Oklahoma WR Marvin Mims Ready to be No. 1 Option Again After Huge Texas Outing
After a freshman season that saw him rewrite the Oklahoma record books, wide receiver Marvin Mims’ sophomore campaign had been off to a bit of to a hit or miss start.
That changed significantly on Saturday when Mims made multiple heart-stopping plays to help lead the charge in the Sooners’ epic come-from-behind win over rival Texas at the Cotton Bowl.
The highlight that will certainly live forever in Red River Showdown lore being an absurd 52-yard touchdown reception in which Mims contorted his body in a fashion that didn’t seem possible to keep one foot in-bounds.
“The first time I saw it I think I was on the sideline looking up seeing if they were going to review it or not,” Mims said. “I was honestly surprised, especially with how much my foot was in bounds.”
“When I’m up in the air, my body’s up in the air just getting my foot down. Luckily it came down inbounds.”
That catch, along with a 14-yard touchdown in the third quarter, came on a pass out of the hands of true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams - who replaced previous starter Spencer Rattler in the first half.
It became clear that Mims and Williams didn’t exactly need much time to find a rhythm together, something Mims says is a product of both quarterbacks working a great deal with the starters in practice throughout the year.
“Honestly it’s the same thing no matter what whichever quarterback it is,” Mims said. “Same thing last year. I mean, the way we practice that offense, both quarterbacks are going. There’s not really a divide between that. When we throw routes we’re catching balls from every quarterback on the roster. When Caleb came in it was the same thing. I have a job to do. I have to do my job. Everybody on offense has a job to do. We have to do our individual thing and hopefully it will come together and work out the way we plan it to.”
When the Oklahoma offense started rolling in the second half, it was a sight to behold.
With Williams at the helm, the Sooners quickly erased an 18-point third quarter deficit to take a 48-41 lead in the final minutes.
Marvin Mims
BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
Then, after the Longhorns knotted it back up with 1:23 to play, Oklahoma was able to storm back down the field for the game-winning touchdown.
As Mims put it himself, there was practically nothing Texas could do to slow them down.
“Momentum is a huge shot for any sports team, especially basketball and football,” Mims said. “We were hitting it. We were rolling that second half. There wasn’t much Texas could do to stop us. They were starting to get gassed and stuff like that. We were able to keep going. I think that was the biggest difference in the game. We just never slowed down in that second half.”
Now the question moving forward will be if the Sooners can keep the offensive momentum going throughout the remainder of the year.
Just two weeks ago, the same group only managed 16 points in a nail-biting win over West Virginia - albeit with Rattler at the helm as opposed to Williams.
While Lincoln Riley hasn’t named a starting quarterback moving forward, the general consensus is that it has to be Williams after the show he put on in Dallas. This perhaps creates an opening for Mims to once again seize his role as the No. 1 receiving option on the team and one of the very best in the entire country.
Awaiting the Sooners next is TCU, which is the very opponent a year ago in which Mims began his ascension up the ranks of Oklahoma wideouts with four receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
Perhaps this time around it can be the game where Mims officially regains his throne as the top weapon on a team loaded with them.
“It was a huge game for me, especially being able to come back home in a situation where Covid was happening,” Mims said of last year’s TCU contest in Fort Worth. “I didn’t really get to go home. So to be back in Fort Worth only 40 minutes away from Frisco was pretty nice. I also had a huge breakout game that game, which gave me a huge boost of confidence going into the rest of the season. Yeah it was a real special game for me.”
Mims will get the chance to do just that again Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. CT in Norman.
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