Oklahoma football: Notable numbers from the Spencer Rattler debut
By Chip Rouse
It’s way too early in the Oklahoma football season to be pumping our fists and shouting, “We told you so,” but we did tell you so.
There were some college football experts who had serious doubts whether highly touted quarterback prospect Spencer Rattler would be able to live up to all the hype that preceded him into the starting role for the Sooners.
It’s true that Missouri State is nowhere near the level of competition the Sooners will face in the Big 12, but with the poise and accuracy Rattler displayed in the Sooners 48-0 season-opening win on Saturday, I’m not sure it really mattered. This kid is the real deal, and he’s only going to get better as he gains more game experience.
Rattler was just one of several new faces on the field who turned in stellar performances in starting roles for the Sooners.
Here are some of the more notable names and numbers from Week 1 of 2020 Oklahoma football:
0 — Saturday’s shutout by the Oklahoma defense was the Sooners first in a season opener since 2013 (34-0 over the University of Louisiana-Monroe) and the first OU shutout since defeating Kansas State 55-0 in 2015.
4 — Spencer Rattler threw four touchdown passes in two quarters of work in the Sooners’ win over Missouri State. The significance of that is he is the first Oklahoma freshman quarterback to throw four touchdown passes in his first career start.
12 — Twelve different receivers caught passes from three Oklahoma quarterbacks on Saturday. Only one of the 12 is a senior and five were freshmen or redshirt freshmen.
20 — Twenty of the 61 Oklahoma players who saw action in Saturday’s game were making their first appearance in a Sooner uniform.
31 — Oklahoma’s 31 first-quarter points were the sixth most in program history.
40 — Oklahoma has scored at least 40 points in 45 of its last 69 games, dating back to the start of the 2015 season, Lincoln Riley’s first season at OU.
50 — Spencer Rattler threw two touchdown passes of more than 50 yards in the first quarter (58 yards to true freshman Marvin Mims and 53 yards to redshirt junior Charleston Rambo.
148 — All-purpose yards (80 pass receiving and 68 in punt returns) by Marvin Mims in his first collegiate game
303.3 — Spencer Rattler’s passing efficiency rating in OU’s season-opening win. That is both an Oklahoma and a Big 12 freshman record and is the third best passing efficiency rating of any Oklahoma quarterback regardless of class.
22,700 — Restricted attendance at Saturday’s game against Missouri State because of COVID-19. That is the smallest crowd to attend a game at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since November 1945.