I have to admit, I expected a much tighter game against Tulsa last Saturday. I didn't think it would be the kind of game to be won by a field goal or anything but I did expect the Golden Hurricane to at least score. To say that the Sooners played good is an understatement and to say that Tulsa was a Top 25 caliber opponent is an overstatement. However, TU should have been a stronger test for the Sooners and their inability to impress had a lot more to do with OU than it did with us touting an opponent too highly. Good Grades are in abundance this week!
Quarterback A
Let's hear it for the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Week! Landry Jones completed 25 of 37 passes for 336 yards and a school record 6 touchdowns. He did throw two interceptions on two really bad passes and he still seems to occasionally lock in on a receiver without reading through his progressions so there is room for improvement but we must applaud the effort.
Running Backs A+
DeMarco Murray averaged 6 yards per carry and Chris Brown 4.6. Neither back scored on the ground but Murray made and amazing touchdown catch in which he spun around twice and flipped into the end zone. Murray had two catches for 38 yards and a score. In mop up time Jonathan Miller, for the second week in a row, looked stronger and faster than Jermie Calhoun. As a team the Sooners rushed for 193 yards.
Receiver/Tight End A
Adron Tennell's dropped touchdown pass was surprisingly not shocking based on his on field productivity so far this season. Trent Ratterree also joined Tennell in dropping a touchdown pass and while this has been a recurring theme for Oklahoma this season it was only a subplot on Saturday while Brandon Caleb having his breakout game was the main story. Caleb hauled in 5 passes for 104 and two touchdowns to become the perfect complement to Ryan Broyles who added 128 and three touchdowns on 11 catches. Landry Jones also found his tight ends on his record day as a Sooner. Jones completed passes to James Hanna and Eric Mensik.
Offensive Line A
No one is ready to anoint this group as championship ready but they've come a long way since opening night. The line gave up no sacks on Saturday afternoon and helped Oklahoma to an average of 6.5 yards per play on offense. This line looks more mentally focused than they've been all season which is good because they are about to face a stretch in which the level of their success will define the rest of Oklahoma's season.
Defensive Line A
Oklahoma's defensive line had Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne running for his life all day long. Jeremy Beal had three sacks and a forced fumble, Adrian Taylor recovered a fumble and Oklahoma ran a plethora of players through the line.
Linebackers A+
Ryan Reynolds let the team in tackles with 13 and was followed by Keenan Clayton who had 11. Travis Lewis added 7 tackles to the linebackers totals giving the starters 31 total tackles. Reynolds also had two sacks and Lewis had one.
Secondary A+
This was a physical game for Oklahoma's secondary and it needed to be. As we stated in our pregame coverage, Oklahoma's secondary making sure tackles and big plays would be the key to shutting down the Tulsa offense. Brian Jackson and Quinton Carter responded with 9 tackles and an interception each. Sam Proctor also added 5 tackles.
Special Teams A
The chief criticism with this unit was the missed field goal but as a whole they had a very solid game. I guess we could also call out the partially blocked punt. However, OU averaged 42 yards per punt and held Tulsa without a return. They also held Tulsa to just 21 yards per kickoff return while taking their lone kickoff return 32 yards.