On Saturday, Oklahoma football took on the Kansas Jayhawks in Week 7 of its season. Coming out every week with consistency, this weekend’s game against the Jayhawks was no different.
The Sooners seem to have finally restored their dominance in the Big 12. Not only has the Sooner offense regained its consistency, but the defense has played with an energy that Oklahoma fans have not seen for years.
The Sooners took down the Jayhawks a heaping 62-3. Here’s what went down on both sides of the field for the Sooners in the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial stadium on Saturday.
The offense
As I said previously, it seems Spencer Rattler and the rest of the Sooner offense have found consistency and rhythm in their game. Starting out on a strong note, the Sooners found the end zone very early on in the game and quickly gained a 14-point lead out ahead of the Jayhawks.
Rattler started out strong but threw his first interception since getting pulled from the game against Texas earlier this year. However, Rattler quickly recovered by running the ball in himself for another Oklahoma touchdown. Upon scoring the touchdown, Rattler was tackled at his hip causing him to have to come out of the game for a few drives.
Not too long after injuring his hip, Rattler came back in to finish the first half putting up 31 points before halftime. Rattler only came back in for two more drives before being pulled to preserve him for future games. Rattler finished the weekend with 212 passing yards and three rushing yards.
What seems to be the biggest difference in the Oklahoma offense would be the return of running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Last week’s game being Stevenson’s first game back, he absolutely tore it up winning co-offensive player of the year, and his performance this week was no different.
In Saturday’s game, Stevenson finished with 104 rushing yards averaging 9.5 yards per carry, running into the end zone for two touchdowns. Stevenson also completed 60 receiving yards averaging 15 yards per play.
The return of Stevenson has made a drastic and dyer difference in the Sooner offense. Stevenson’s energy on the field is a new and refreshing sight for the Oklahoma offense.
The defense
Following the Sooner defense’s lackluster performance for the whole beginning of its season, we have seen a brand new defense out of the Sooners the past few weeks. Similar to on the offense, one of the big differences the defense has seen in the past two games is the return of Ronnie Perkins.
However, on top of Perkins, Nik Bonitto and DJ Graham both had themselves a fantastic game against Kansas. Graham topped the weekend with five sacks followed by Bonitto, who had three.
Tre Brown has also been playing significantly better after completing six tackles against Tech last weekend followed by an interception this weekend.
The Sooners will have a bye week next week, which will be followed by the Oklahoma State Bedlam game. After this week for the Big 12, though it is still important for Oklahoma football to win the rest of its games, it sits in a much better position to have the chance to take a trip to the Big-12 Conference final than in previous weeks.
