Oklahoma-Tulsa Video Review, PFF Numbers and More
Oklahoma remained perfect on the season after beating Tulsa 66-17 on Saturday, although the Sooner coaches probably wouldn’t use that word.
The Sooners’ second major rout of the young season pushed their scoring to 55.7 points per game, which ranks third nationally behind USC (59.3) and Oregon (58.0).
OU (3-0) does lead the entire country, however, in two major offensive categories that were significant problems last year: completion percentage (.832) and third down conversion percentage (.676).
Dillon Gabriel missed too many open receivers last season, and the Sooners couldn’t keep drives alive. So far this season, those weaknesses have become strengths.
Oklahoma also leads FBS football in total scoring margin — plus 46.3 points per game. USC is second at plus 42.0, and Ohio State is third at plus 36.5.
OU’s third double-digit win — and third cover of the point spread — showed a remarkably efficient passing game, as three Sooner receivers went over 100 yards in a game for the first time since 2012. OU is now up to No. 2 in the nation in team passing efficiency and No. 5 in total first downs. The Sooners rank No. 8 in total offense (534 yards per game), No. 50 in rushing offense (176.0) and No. 7 in passing offense (358.0).
It’s defense — so far — where Oklahoma has made the biggest improvements: the Sooners are No. 32 in total defense (287.7), No. 15 in rushing defense (78.7), 63rd in passing defense (209.0) and tied for fifth in scoring defense (9.3 points per game). OU also ranks 25th nationally in first downs allowed, 21st in third down percentage and 23rd in passer efficiency defense. Those numbers all represent major steps in the right direction in Year Two under Brent Venables.
After re-watching the ESPN2 broadcast and diving into the numbers from Pro Football Focus on Sunday, here are a few final observations from OU-Tulsa:
First quarter
It’s hard for the untrained eye to tell what the difference is between OU’s cheetah linebacker spot (Peyton Bowen) and what Venables was asking of his strong safety (Reggie Pearson). The disguise is extremely effective. Before one play, Bowen lined up as a box linebacker, but then motioned across the formation to cover a slot receiver on the other side of the field while Freeman and free safety Billy Bowman flipped. Then on the next play, Bowen lined up over a receiver as a slot corner on the right side and came on a quarterback blitz while Pearson appeared to be in Cover 2.
Everyone was smitten with the two-play TD drive to start the game, but the next possession, a brilliant 11-play, 92-yard scoring drive, was much more impressive. Gabriel was 7-for-7 passing for 66 yards, including some perfectly thrown short bubble screens to Drake Stoops. The drive also featured four handoffs to Jovantae Barnes to get him going early, and one of them actually did, a swift 17-yard pickup up the right hash.
Defensive tackle Da’Jon Terry made an extremely underrated play when he was engaged in a block at the line of scrimmaged and reached through the blocker’s arms with one hand and pulled running back Bill Jackson down for no gain. Terry’s side and strength allows him to hold his ground and constrict the space around the football, which he displays several times in the second quarter.
Danny Stutsman’s interception return that made it 21-0 was all read, recognition and reaction by him. TU came out with three receivers to the boundary and motioned middle man Marquis Shoulders back to the field side. Stutsman casually stepped two steps to his left, directly over the center, and waited for quarterback Roman Fuller to take the snap. As Fuller directed a ball over the middle toward short crosser Devan Williams, Stutsman simply stood his ground, shuffled his feet and waited for his opportunity. He quickly leaped, tapped the football once, snatched it out of the air and immediately began his trek toward the end zone for a 30-yard pick six. It looked a lot like the one he nearly scored on last year at Iowa State.
One play before Kendel Dolby’s fantastic interception on the left sideline, Makari Vickers was making a dazzling play of his own on the right sideline. As Marcus Stripling was putting heat on Fuller, he floated a ball in the flat to tight end Ethan Hall, but Vickers smashed into Hall as he reached to bat away the ball — great recognition and reaction by the true freshman.
Tulsa safety Kendarin Ray is 6-foot-3, 213 pounds, is a four-year starter and five-year letterman, and will have a future in professional football. But Ray wasn’t the best option to cover Drake Stoops, who caught five passes on five targets and scored two touchdowns in coverage against Ray, according to Pro Football Focus.
Second quarter
Cardell Williams’ 19-yard touchdown pass to Shoulders on third-and-8 was a bust by Vickers — a lack of recognition for what he thought he was seeing or what coverage he was playing. Vickers appeared to have Shoulders man to man, but as Shoulders hesitated off the line, Vickers seemed to see Williams peek at the running back motioning out of the backfield into a possible wheel route. Vickers took the bait, assuming he had safety help inside from Pearson, but Pearson was tied up with a slot receiver, leaving Shoulders wide open at the goal line. Probably not ideal to be playing freshman cornerbacks this early in the season (or in any game), but it’ll go down as a learning moment for Vickers.
