Oklahoma football: Three telltale takeaways from a Sooners’ runaway
By Chip Rouse
After a too-close-for-comfort win a week ago, the No. 4-ranked Oklahoma football team took out all of its Week 1 frustration on Western Carolina, romping to a 76-0 shutout win.
Western Carolina, an FCS team out of the Southern Conference was never in this game, and this game probably should never have been scheduled. But it was, and you have to play the games on your schedule.
The Catamounts have never beaten a team at the FBS level in 60 tries, and the talent disparity was never more obvious than it was on Saturday night before a sold-out Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.
The Sooners’ total domination in this game can be summed up in two sets of numbers: 0 points by Western Carolina and 12 of 13 scoring drives by Oklahoma, including 10 touchdowns.
The 76-point scoring margin represents the biggest victory margin by Oklahoma since a 77-0 win over Texas A&M in 2003 and the largest by an FBS team since Maryland overwhelmed Howard 79-0 in 2019.
There was plenty to like for Sooner fans as far as entertainment and feel-good value from this lopsided Oklahoma win, but you have to keep things in perspective. Winning by a huge score against a team from a division a level down from OU and finished with a 1-8 record last season hardly compares to the level of competition the Sooners will face the rest of the 2021 season.
Nevertheless, here are the three main takeaways from OU vs. Western Carolina:
The OU offense showed consistency and the depth of its talent
Spencer Rattler threw five touchdown passes and completed 77 percent of his 26 passes for 243 yards, playing in just the first half. He is only the second Oklahoma quarterback to throw five TD passes in one half. Ironically, the only other time an OU quarterback accomplished that feat was when Jason White did it in the 77-0 victory over Texas A&M in 2003.
OU totaled 624 yards of offense, featuring a balance of 347 passing yards and 277 yards rushing.
The Sooners scored points in their first 11 possessions and 12 of 13 overall. Seven different Oklahoma players scored the team’s 10 touchdowns, six different Sooners rushed for at least 30 yards in the game and 13 different receivers caught passes. Walk-on running back Jaden Knowles accounted for 102 yards from scrimmage and ran for two touchdowns.
Oklahoma punted just once in the game and has punted just once in two games to start the season.
A full team offensive effort for a full four quarters.
Sooner defense was dominant, even if it was against an FCS opponent
The Oklahoma defensive effort was almost as dominant as the Sooner offense. The Sooners held the Catamounts to just 178 yards of offense and just 2.8 yards per play. The shutout was OU’s first since defeating Missouri State 48-0 one year ago.
The OU front seven held Western Carolina to negative rushing yardage most of the game and 55 yards total on the ground. The Sooners also recorded two fumble recoveries, giving them five in the first two games. You have to go all the way back to 2008 to the last time OU has recovered as many as five fumbles in two consecutive games.
Importantly, there weren’t near the coverage breakdowns and missed defensive assignment as there were in Game 1 against Tulane.
A full defensive effort for a full four quarters.
Sooners’ 12th man back in full force
For the first time since the final home game of the 2019 season, Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium was sold out — the 135th consecutive sell-out of a regularly scheduled OU home game (excluding, of course, the 2020 pandemic season when attendance was restricted).
It was good to see the stands filled to the brim, and you can bet the players responded to the nearly 84,000 fans in attendance.
The fan noise on Saturday night at the Palace on the Prairie had to be overwhelming to Western Carolina, given that the Catamounts play their home games in a stadium that holds a little less than 14,000.