In a season where he will probably finish with his worst record as head coach at Oklahoma and miss the playoff for the first time in four years, this is the best coaching job Lincoln Riley has done in Norman, amplified by the 41-13 stomping of Oklahoma State on Saturday night.

It all started by benching his star redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler in the middle of Red River after a pair of turnovers before halftime. Riley wanted his freshman to know that he had to be held accountable, and that he needed to push through the adversity to perform at an elite level. Riley watched his previous three quarterbacks (Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, and Baker Mayfield) all face adversity before they flourished under Riley. All three of them started their careers elsewhere and were forced to transfer to find success. Now it was Rattler’s turn.

As a five-star recruit and already a Heisman favorite before he started his first game in college, we expected Rattler to step in and light the college football world on fire. The reality is, most guys can’t do that. We can’t expect every five-star recruit to jump into college football and light it up, and we have seen time and time again that they don’t. Little does that change our expectations.

So here was Rattler at halftime of the Red River Showdown probably feeling a little shell-shocked. He had thrown five interceptions in the last ten quarters, and watched his team crumble in back-to-back second halves, losing two in a row to Kansas State and Iowa State. They were another bad second half from a 1-3 start, far from the expectations set in the preseason.

So what have the Sooners done since that point? Beat Texas in four overtimes, and kicked off a dominant five-game win streak. While I and the rest of the country wrote them off for dead, they now sit at second in the Big 12 standings and will be heavily favored in their final two games of the season (at West Virginia and vs Baylor). That smells like a Big 12 Championship berth to me, and a chance at a sixth straight Big 12 title.

Over that stretch, Rattler has 14 touchdown passes and just one interception. His performance against OSU (17/24 301 yards and four touchdowns) is what we expected Rattler to do all season, but like most things, there are growing pains. It was a statement of the progress the Sooners and Riley have made through the season. 

I thought Rattler was going to struggle against the OSU defense, who have been amongst the best defenses in the nation this year. Besides the fact that Rattler and the Sooners ground game (Rhamondre Stevenson ran over OSU for 141 yards on 26 carries) tore them to shreds, the Pokes’ defense wasn’t even the best unit on the field. OSU averaged 4.2 yards/pass and 2.8 yards/rush. Tylan Wallace had just four catches for 68 yards. Spencer Sanders and Shane Illingworth completed just 15/40 passes.

That was Riley envisioned his defense would play like when he hired Grinch in January 2019. While the Sooners might not get a shot at the playoff this year, Riley and co. have to love the progress of this team.

Writer

-By: TJ Mathewson

We always like to judge conferences based on what the top teams do. In the Pac-12, despite Oregon recruiting at an all-time level, the conference slumps because USC hasn’t been consistently relevant since Pete Carroll left. The SEC is recognized as the best, having three different schools (Auburn, Alabama, and LSU) win the national title and another (Georgia) play in the title game. Clemson carries the weight for the ACC, the same goes for Ohio State in the Big Ten.

The SEC is recognized as the best, having three different schools (Auburn, Alabama, and LSU) win the national title and another (Georgia) play in the title game. Clemson carries the weight for the ACC, the same goes for Ohio State in the Big Ten.

So what do we make of Oklahoma and Texas in the Big 12?

The two are set to square off for the 116th time in the Red River Showdown from a canceled Texas State Fair in Dallas on Saturday. None of the tasty fried treats and the stream of over two million annual guests waltzing around the fairgrounds. The Cotton Bowl will have limited capacity to watch one of the most exciting games annually. There won’t be a wave of burnt orange on one side and crimson on the other.

It’s almost fitting for how the two have played this season.