How clutch was the call, the throw and the catch by Jeff Lebby, Dillon Gabriel and Gavin Sawchuk on fourth-and-5 for a 9-yard pickup? Sawchuk, a sophomore running back, lined up wide right, briefly motioned in, then spun and flared into the soft spot near the OU sideline. Gabriel’s throw was perfect, and Sawchuck was untouched before finding the sticks.
Another perfect throw from Gabriel to Nic Anderson for a 28-yard touchdown, and maybe even a better read by the quarterback for finding the right delivery. OU came out in four receivers with trips to the field, but motioned Blake Smith back into the boundary. Tulsa’s secondary didn’t adjust its coverage. That left two DBs on Stoops in the slot, and Stoops froze them and a linebacker by simply running between them. That left Anderson out wide right in man coverage, which he easily beat with a post route for a clean catch at the goal line and a 35-7 lead.
The 35-yard completion to Kamdyn Benjamin appeared to be a missed read by either Bowman or Pearson. Pearson seemed to jump an outside receiver in coverage with Gentry Williams, while Bowman appeared to be on his way to take on a tight end underneath. That movement, along with Cardell Williams’ excellent scrambling ability, created space for Benjamin to get open across the middle. If either Bowman or Pearson had stayed central, Benjamin would have been covered.
Cardell Williams’ 18-yard TD throw to Devan Williams was a simple out-and-up, but it fooled the defense quickly. As Devan Williams motioned into the single receiver on the right side, cornerback Gentry Williams recognized and gestured for safety help. Bowman and Pearson quickly communicated, and Pearson turned on the jets to cover the flat as Devan Williams bent his out route and cut it upfield for an uncontested catch. It was fourth-and-4, but Steve Spurrier Jr. and head coach Kevin Wilson dialed up the right call at the right time.
Gabriel’s interception was a great play by two Golden Hurricanes and a bad play by three Sooners. Gabriel’s deep throw to Gavin Freeman was picked on a phenomenal catch by cornerback Demarco Jones, but it was a savage pass rush by edge rusher Owen Ostroski, who beat left tackle Jacob Sexton, tight end Austin Stogner and running back Jovantae Barnes. Sexton passed Ostroski off, and Ostroski simply overwhelmed the effort by everyone to punish Gabriel.
Third quarter
Great response by the Oklahoma defense after gains of 26, 25 and 21 yards to start the third quarter. Cardell Williams was simply a problem for the Sooners, but OU tightened up in the red zone and forced a field goal. Stutsman and Pearson teamed up for no gain on first down, and Kani Walker and Isaiah Coe got another on second down, and pressure by Jaren Kanak nearly forced an interception by Bowen on third. That brought on Tulsa’s field goal unit for a short kick, and TU never got close to the goal line again.
Nic Anderson’s second touchdown (Gabriel’s fifth) was a simple case of one Oklahoma player being better than two Tulsa players. Anderson caught an intermediate throw from Gabriel, wheeled and stiff armed one defender, then outran another up the sideline for the 42-yard TD. Tulsa was in OK position to make a play — or at least not give up a touchdown — in both cases, but Anderson simply would not be denied. Oklahoma may have found something special in Rodney’s little brother.
Venables credited better play against Cardell Williams to simply everyone being more disciplined in their rush lanes, but credit the first series to dominating defensive line play: Coe and Marcus Stripling on a first-down intentional grounding call, Coe and Stripling again on a run to the right side on second down, and Stripling and Kanak on third down. Stripling nearly had a sack and two TFLs on the three-and-out coming off the TU goal line. Kanak forced a third down fumble that Williams recovered himself.
On the next possession, credit P.J. Adebawore’s mom and dad for creating such a physical phenom. His sack of Williams on second-and-9 arrived like a clap of thunder, and Williams looked a little jumpy on the next play — an interception by Key Lawrence that Williams wanted only to get out of his hands.
The ninja formation, with Jackson Arnold on point, resulted in a 4-yard loss on an end-around touch pass to Freeman. On the next play, Arnold took a reverse handoff and nearly threw an interception in the end zone. Neither play came off as remotely effective or even pretty, and were almost a disaster that reeked of, at best, fifth-grade recess or, at worst, desperation (OU was up 45-17 so that wasn’t it). But consider that the Texas defense now has to spend time in practice preparing for such tomfoolery. Not ideal, but not the worst.
Anderson showed superior physical ability breaking away from man coverage on his 50-yard touchdown catch, sprinting past safety help and dragging the corner for six yards across the goal line. But that throw by Arnold, hitting Anderson in full stride behind the defense just before taking a shot in the ribs, just felt different.
Fourth quarter
Trace Ford certainly has been around the state. Growing up in OKC, playing at Oklahoma State, transferring to OU and getting an amazing interception at Tulsa probably completes his bingo card. Anticipating a quick throw, leaping into the air, making a twisting catch and nearly taking it to the house shows why OU fans have had such high expectations for flashes of Ford’s athletic ability.
