Three Quick Takeaways From Oklahoma Escaping Disaster Against Kansas
Well, that was certainly a football game.
The Sooners, who entered Saturday against Kansas as gigantic favorites, entered the fourth quarter in Lawrence trailing the Jayhawks 17-14 behind sketchy defensive play and an inconsistent offense.
Enter Caleb "Superman" Williams.
Williams again put the team on his back with his superb playmaking ability to get Oklahoma the points they needed to escape a Kansas team that fought their tails off from start to finish.
His three total touchdowns, two passing and one rushing, were all sorely needed to help the Sooners rally to remain undefeated and extend the nation's longest winning streak.
Here are three quick takeaways from the game:
Caleb Williams is Still a Freshman, Albeit a Great One
Caleb Williams showed his youth in the first half of this game, really forcing some balls down field when he didn’t need to.
On both the interception when looking for Jadon Haselwood deep and on a fourth down play just before the half, an easier throw for a first down was available. But, Williams looked for the big play unnecessarily.
It is hard to argue with his success rate after what he did in the last two games, but he will need to learn to take what the defense gives him a little more. That will come in time.
But, while he did make some freshman mistakes, he still showcased his freakish talent in the second half as well as his supreme leadership.
He made dynamite, and smarter, throws in the second half of the game including a fantastic threading of the needle to Jeremiah Hall late in the third quarter for a score.
Then, he was on the sideline immediately firing up his defense to get a big stop — which they did with a quick three-and-out.
Then, after the big forced fumble, he comes back with an incredible 40-yard touchdown run to extend the lead.
His first half wasn’t great, but he responded.
In one swoop, he showed that he is indeed human and still just a true freshman but also extremely special.
This was a growing moment for Williams that will make him better moving forward.
Also, the football IQ to take the ball from Kennedy Brooks to push forward for the first down was absurd — a football play that is unprecedented for any player, let along someone making his second start.
Oklahoma Wasn’t Ready to Play
Perhaps the single-biggest question mark coming into this game was a simple one: would the Sooners start the game with energy and ready to play a football game?
That answer was a definitive no, and it went much further than just the start.
Kansas opened this game with a nearly 10-minute drive where they ran the ball right down Oklahoma’s throats all the way to the end zone. If that was the wake up call that got the Sooners going, it would still be bad but, at least something that has been seen before.
But it did not stop there — not in the slightest — as the issues persisted, on both sides of the ball, throughout the first half and into the third and fourth quarters.
There is no sugar-coating it, Oklahoma was flat out not motivated to start this game and put together a truly embarrassing performance that really can’t be defended.
It is hard to even find something to compare this to because what the Sooners put forth on Saturday was unprecedented in just how stunningly bad it was.
They found a way to make the plays necessary to get the job done, but the way the first 40 or so minutes of this game went was really impossible to defend.
And allowing the late Kansas touchdown to cut the lead back down to one possession with just under six minutes to go was ... woof.
A Win is a Win…?
Look, this was bad. Really bad.
But, at the end of the day, it doesn’t have much bearing on what Oklahoma is or can be as a football team this year.
The Sooners have already put on impressive wins against better teams just the last two weeks and will have more chances to prove themselves down the road.
So, while this was an embarrassing game that OU will catch warranted heat for, it shouldn’t be too much of an overreaction when using a wider lens.
Key part there is “when using a wider lens.”
As a single game, yes, every bit of harsh statements fans throw out about the play of this team will be deserved.
But, for the state of the program moving forward, it doesn’t mean much outside of the egg on the team’s face for having no-showed a game against Kansas to the point of trailing going into the fourth quarter.
There is an important distinction there that is important to be made.
