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Oklahoma-Kansas Review: NCAA Stats, PFF Grades, Redshirt Report and More

Looking back at the game and diving into Pro Football Focus' grades and snap-count totals reveals even more about the Sooners' loss to the Jayhawks.
John E. Hoover|
Oklahoma-Kansas Review: NCAA Stats, PFF Grades, Redshirt Report and More
Oklahoma-Kansas Review: NCAA Stats, PFF Grades, Redshirt Report and More

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Oklahoma Sooners

Brent Venables and his coaching staff said repeatedly during the Sooners’ 7-0 start that this football team has a long way to go. 

Now everyone understands just how long.

Saturday’s 38-33 loss at Kansas was a stunner, to be sure, and could have swung Oklahoma’s way with the help of one or two plays, or coaching decisions, or officiating calls.

But while winning and losing is the ultimate outcome in a zero-sum game, escaping Lawrence with a victory would have merely continued to paper over the myriad problems with the 2023 Sooners, problems that are revealing themselves more and more each week and proving that that 7-0 start was a mirage — and very much the product of a soft schedule. And the results of Big 12 games the last two weeks also reveal a hard truth: starting with this week's 2:30 p.m. kickoff in Stillwater against criminally underrated Oklahoma State, the Sooners are going to have their hands completely full each of the last four weeks of the regular season.

Here’s a look at some OU numbers — NCAA statistics and Pro Football Focus grades and snap counts — coming off the Sooners’ loss to the Jayhawks:

NCAA Statistics

Oklahoma’s once-shining statistical rankings have taken a big hit the last two weeks.

OU still ranks seventh nationally in total offense (489.8 yards per game) and fourth in scoring offense (41.9 points per game), but has dropped to 11th in passing offense (308.9) and climbed to 33rd in rushing offense (180.9) after posting a season-high 269 yards on the ground at KU. The Sooners also rank seventh in team passing efficiency rating (172.98)

Defensively, OU ranks 61st in total defense (369.6) and 22nd in scoring defense (18.9), while the passing defense ranks 86th (237.6) and the run defense ranks 52nd (132.0). The pass efficiency defensive rating ranks 18th (114.42).

The Sooners collected three more turnovers on defense and still rank third nationally in turnovers gained (18), but also had three giveaways and fell to 24th in turnovers lost (eight) The turnover margin still ranks No. 3 in the country (plus-1.25 per game).

After a season-high 11 penalties for 101 yards in Lawrence, the Sooners are now 98th in penalties per game (7.00) and 97th in penalty yards per game (59.88). That ranks 14th and dead last across the board among Big 12 teams.

OU is now 17th in third-down conversions and 11th in fourth-down conversions on offense, and fifth in third-down defense and 82nd in fourth-down defense.

The passing game ranks fifth nationally in completion percentage (72.3) but only 44th in yards per completion (12.80).

The Sooner defense ranks third nationally in tackles for loss (8.5 per game) and is 67th in quarterback sacks (2.12 per game), while the offense ranks 15th in the nation in sacks allowed (1.12 per game).

Individually, Dillon Gabriel ranks fifth in the country in total offense (324.5 yards per game), eighth in completion percentage (.714), ninth in passer efficiency rating (169.9), 10th in passing TDs (19), 13th in passing yards (287.8) and 40th in yards per completion (12.79). Gabriel also ranks third nationally in points responsible for (20.2 per game).

Nic Anderson ranks 10th nationally in receiving touchdowns (8) and third overall in yards per catch (23.82), and Gabriel ranks 22nd in rushing TDs (8) while Zach Schmit ranks 31st in total points scored 67.

Danny Stutsman ranks 11th in tackles for loss (1.4 per game) and 26th in total tackles (9.1 per game), and Billy Bowman and Gentry Williams are tied for 17th in interceptions (3).

Pro Football Focus

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel and offensive linemen Tyler Guyton, Andrew Raym and McKade Mettauer played all 80 offensive snaps — even more impressive considering Mettauer went off the field against Texas with an air cast on his leg, and Raym was reportedly not feeling well all week ahead of the game. Receivers Jalil Farooq (72), Drake Stoops (72) and Nic Anderson (70) were next on the Pro Football Focus snap-count list.

