football players,” Campbell said. “And I think obviously getting those players back has certainly helped the growth of their football team over the course of the season.”
Campbell also gave credit to Riley and his coaching staff for developing that young roster, especially on defense. On their Oct. 3 two-deep, OU listed 13 freshmen or sophomores on offense and 20 on defense, while Iowa State listed 15 and 10, respectively.
“Obviously a great credit to their coaching staff and the development of those young players,” Campbell said. “I think knowing when we played Oklahoma that it was a very talented, very young team that was continuing to get better. And I think that’s the thing that you really see through the video tape from Game 1 to obviously where they are today.
“And then obviously getting two really talented veteran players back is certainly a positive. But I think the most impressive piece is the growth of the young players in their program.”
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