Oklahoma-LSU Review: PFF Grades, Redshirt Report and More

The regular season came to a close for Oklahoma on Saturday night.

The Sooners lost to LSU 37-17 in Death Valley to finish the 2024 regular season at 6-6 and will now have to wait a week before learning their bowl destination.

Here’s a look at some OU numbers – Pro Football Focus grades and snap counts – coming off the Sooners’ regular-season finale loss to LSU.

Pro Football Focus

It’s almost like finals week with the Sooners getting their last grades of the regular season from Pro Football Focus. In their last chance to make a lasting impression, though, the Sooners came crashing down after upsetting then-No. 7 Alabama last week to get bowl eligible.

PFF’s grades didn’t show a drastic dropoff, but there was definitely a difference in performances besides the result. OU’s offense was graded at a 64.5 overall against LSU after a 72.9 against Bama. The biggest drop off was offensively, going from a 63.7 to 56.5.

Running back Sam Franklin was the highest-grade OU offensive player at a 78.7 while playing 18 snaps, according to PFF. Franklin split running back duties with Xavier Robinson and Gavin Sawchuk, who logged 25 and 22 snaps, respectively. Freshman Taylor Tatum did not see the field but was not included on the SEC Availability Report. Jovantae Barnes was cleared from the report on Friday but also didn’t see the field after battling an injury.

OU’s entire offensive line and quarterback Jackson Arnold played all 60 offensive snaps. The O-line included Logan Howland, Heath Ozaeta, Troy Everett, Febechi Nwaiwu and Spencer Brown. It was a rough day for the group, though, as it earned a season-low passing grade of 18 during a season that the offensive line broke records for number of sacks given up in games. Brown had the lowest grade of the bunch at 42.9, while Ozaeta was the highest at 66.1.

Freshman walk-on Jacob Jordan was back to leading the receivers in snaps with 51, followed by Zion Ragins (46), JJ Hester (46), Ivan Carreon (17) and Zion Kearney (11). Brenen Thompson was erased from the SEC Availability Report but still didn’t play.

Bauer Sharp and Jake Roberts shared tight end duties with 50 and 14 snaps, respectively.

Overall, only 16 players got in on offense for the Sooners.

Defensively, linebacker Danny Stutsman, in possibly his final college game, and defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. played all 64 defensive snaps. Freshman cornerback Eli Bowen sat out only one play, according to PFF.

Other linebackers included Kip Lewis (48), Trace Ford (26), Samuel Omosigho (25), Dasan McCullough (17), Kobie McKinzie (14) and Lewis Carter (3).

On the defensive line was R Mason Thomas (57), Damonic Williams (41), Ethan Downs (40), Gracen Halton (35), Jayden Jackson (29), Da’Jon Terry (22), David Stone (3), Adepoju Adebawore (3) and Taylor Wein (2).

Halton, who forced a fumble on a sack, was the highest-graded defensive player at 80.3.

The secondary included Dezjhon Malone (39), Robert Spears-Jennings (34), Peyton Bowen (29), Jacobe Johnson (24) and Woodi Washington (22).

Redshirt Tracker

Postseason participation does not matter, meaning the Sooners’ list of redshirt burners can’t grow anymore, even if they play in the bowl game.

However, OU suffered multiple long-term injuries during the regular season, with many playing less than five games and presumably eligible for a medical redshirt if pursued. Receivers Jayden Gibson, Jalil Farooq, Nic Anderson and Andrel Anthony all appeared in less than four games this season, if at all. Deion Burks played in only five games but could also move on to the NFL.

Other players who appeared in less than five games includes defensive back Gentry Williams and cheetah Kendel Dolby, as well as offensive linemen Joshua Bates, Geirean Hatchett and Jake Taylor.