Tight end Austin Stogner (66), offensive linemen Cayden Green (54) and Jacob Sexton (54) also got substantial action. Running back Tawee Walker (38) had one of his team’s highest PFF grades before leaving with an ankle injury. Left tackle Walter Rouse (26) played his fewest snaps of the season due to a shoulder injury.

Wideout Jayden Gibson got 19 snaps, and running back Jovantae Barnes made his Big 12 debut this season with 18. Wideout Gavin Freeman played 16, running back Gavin Sawchuk 15, tight end Blake Smith 8 and wideout Brenen Thompson 6.

On offense, 19 total players got game snaps against Kansas, while 25 played on defense.

Cornerback Woodi Washington led the way with 77 snaps for the defense, while safety Billy Bowman played 76 and cornerback Kani Walker played 71. Linebacker Jaren Kanak was next with 67, and safety Key Lawrence played 52.

Defensive end Ethan Downs played 49 snaps, defensive back Kendel Dolby 47, linebacker Kip Lewis a career-high 42, Rondell Bothroyd 42, defensive lineman Isaiah Coe 37, linebacker Danny Stutsman played just 35 (his season-low was 23 against Arkansas State) before leaving with injury, defensive tackle Jacob Lacey 35, defensive end Trace Ford 33, defensive tackle Da’Jon Terry 33, and linebacker Dasan McCullough 31.

Defensive tackle Jonah Laulu (27), safety Reggie Pearson (25 before his targeting ejection), defensive end R Mason Thomas (22), defensive tackle Jordan Kelley (13), linebacker Kobie McKinzie (10), safety Peyton Bowen (8), cornerback Jasiah Wagoner (6), defensive end P.J. Adebawore (6), defensive end Marcus Stripling (2) and safety Robert Spears-Jennings (1) closed out the rotation, according to Pro Football Focus.

Like the previous week against UCF, Oklahoma’s offensive PFF grades were markedly low.

Thompson (81.7) posted the highest grade of all, but among players with volume snaps, only Walker (74.0) and Sexton (71.8) posted strong grades (Freeman graded at 70.5 on his 16 snaps).

Stoops (67.8), Raym (67.0), Guyton (63.7) and Barnes (62.4) all posted winning grades. Everyone else was below 60, including Gabriel (58.2), and Farooq (45.1), who posted their lowest PFF grades of the year.

The Oklahoma defense posted plenty of solid to championship grades, led by Coe, who posted a season-best 87.2, and McCullough, who posted a season-best 86.0. Ford (78.2), Downs (74.6), Terry (71.7) and Lewis (71.5) all posted winning grades. Washington (69.5), Lawrence (68.5), Kani Walker (65.6), Wagoner (63.4), Bowen (63.3), Spears-Jennings (61.7), Bothroyd (61.6), Bowman (61.3), Laulu (61.5), Dolby (61.3), Stripling (60.5) and Thomas (60.0) all posted grades termed “above average” by PFF.

Some concerning grades were posted by the Oklahoma linebacker corps. Stutsman posted a season-low 56.1, McKinzie posted a season-low 39.0, and Kanak posted a season-low 29.7.

Missed tackles continue to be a problem for the Sooner defense: 18 against Texas, 16 against UCF and, according to PFF, nine against Kansas — although AllSooners reviewed the game broadcast and counted 13 missed tackles.

Redshirt report

The only true freshmen who played at KU were Bowen, Adebawore and Wagoner on defense, Green on offense and Jacobe Johnson, Lewis Carter and Sammy Omosigho on special teams.

Bowen, Adebawore and Green had already surpassed the four-game NCAA redshirt rule. So did cornerback Makari Vickers, linebacker Sammy Omosigho and cornerback Jacobe Johnson. For Carter, Saturday at KU was his fifth game of the season, so he’s now past the limit to redshirt as well.

For Wagoner, it was his third game of the season.

Quarterback Jackson Arnold didn’t play against KU but has played in four games so far.

PFF’s special teams report was not posted as of this writing.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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