TCU coach Gary Patterson says that we shouldn’t judge the league solely on Texas and Oklahoma. “It really bothers me that we’ve based everything that whether our league is good or bad or not on whether Oklahoma and Texas are good,” Patterson said Monday. “To be honest with you, we have a lot of good football teams and we always have had a lot of good football teams.”
That might’ve been true when TCU and Baylor were battling for a spot in the College Football Playoff back in 2014, with Oklahoma a year away from breaking in a fresh new quarterback by the name of Baker Mayfield, however, we like to operate in the present.
Let’s start with some straight facts. Oklahoma and Texas should both be 1-2. The Longhorns lucked out recovering an onside kick against Texas Tech on Sept. 26, and that very well might’ve saved any semblance of a deserved NY6 bowl invite later on. A quick breakdown of the two:

Texas

Tom Herman has struggled against TCU and Gary Patterson in his time in Austin, his only win in four tries coming in 2018, so this outcome isn’t all that surprising. Sam Ehlinger has struggled in the matchup too, he didn’t even complete half of his passes on Saturday.
Texas is now just 11-6 against unranked opponents while ranked since 2017, the most losses of that sort in the country, and 1-11 when trailing entering the fourth quarter.
It’s just troubling to see Texas spinning its wheels against teams it consistently out-recruits. The Longhorns have been in the top ten in the country per 247sports each of the last three recruiting cycles, TCU hasn’t ranked higher than 24th. When are we going to see Herman finally take that step to consistently be good like he was at Houston, or will that 2018 continue to be a blip? 
As bad as Texas has looked, they aren’t in as bad a spot as their opponent on the other side.

Oklahoma 

Lincoln Riley has done an amazing job taking over for Bob Stoops in Norman, making the College Football Playoff each season with three different quarterbacks. The excellence under center has masked most of the other major flaws on the roster. Those flaws are screaming at us as the Sooners sit at 0-2 in the Big 12 standings after two second-half collapses to Iowa State and Kansas State.
It’s already a guarantee that Oklahoma won’t be in the playoff for the fourth consecutive year. No two-loss team has ever made the final field in a normal season, let alone this COVID-year. It’ll take a miracle for Oklahoma to even compete for their own conference title for the sixth consecutive year.
The Sooners were dominated in the second half of both games, and Spencer Rattler struggled. The defense couldn’t come up with stops. We have seen that if Rattler doesn’t play at the top of his game for four full quarters, the Sooners are in big trouble. 
Rattler only has three career starts under his belt too, and is the youngest QB that Riley has had in his time as head coach, so there’s going to be growing pains, but we didn’t expect it to be like this.
It is going to have to be on Rattler to keep the Sooners in the conversation for the rest of the year if the defense continues to underperform like it has for years. It might be an unfair ask, but that’s the only way it's worked for the Sooners. 
Saturday’s duel in Dallas will say a lot about the story we will write about the Big 12 this season, but for the first time in a while, the outcome might not do enough to help one of these programs push forward to a conference title, let alone a national title.

Writer

-By: TJ Mathewson

College Football Playoff Preview: Peach Bowl LSU-Oklahoma

Who’s ready for a party? The entire season of predictions, analysis, touchdowns, and interceptions has finally led to this: the College Football Playoff. Finally, we take steps towards finding out who the national champion will be. The first semifinal features two storied programs, as #4 Oklahoma faces off against #1 LSU in the Peach Bowl. Can the Sooners pull off an upset, or will the Tigers’ dominant season continue? Let’s look closer to try to find out.

#1 LSU

Preseason Preview: LSU

How They Got Here: The Tigers were arguably the most dominant team in the nation, beating a stunning four teams in the top 15 and unseating the perennially-excellent Alabama Crimson Tide as the SEC Champion. LSU was led by the best quarterback in the country and the winner of the Heisman trophy, Joe Burrow. Burrow’s numbers are hard to believe, as he posted over 4700 yards passing with an 8:1 touchdown/interception ratio. Not only was the ratio excellent, but so was the final count: a superb 48 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions. Add in 289 rushing yards, a 77.9 completion percentage, and the fact that he was in the top-3 in virtually every passing category and you have a superstar quarterback capable of leading a team to a national championship. But Burrow hasn’t been the only reason LSU has been so good: running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire has made himself a vital weapon with over 1600 all-purpose yards, and two different receivers, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, have over 1200 yards receiving. This has all combined to create one of the most powerful offenses in the nation, one that has outdueled teams like Alabama and pounded teams like Texas A&M.

