Game Grades: Oklahoma Sooners 52, Tulsa Golden Hurricane 7

Thanks to a career day by Sterling Shepard, the Oklahoma Sooners made quick work of the Tulsa Hurricane with a 52-7 victory on Saturday.

Oklahoma wasn’t exactly challenged or put to the test by Tulsa, but the Sooners did what was expected of them on both sides of the ball. The solid performance is reflected in this weeks game grades.

The Offense

Quarterbacks: B

Sep 6, 2014; Tulsa, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Trevor Knight (9) runs for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The only thing that kept Knight from getting an A last week was the interception. The sophomore was sharper this time around going 21 for 34 with 299 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.

However, we still give a B for this weeks performance mostly due to a few failed attempts to connect with Shepard on some deep balls. Though, Knight did throw some nice long passes to Shepard. They were able to connect on a 39 yard attempt and a 48 yard pass from their own one yard line.

What few miscues Knight had throwing the ball he was able to make up for with his feet by rushing for 35 yards. Most of that came on an impressive 31 yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Despite ESPN’s Todd McShay giving Knight a grade of C+ for mental makeup, the quarterback continued to make smart decisions throwing the ball and avoiding unnecessary contact running with the ball.

Freshman quarterback Cody Thomas finally got his first minutes in a Sooner uniform. Thomas completed three of his four passing attempts for 20 yards in mop up time.

Running Backs: A

Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel has to like what he’s seen from his running backs after the first two games of the season. At Tulsa he nearly had a couple 100 yard rushers and likely would have if he’d called as many run plays as he did against Louisiana Tech.

Keith Ford was once again impressive rushing for 87 yards and a couple touchdowns. Ford continued to show good vision finding holes and seems to have a knack for getting into the end zone.

Sophomore Alex Ross had the run of the day with his 82 yard touchdown. Playing in front of his hometown friends and family, the Jenks native proved he’s always a big play threat with his breakaway speed. The touchdown run brought back memories of a different #28 taking it the distance in the 2004 Bedlam game.

Samaje Perine wasn’t as productive as last week, but was mostly used in short yardage situations.

Wide Receivers: A

For the second straight year Shepard had a career day against the Hurricane. The Junior matched his career best eight catches set in last years matchup against Tulsa and set a new career high with 177 yards receiving, breaking his previous mark also set in last years game against the Hurricane. Shepard also had a touchdown catch to cap off another great performance.

Lost in Shepard’s big day was a really solid performance from Durron Neal. The Junior caught six passes for 70 yards. He also had 16 yards on a play that was ruled a lateral in which he showed his ability to gain yards after the catch.

Shepard and Neal are really turning into a nice combo for Knight to throw to.

Also getting in on the action was tight end Blake Bell who got his first reception of his career and then recorded his first receiving touchdown.