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MANHATTAN, Kan. – Moments after his football factory competing for the college football playoffs went undefeated and his Heisman Trophy bid remained intact, Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler sprinted to Bill Snyder’s southern zone Family Stadium to celebrate with a small section of Sooners fans.
That they greet him with something more than a sidelong glance was going to be news in itself.
With rules of name, image, and likeness already bringing college athletes closer to fans than ever before, Rattler may have seen the future of fan-player relations last Saturday when he was booed last week (mostly by the student section) at home in a narrow victory over West Virginia.
So when he and three teammates sprinted to that end zone this week, there was no worry – just smiles and high fives.
“It was the student section last week. They weren’t at the game [Saturday]Rattler said after Oklahoma’s No.6 37-31 win over Kansas State. “They were the real fans out there.”
Fans often lack context, but in this case, they lacked perspective and common sense. When the dust settled on a satisfying win that concluded an uncomfortable week, Rattler had only missed 3 of 25 assists. He was throwing through narrow windows, leading and throwing effectively for an offense that only saw the ball for three possessions in the first half.
Considering the end of last week’s last-second win over the Mountaineers, Rattler is suddenly the reason he’s still chasing a Heisman and Oklahoma is vying for that playoff spot. He’s completed 15 of his last 16 assists against West Virginia, leading Oklahoma to goals on three of his last four possessions.
With K-State using the same version of distance possession time, OU scored on its first five possessions on Saturday. Add it up and Rattler has completed 37 of his last 41 assists while the offense he commands has scored on 10 of his last 12 possessions.
Boo that.
“I felt like [the booing] got us all on fire, “Sooners running back Kennedy Brooks said.”[Rattler is] a reflection on us, and we are a reflection on him. “
That’s why Rattler and his teammates were almost kissed by fans late Saturday afternoon. With a decisive game against Texas to come, it was kind of a breakthrough.
“He was playing to show something to these guys today, to show something to these students,” said OU fan Justin Houtz from suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma. “They won’t boo him the next time we play Norman.”
It’s not just that Rattler and the Sooners offense arguably played their best game of the season. They had to play their best game of the season. The OU as a whole underperformed in 2021, allowing Tulane, Nebraska and West Virginia to stay too long.
“He was awesome,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said of his quarterback. “The kid has a mental constitution to be a really good road quarterback. I think he kisses her. He’s got a real competitive edge about him.”
Sensing an opening, K-State coach Chris Klieman pulled each bunny out of his hat. The Wildcats converted four fourth downs. They returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Making his triumphant return from a knee injury, QB Skylar Thompson threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns.
The was an opening. Thompson and the Wildcats had beaten the Sooners in consecutive years. The last time this happened was in the 1990s, when Bill Snyder owned Oklahoma. The Wildcats tried to make this game their own, holding the ball for 19 and a half minutes of the first half and shooting just 13-10.
“You knew it would be a battle,” Riley said.
Especially with Texas coming up in the Red River Showdown. Especially with the Kansas state college section tackling Oklahoma’s first Big 12 Road game since leaving for the SEC. (Predictably, an “f — OR” chant began in the middle of the third trimester.)
Especially with last week’s OU student section chanting Caleb Williams’ name as well. On Saturday, the five-star freshman didn’t stand out by fumbling for a snap on the Sooners’ first practice, forcing Oklahoma to settle for a field goal.
After all the strife, the Sooners (5-0) could possibly be in the top four in both series of the college football standings on Sunday. There were six losses to the top 15 teams on Saturday, including No.3 Oregon, No.8 Arkansas, No.9 Notre Dame, No.10 Florida, No.10. # 12 from Ole Miss and # 15 from Texas A&M. Only three of them were from other top 15 teams.
With a lightning attack that had produced just 39 points in the previous two games, the Sooners – accustomed to boat racing opponents – found themselves playing up their reputation as much as the opponent.
“We have had perhaps the biggest offense in college football years in recent years,” said Riley, perhaps tired of hearing criticism all season. “We didn’t play perfectly all the time, but we were pretty damn good.”
Oklahoma had to blow everyone up because that’s what is expected of Riley, the mastermind of the spread. Except the defenses haven’t just caught OR sometimes, they’ve caught modern infractions, period. There are better athletes in defense, guys who can tackle in space. They play a zone at two depths. They lose seven and eight in coverage. They dare the offenses to be thrown at them.
Patience matters to guys like Riley who are used to leading the college football world with their offense. Not counting a kneeling one at the end, the Sooners only had eight possessions. They scored on seven of them. For the second time this season, they haven’t kicked. It is efficiency.
“It makes you appreciate possessions,” Riley said. “Sometimes you get some of those games where both teams go fast, making big plays. There are so many possessions that you just devalue them. It’s different because you come on the pitch knowing every time: “It’s pretty big. We may not have much more. ‘”
Five games later, that could be a glimpse of the real Oklahoma 2021: a flawed football factory, not quite a powerhouse but not yet defeated, either.
In the end, Houtz – the OU fan in the end zone – considered the possibility while waiting to greet his victorious Sooners led by a newly varnished quarterback.
“Maybe,” he said, “we’ve come around the corner.”
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