Biggest Weakness: LSU has a below-average (for a contender) pass defense by passing yards and touchdowns allowed per game, but that needs to be viewed with the lense of defending teams that were trying to come back after falling behind one of the most potent offenses in the nation. In fact, LSU actually allowed the sixth-lowest completion percentage in the country. Their rushing defense, however, is only passable compared to other top programs: they are outside of the top 20 in both yards allowed per rush and rushing yards allowed per game despite the fact that they are in the top 20 in rushing attempts per game against them. To be fair, though, the Tigers had one of their better performances when they were dominant defensively against a Georgia team that is currently ranked fifth in the nation. But Georgia’s offense isn’t even in the same conversation as Oklahoma’s. If LSU loses, it will be because its defense couldn’t contain Jalen Hurts.

Injury Concerns: LSU’s two top running backs, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Tyrion Davis-Prince are both struggling with injuries and are questionable to play in the game. Oklahoma’s biggest defensive weakness is the run game, and it would be a huge blow to the Tigers to be without their two top backs. However, the rest of the team is remarkably healthy, and Ed Orgeron should feel confident in the rest of his squad. 

LSU wins if: The team that has dominated all season shows up, Joe Burrow shreds a weak defense and the Tigers’ own defense is able to slow the Sooners’ offense just enough to allow their own offense to gain the upper hand. LSU should win this game, but it starts with Burrow playing like he has all year and ends with the Tigers’ defense keeping Hurts from beating them. 

#4 Oklahoma

Preseason Preview: Oklahoma

How They Got Here: LSU’s offense may be great, but what’s crazy is that Oklahoma has one to match it. Led by Alabama transfer Jalen Hurts, the Sooners lead the nation in yards per play and trail the Tigers by a tenth of a yard per game. Hurts himself has also put up eye-popping numbers, with over 3600 passing yards and over 1200 rushing yards, leading to Hurts being the runner-up for the Heisman trophy behind Burrow. The Sooners are suffering a bit from their own success, however, as nobody is interested in an Oklahoma offense that lights up the scoreboard. But we haven’t seen a Sooner team with an even average defense in the playoff before, and this will be the year that changes: Lincoln Riley and Alex Grinch have their team in the top 40 in yards allowed per game and per play, which is at least 40 spots better than either of the last two years. That isn’t a typo; those defenses were abysmal. Oklahoma has the offense to match up with LSU, the question is whether its newly-found defensive adequacy can help pull off the upset. The Sooners weren’t expected to be here: I basically buried their chances here only to see them squeeze in a few weeks later. But they’re here now, with a chance to really make a splash. 

Biggest Weakness: Like LSU, Oklahoma’s biggest struggle comes from a defense that has a hard time keeping up with a dominant offense. It struggles a bit more than LSU’s, but it also tends to be on the field less than the Tigers’ defense. The Sooners’ biggest struggle could be containing the Ed Orgeron’s running game, as Oklahoma ranks a paltry 50th in yards allowed per rush. Having Edwards-Helaire unable to play would be a huge advantage, and allow a passing defense that has allowed fewer than 200 yards per game to try to contain the best quarterback in the nation. This is going to be really difficult, but it just might work. 

Injury Concerns: The Sooners will be missing multiple impact players, as the Sooners’ sack leader Ronnie Perkins is suspended and backup running back Rhamondre Stevenson are both going to be suspended for the game. Lincoln Riley has said, however, that their starting running back Kennedy Brooks will be playing despite a neck injury. Losing Perkins really hurts, particularly because putting pressure on Burrow will be paramount in stopping the LSU offensive attack. But having Brooks suit up should be an important advantage if LSU can’t play its own top running back. 

Oklahoma wins if: Clyde Edwards-Helaire doesn’t play, the Sooner defense is able to contain offense missing a key playmaker, and Jalen Hurts leads the offense to a point-scoring bonanza. Even if Edwards-Helaire doesn’t play, Joe Burrow is still the best college player in the country, and the Sooners will have their hands full trying to stop him. But it becomes much easier if the running game isn’t much of a factor.

My prediction: LSU should win, but things get dicey if Edwards-Helaire can’t play. Weird things can happen in shootouts, so I wouldn’t call this a given, even if the Tigers are heavy favorites. LSU 49, Oklahoma 45.

All statistics, game information and injury information is according to sports-reference.com unless otherwise indicated.

-By: Alex Spieldenner

Writer/ Interviewer