Three young linebackers — Sammy Omosigho, Kip Lewis and Kobie McKinzie were making plays all over the field in the fourth quarter, with Omosigho lining up at the cheetah (which worked well for both teams as Kevin Wilson wasn’t interested in asking Fuller to make a whole lot of throws). Still, it was veteran Shane Whitter who thought he had a scoop-and-score touchdown, but it was ruled that the runner’s forward momentum was stopped before the fumble.
Omosigho, Lewis Carter and Konnor Near got most of the linebacker snaps on Tulsa’s final possession, but once again it was Adebawore who shoved Anthony Watkins out of bounds for a 2-yard loss, his second TFL of the game. Adebawore easily shed his block on the sweep, then put hands on Watkins as he retreated to the sideline. Adebawore is going to be trouble for at least the next three years in Norman.
Pro Football Focus numbers
Another blowout, another light day. Oklahoma got only 63 offensive snaps Saturday at TU, and the offensive line once again led the way as right tackle Tyler Guyton, center Andrew Raym and right guard McKade Mettauer each led the Sooners with 54 offensive snaps. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel got 51, tight end Austin Stogner 45, left tackle Walter Rouse 40, wideout Jalil Farooq 39, and wideout Drake Stoops 38.
It appears Bill Bedenbaugh is still searching for a solution at left guard, as Troy Everett backed up Savion Byrd again but also got more snaps than Byrd again. This time the split was 37 for Everett and 13 for Byrd, with freshman Cayden Green also working in that spot effectively (Green also got snaps at tackle and finished with 32 snaps total.) Sophomore Jacob Sexton is back from his Cheez-It Bowl knee injury and played 28 snaps at left tackle.
As more action went to the wideouts this week, so more snaps were spread out. In addition to Farooq (team-high 126 yards) and Stoops (team-high eight catches), Andrel Anthony (112 yards) started and played 36 snaps, while Nic Anderson (120 yards, three TDs) got 18, and Jayden Gibson (34-yard catch) got 19. LV Bunkley-Shelton played 16 offensive snaps, and Gavin Freeman played 10.
One week after leading the team with 21 rushing attempts for a career-best 117 yards, Tawee Walker got only six offensive snaps against Tulsa. Brent Venables explained that was an effort to get more action for returners Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk, who are finally fully healthy. Barnes (33 snaps) and Sawchuk (20) got by far their highest snap counts of the young season.
How good was Oklahoma’s passing game on Saturday? Check out these offensive grades: Gabriel (91.7), Anderson (91.5), Farooq (83.4), Anthony (80.4), Jackson Arnold (76.8), Stoops (76.2) and Jayden Gibson (75.1) posted the highest offensive grades, according to PFF.
Next was Marcus Major (72.9) and Jaquaize Pettaway (71.7), and then left tackle Walter Rouse shows up (69.2).
Twelve offensive linemen got playing time against TU, and all of them graded below 70.0.
Among true freshmen who played, only four got time on offense: Arnold, Pettaway, Green and running back Daylan Smothers.
In all, 34 players got snaps on offense. On defense, a total of 36 players saw playing time.
Of Tulsa’s 73 total offensive plays, linebackers Jaren Kanak and Danny Stutsman led the team with 59 defensive snaps. True freshman safety Peyton Bowen got 48 snaps as he replaced injured Justin Harrington and Dasan McCullough at cheetah linebacker, and safeties Billy Bowman and Reggie Pearson played 46 and 43, respectively. Safety Key Lawrence got 39 snaps, and defensive end Ethan Downs (39) and corners Woodi Washington (34) and Gentry Williams (33) were next.
Downs leading the d-line is a good sign that he might be settling in as the most consistent producer among the front four. Downs posted a 69.2 grade. But it was Trace Ford — next with 26 snaps — who led the d-line with a 90.3 PFF grade.
Several Sooners posted championship grades against the Golden Hurricane: Stutsman again led the defense (91.3), followed by cornerback Kendel Dolby (90.9), Ford (90.3), Williams (88.3), defensive tackle Gracen Halton (82.0), defensive tackle Isaiah Coe (81.1) and defensive tackle Da’Jon Terry (81.1).
Linebacker Konnor Near (80.3), Bowen (80.0), linebacker Jaren Kanak (75.8), defensive tackle Jacob Lacey, defensive tackle Jordan Kelley (74.7), defensive tackle Jonah Laulu (74.5), defensive end P.J. Adebawore (73.9), cornerback Kani Walker (71.3) and defensive ends Reggie Grimes (71.0) and Marcus Stripling (70.6) all posted grades over 70.
Among true freshmen, Bowen again led the defense with 48 snaps. Adebawore played 23, Makari Vickers played 20 and Jacobe Johnson played 16. All four were career highs. Linebackers Sammy Omosigho (8) and Lewis Carter (5) and defensive tackle Ashton Sanders (5) also saw time Saturday.
- Sign up for your premium membership to AllSooners.com today, and get access to the entire Fan Nation premium network!
- Follow AllSooners on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest OU news!
- Want even more Sooners news? Check out the SI.com OU team page here!
- Listen and subscribe to the AllSooners Podcast!
- Watch more Sooners videos and subscribe on YouTube!
