Aug 31, 2013; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners receiver Jalen Saunders (8) scores a touchdown against UL Monroe cornerback Justin Backus (20) during the second half at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
The Oklahoma Sooners opened their 2013 college football season with a big 34-0 shutout of the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. It was the Sooners first shutout since 2010 and proved that Oklahoma might be a lot more threatening than originally thought when people only talked about a redshirt quarterback and shaky defensive line.
The grades for each position show that Oklahoma played a pretty solid all-around game. Here is a look at the overall Oklahoma Sooners Position Grades team from their week one victory.
Quarterback
Trevor Knight got a chance to prove that he was ready to lead the Oklahoma Sooners to the Promised Land. He had a lot to live up to with Sam Bradford’s first game as a redshirt freshman not that long ago. So, how did Knight do? Not so good, but good enough to get the win.
Trevor Knight only completed 39.2-percent of his passes (11-28) for 86 yards. It was a pretty bad performance and only his third quarter was decent at all when it came to throwing the ball. However, he was the first Oklahoma Sooners quarterback to run for over 100 yards since Jason White in 2001. Knight ended up leading the Sooners with 112 yards rushing and also threw for three touchdowns and an interception.
Remember back to the days of Barry Switzer and this would have been a familiar performance for a Sooners’ quarterback.
Blake Bell came in to play the fourth quarter with the backups and completed 3-5 for 38 yards while running twice for 15 yards.
Sooners Position Grades: C+
Running Backs
The reason the Oklahoma Sooners put so many points on the board was because their running game kept them alive when Trevor Knight was overthrowing receivers. Damien Williams ran for 66 yards on 16 carries, while Brennan Clay added 43 yards and Roy Finch ran for 42 of his own. Backup Keith Ford even showed his legs in the fourth quarter with 20 yards on four carries. Combined, they ran for 171 yards with a 5.3 yard-per-carry average. While the passing game was dead, you couldn’t ask for a much better performance from these guys.
Sooners Position Grades: A
Receivers/Tight Ends
The bad quarterback play wasn’t just Trevor Knight’s fault. Receivers were running bad routes and there were dropped passes as well. Jalen Saunders did his part, catching three balls for 30 yards and two touchdowns, but he also dropped a pass. Trey Metoyer also had a touchdown, but that was his only catch of the game. Sterling Shepard only had one catch as well. Trevor Knight can’t succeed if these receivers don’t pick things up. If not for the three touchdown catches, this might be an F.
Sooners Position Grades: C-
Offensive Line
Trevor Knight was running a lot, but this offensive line did a solid job of opening holes all night for the running backs and only gave up two sacks in the game. The line is still the strength of the Sooners’ team this year.
Sooners Position Grades: B+